Born in
Pittsburgh, Lyons was a life member of
The Actors Studio. His first of seven
Broadway appearances was in February 1943, in a short-lived production of Walter Livingston Faust's
This Rock, produced by
Eddie Dowling. He co-starred in the Broadway production of
Witness for the Prosecution for two years (1954–56). His other Broadway credits are
Harriet (1943–44),
Death of a Salesman (1949–50),
An Enemy of the People (1950–51),
The Trip to Bountiful (1953) and
Masquerade (1958). In 1953, Lyons played a police detective on the CBS drama series
Pentagon Confidential (renamed
Pentagon U.S.A. by second episode). He appeared in 1954 as Steve Rockwell on the
CBS daytime drama
Woman with a Past. 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 (1967–74), he appeared on Burr's
Perry Mason, in the 1965 episode "The Case of the Wrathful Wraith". He also made guest appearances on nearly two dozen other series including
The Dick Van Dyke Show,
Gunsmoke (“Bently”),
Have Gun – Will Travel,
The Fugitive,
Ben Casey,
Star Trek ("
A Taste of Armageddon"),
The Twilight Zone ("
King Nine Will Not Return"),
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour,
Bonanza ("Shining in Spain") and
The Untouchables. He also appeared in films including ''
The Young Don't Cry and Kiss Her Goodbye''. ==Death==