A. C. Lyles

Andrew Craddock Lyles Jr. (May 17, 1918 – September 27, 2013) was an American film producer for Paramount Pictures, who is best known for producing a variety of Westerns in the 1950s and '60s.[1][2]

A. C. Lyles
A. C. Lyles in November 2009
Born
Andrew Craddock Lyles Jr.

(1918-05-17)May 17, 1918
Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
DiedSeptember 27, 2013(2013-09-27) (aged 95)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationFilm producer
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1948; div. 1948)​
    Martha French
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1955)​

    Career

    Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Lyles began working for Paramount Studios after high school. He began as an office boy, worked in the publicity department of Pine-Thomas Productions, the second feature unit of Paramount,[3] and eventually became assistant to the producer on The Mountain, released in 1954. His first role as full producer was on James Cagney's sole directorial effort, the 1957 Short Cut to Hell (a remake of the 1941 noir classic This Gun for Hire). He also produced nine episodes of the television show Rawhide then the Korean War film The Young and the Brave for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

    In an interview with Alex Simon and Donald Keith, Lyles recalled he was approached by Paramount to do a Western when they realized they had none on their schedule of releases. When Law of the Lawless did well at the box office, Paramount asked him how many more he could do a year. Lyles replied "five" and he was given the go ahead to produce more second features for the studio.[4] Lyles filled his casts with many older, experienced actors who were his friends.

    Lyles continued to produce a variety of low-budget traditional Westerns for Paramount in the 1960s, as well as other movies in other genres, such as the detective drama Rogue's Gallery in 1968, and the science-fiction film Night of the Lepus, for MGM, that featured the American Southwest menaced by giant mutant rabbits.[5]

    On March 3, 1988, Lyles was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6840 Hollywood Blvd.

    Lyles' last work was as consulting producer on the HBO television series Deadwood, created by David Milch.

    Personal

    Lyles married actress Martha Vickers in March 1948, but the couple divorced that September.[6]

    He married Martha French in 1955.

    On September 27, 2013, Lyles died at his Los Angeles home. He was 95 and survived by his wife; they had no children.[7]

    Filmography
    Year Title Role Notes Distributor
    1960 Raymie Producer Movies Allied Artists Pictures
    1963 The Young and the Brave Metro Goldwyn Mayer
    1964 Law of the Lawless Paramount Pictures
    Stage to Thunder Rock
    Young Fury
    1965 Black Spurs
    Town Tamer
    Apache Uprising
    1966 Johnny Reno
    Waco
    1967 Red Tomahawk
    Hostile Guns
    Fort Utah
    1968 Arizona Bushwhackers
    Buckskin
    Rogue's Gallery
    1972 Night of the Lepus Metro Goldwyn Mayer
    1975 The Last Day TV movie
    1977 Flight to Holocaust
    1979 A Christmas for Boomer
    1990The Hunt for Red OctoberAdvisor #1Movies Paramount Pictures

    References
    1. McLellan, Dennis. "Longtime Paramount Studios producer A.C. Lyles dies at 95". latimes.com. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
    2. "A.C. Lyles". Internet Movie Database. Archived from the original on December 10, 2006. Retrieved December 11, 2006.
    3. p.114 Joyner, C. Courtney A.C. Lyles Interview in The Westerners: Interviews With Actors, Directors, Writers and Producers McFarland, October 14, 2009
    4. Simon, Alex and Keefe, Terry A C Lyles Interview The Hollywood Interview
    5. K. H. (October 24, 1972). "Persuasive power makes a movie producer". The Christian Science Monitor. ProQuest 511377994.
    6. "Martha Vickers, Movie Actress, Given Divorce". Joplin Globe. Missouri, Joplin. Associated Press. September 29, 1948. p. 3. Retrieved November 26, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. open access
    7. "VETERAN HOLLYWOOD PRODUCER A.C. LYLES DIES". AP. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2013.

    Further reading
    • Paramount Through the Memories & Stories of A.C. Lyles (DVD), Paramount Home Entertainment, 2014. ISBN 1-4157-8072-2.
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