1989
"Pops" on location in Mexico
About the Producer
A Voice from
the Frontier
Born on March 20, 1921 in Boston, Massachusetts, Richard E. Lyons carved out a distinguished career as one of Hollywood's most respected producers of western cinema. Working across Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Universal Pictures, he had an instinctive eye for stories that were raw, true, and deeply American.
His most celebrated production, Ride the High Country (1962), directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea, is widely regarded as a landmark of the genre — a twilight elegy for the Old West that stunned critics and audiences alike.
Over three decades he shepherded films featuring the biggest names in Hollywood — Clint Eastwood, Henry Fonda, Glenn Ford, Frank Sinatra — always with the same dedication to craft and authenticity. He passed away on March 18, 1989, in West Hills, California, just two days before his 68th birthday.
