Andrew Craddock Lyles Jr. (May 17, 1918 – September 27, 2013) was an American film producer for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

, who is best known for producing a variety of Westerns in the 1950s and '60s.

Career

Born in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

, 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, and eventually became assistant to the producer on ''

The Mountain The Mountain (french: La Montagne) was a political group during the French Revolution. Its members, called the Montagnards (), sat on the highest benches in the National Convention. They were the most radical group and opposed the Girondins. Th ...

'', released in 1954. His first role as full producer was on

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He ...

's sole directorial effort, the 1957 ''

Short Cut to Hell ''Short Cut to Hell'' is a 1957 American film noir, filmed in black-and-white VistaVision, starring Robert Ivers and Georgann Johnson.. The film is the only directorial effort by famous actor James Cagney. ''Short Cut to Hell'' is a remake of ...

'' (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 , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

film ''

The Young and the Brave ''The Young and The Brave'' (also known by the working title ''Attong'') is a feature film released in 1963 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer which depicts the quality of bravery of a group of prisoners of war that escaped North Korean capture, their youthfu ...

'' for

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

. 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. 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 A rogues' gallery (or rogues gallery) is a police collection of mug shots or other images of criminal suspects kept for identification purposes. History In 1855, Allan Pinkerton, founder of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, established a ...

'' in 1968, and the science-fiction film ''

Night of the Lepus ''Night of the Lepus'' (also known as ''Rabbits'') is a 1972 American science fiction horror film directed by William F. Claxton and produced by A. C. Lyles. Based upon Russell Braddon's 1964 science fiction novel '' The Year of the Angry Rabbit' ...

'', for MGM, that featured the American Southwest menaced by giant mutant rabbits. On March 3, 1988, Lyles was awarded a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...

located at 6840

Hollywood Blvd Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywood ...

. Lyles' last work was as consulting producer on the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

television series '' Deadwood'', created by David Milch.

Personal

Lyles married actress

Martha Vickers Martha Vickers (born Martha MacVicar; May 28, 1925 – November 2, 1971) was an American model and actress. Early life Vickers was born Martha MacVicar in Ann Arbor, Michigan; her father was an automobile dealer. She began her career as a mo ...

in March 1948, but the couple divorced that September. 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.

Filmography

References

External links

Wildest Westerns: A.C. Lyles: Gentleman of the West
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lyles, A.C. 1918 births 2013 deaths Paramount Pictures People from Jacksonville, Florida Film producers from Florida Television producers from Florida

Career

Personal

Filmography

References

Further reading

External links