(Courtesy of Jack Tillmany)

Beth Marion Birth name: Betty Goettsche 1912 - 2003

Beth Marion was born Betty Goettsche in Clinton, Iowa in 1912 to George Paul Goettsche (1880 - 1961) and Marion Beth Stuart (1889 - 1968). Her parents were traveling theater performers but later divorced. Her father's stage name was "George Paul".

In the 1930 census, 17 year old Beth (listed as "Betty") was living in Evanston, Cook County, Illinois with mother Marion, who was now married to Lloyd D. Heth. Beth attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois for a couple years, and did modeling and some theater in Chicago. Then came more modeling and stage work in California ... and a brief stint doing movies in Hollywood.

Her screen career lasted about five years and she was the leading lady in about a dozen 1930s B westerns starring Buck Jones, Johnny Mack Brown, Bob Steele, Tom Tyler, Jack Luden, Ken Maynard, Kermit Maynard, and George Houston.

Beth married stuntman Cliff Lyons (1901 - 1974) on November 9, 1938 in Los Angeles and retired from film work to raise a family. They had two children: Clifford Russell Lyons, born July 28, 1942 and Garrett Lloyd Lyons, born January 6, 1945. The couple divorced in the mid 1950s.

On June 2, 1955 in Los Angeles, she married architect, contractor, and home builder Julian Koch and they later moved to Oregon.

Beth passed away on February 18, 2003, at her home in Jacksonville, Jackson County, Oregon.

  Although some of the data is incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has information on Beth Marion: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0547945/

Death notice for 90 year old Beth Marion in the February 28, 2003 Los Angeles Times: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111021336/death-notice-for-western-movie-actress/

(Courtesy of Bobby J. Copeland) Beth Marion at the 1990 Raleigh Western Film Fair. (From Old Corral collection) Above from L-to-R are Dick Jones, Kermit Maynard and Beth Marion (who was mysteriously billed as "Betty Lloyd") in a lobby card from WILD HORSE ROUND-UP (Ambassador-Conn, 1936).  Kermit was Ken Maynard's younger brother.  As an adult, Dick Jones was TV's BUFFALO BILL JR. and the helper to Jock Mahoney in THE RANGE RIDER TV show. (From Old Corral collection) Above from left to right are Walter Miller, Ken Maynard, Beth Marion and John Elliott in Maynard's THE FUGITIVE SHERIFF (Larry Darmour/Columbia, 1936). (Courtesy of Minard Coons) Above - Beth Marion and Ken Maynard atop Tarzan from their days working for Producer Larry Darmour at Columbia in the mid 1930s. Beth autographed this photo for Minard Coons. (From Old Corral collection) Beth co-starred with Tom Tyler in the Sam Katzman/Victory Pictures production PHANTOM OF THE RANGE (Victory, 1936). Above is an enlargement of the bottom right corner of the above title card showing Tyler, Beth Marion, and Sammy Cohen ... note the Victory winged logo. (Courtesy of Calvin Castine) Taking a leisurely ride are Beth Marion and hero Tom Tyler in a lobby card from RIP ROARIN' BUCKAROO (Victory, 1936).

(From Old Corral collection)

Left is stunt man Cliff Lyons. He married B western leading lady Beth Marion in 1938 and they divorced in the mid 1950s. In the 1920s, he had a brief starring career as 'Tex' Lyons. His career included stunt work in many Mascot serials. And in B westerns, he doubled Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, Bob Baker, Johnny Mack Brown, Ken Maynard, many others. Circa 1948, Lyons began a relationship with director John Ford and longtime friend John Wayne that lasted through 15 films, the first being FORT APACHE (1948). In many of the Wayne and Ford films, Lyons wound up doing stunts as well as stunt coordinator / second unit director duties.

Above - Cliff Lyons doubling Tom Mix and chasing down Charles Middleton in a screen capture from THE MIRACLE RIDER (Mascot, 1935), Chapter 15 - "Justice Rides the Plains".