Gene Lyons (February 9, 1921 – July 8, 1974) was an American television actor from

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. He was perhaps best known for his role as police commissioner Dennis Randall on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

detective series '' Ironside'' starring

Raymond Burr Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor known for his lengthy Hollywood film career and his title roles in television dramas ''Perry Mason'' and '' Ironside''. Burr's early acting career included roles ...

Career

A life member of

The Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 44th Street (Manhattan), West 44th Street between Ninth Avenue (Manhattan), Ninth and Tenth Avenue (Manhattan), Tenth avenues in the ...

, Lyons was in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production of ''

Witness for the Prosecution In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...

'' for two years. His other Broadway credits include ''Masquerade'' (1958), ''The Trip to Bountiful'' (1953), ''Harriet'' (1942), and ''This Rock'' (1942). In 1953, Lyons played a police detective on the CBS drama series ''Pentagon U.S.A.''. He appeared in 1954 as Steve Rockwell on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

daytime drama ''

Woman with a Past ''Woman with a Past'' is an American daytime soap opera that aired on CBS from February 1, 1954, to July 2, 1954. The sustaining program originated at WCBS-TV and replaced ''Action in the Afternoon'' in the CBS schedule. Synopsis The soap focuse ...

''. In 1963 Lyons appeared as Sheriff Jonathan Ballard on the TV western '' The Virginian'' in the episode titled "If You Have Tears." Before joining Raymond Burr as a regular on '' Ironside'', he appeared on ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a cli ...

'' in 1965 as murderer Ralph Balfour in "The Case of the Wrathful Wraith." He also made guest appearances on nearly two dozen other series including ''

The Dick Van Dyke Show ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Carl Reiner that initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961 to June 1, 1966, with a total of 158 half-hour episodes spanning five seasons. It was produced by Calvada Product ...

'', ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

'', '' Have Gun, Will Travel'', '' The Fugitive'', ''

Ben Casey ''Ben Casey'' is an American medical drama series that aired on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols " ♂, ♀, ✳, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaff ...

'', ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'' ("

A Taste of Armageddon "A Taste of Armageddon" is the twenty-third episode of the Star Trek: The Original Series (season 1), first season of the American science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek''. Writ ...

"), ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...

'' ("

King Nine Will Not Return "''King Nine'' Will Not Return" is the season two premiere episode, and 37th overall, of the American television anthology series ''The Twilight Zone''. It originally aired on September 30, 1960 on CBS. This was the first episode where Rod Serl ...

"), ''

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was re ...

'', ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on U ...

'' ("Shining in Spain") and ''

The Untouchables Untouchables or The Untouchables may refer to: American history * Untouchables (law enforcement), a 1930s American law enforcement unit led by Eliot Ness * ''The Untouchables'' (book), an autobiography by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley * ''The U ...

''. He also appeared in films including '' Kiss Her Goodbye'' and ''

The Young Don't Cry ''The Young Don't Cry'' is a 1957 American drama film directed by Alfred L. Werker and starring Sal Mineo, James Whitmore and J. Carrol Naish.Frascella & Weisel p.290 Plot An all-boys orphanage is not far from a prison camp near a swamp. Leslie ...

''.

Death

Lyons died in Los Angeles, California, on July 8, 1974, from complications related to chronic alcoholism, and is buried at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in

Filmography

References

External links

* *
Gene Lyons
at the

Internet Off-Broadway Database The Internet Off-Broadway Database (IOBDB), also formerly known as the Lortel Archives, is an online database that catalogues theatre productions shown off-Broadway. The IOBDB was funded and developed by the non-profit Lucille Lortel Foundation ...

1921 births 1974 deaths 20th-century American male actors Male actors from Pittsburgh American male television actors American male soap opera actors Burials at Calvary Catholic Cemetery (Pittsburgh) {{US-tv-actor-1920s-stub