RIP Nick Glennie-Smith

 

Movie Musi UK

August 19, 2026

 

Nick Glennie-Smith, 1951-2026

Composer, conductor and musician Nick Glennie-Smith died on August 17, 2026, at his home in Los Angeles after a period of ill-health. He was 74 years old. 

One of the key figures in the development of the modern Hollywood action score, Glennie-Smith enjoyed a career spanning pop music, film, television and live performance. He was best known for The Rock, The Man in the Iron Mask, We Were Soldiers and Secretariat, as well as for his decades-long association with Hans Zimmer as composer, conductor and musical director.

Nicholas Glennie-Smith was born in London, England, on October 3, 1951. He began his professional career as a keyboard player, joining the progressive-rock group Wally in the 1970s and later performing or recording with artists including Leo Sayer, Cliff Richard, Roger Daltrey and Paul McCartney. He also worked with Roger Waters on When the Wind Blows and Radio K.A.O.S., and performed at Waters’s enormous 1990 production of The Wall in Berlin.

During the late 1980s Glennie-Smith became associated with Stanley Myers, and then subsequently with Hans Zimmer’s Media Ventures studio, which saw him relocate from the UK to Los Angeles. Initially he contributed additional music, conducting, keyboard performances, arrangements and orchestrations to films including K2, Cool Runnings, The House of the Spirits, The Lion King, Bad Boys, Crimson Tide and Beyond Rangoon. His combination of orchestral technique, electronic programming and practical experience as a performing musician made him particularly suited to the rapidly developing Media Ventures sound.

His breakthrough came with Michael Bay’s The Rock (1996), on which Glennie-Smith, Zimmer and Harry Gregson-Williams shared principal composing duties. The score’s pounding percussion, massed brass, synthesizers and broad heroic themes became hugely influential on Hollywood action music of the following decade and established Glennie-Smith as a composer in his own right.

He followed with Fire Down Below and Home Alone 3 in 1997 before writing one of his finest scores for Randall Wallace’s The Man in the Iron Mask (1998). Its sweeping themes, large orchestra and mixture of romance, tragedy and adventure gave Glennie-Smith an opportunity to work on a grand symphonic scale. The same year he scored Disney’s The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride, revealing a warmer and more lyrical side of his musical personality.

Wallace reunited with Glennie-Smith for We Were Soldiers (2002), perhaps the composer’s most emotionally powerful score. Written for orchestra, chorus and distinctive ethnic instruments, the music combined martial intensity with elegiac writing for the soldiers and their families. Glennie-Smith later worked with Wallace again on Heaven Is for Real (2014).

Other major assignments included Highlander: Endgame (2000), the television epic Attila (2001), Ella Enchanted (2004), A Sound of Thunder (2005), the Hungarian historical drama Children of Glory (2006) and Disney’s Secretariat (2010). He also composed extensively for the French historical theme park Puy du Fou, developing large-scale music for several of its spectacular productions.

Glennie-Smith remained equally important behind the podium. He conducted scores for films including the Pirates of the Caribbean and Transformers series, The Simpsons Movie, X-Men: First Class, Rango and numerous other productions associated with Zimmer and his collaborators. In 2012 he conducted the orchestra for the Academy Awards ceremony, and later served as musical director for Hans Zimmer’s enormously successful live concerts.

Glennie-Smith was married to his wife Jan for more than three decades, and the couple had four children. His son, Seth Glennie-Smith, is also a music editor and composer.

GLENNIE-SMITH, Nick (Nicholas Hugh Glennie-Smith)

Born: 10/3 1951, London, England, U.K.

Died: 8/17/2026, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

 

Nick Glennie-Smith’s westerns – music department:

Rango – 2011

The Lone Ranger - 2013

RIP John Irvin

 

John Irvin, British film-maker who directed Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, dies aged 86

The director’s BBC hit opened the door to Hollywood action films including Hamburger Hill, The Dogs of War and Raw Deal

The Guardian

By Sian Cain

August 19, 2026

 

John Irvin, the British film-maker who directed the Bafta-winning BBC miniseries Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, as well as films including Hamburger Hill, The Dogs of War and Raw Deal, has died aged 86.

Irvin died “peacefully at home” on 11 August, surrounded by his family, his producer Claire Evans confirmed to the Guardian.

Over a 50-year career that spanned TV, documentaries and action films, Irvin was known for his versatility, working with everyone from Fred Astaire to Arnold Schwarzenegger. His most famous work was Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, the John le Carré adaptation starring Alec Guinness as the spy George Smiley; Guinness once wrote of his admiration of Irvin, “a director with balls behind the camera!”

Born in 1940 in Wallasey, Cheshire, Irvin started out as a student at the London Film School and worked at British Movietone News. In 1963 he released his first film, the documentary Gala Day, and a documentary short, Inheritance, which was narrated by Richard Burton and won Irvin his first Bafta.

After he documented the North Yemen war, Irvin said MI6 took an interest in his work but he was never formally enlisted as a spy. “I was far too left wing, for a start, but was anti-apartheid, anti-war, anti-nuclear. They were probably well aware of my leftwing activities, so I was certainly not involved in any hanky-panky,” he said in a 2021 interview.

Irvin directed several short films for the BBC and ITV, including 1969’s The Peasants Revolt, starring Anthony Hopkins in his first TV role. In the 1970s he moved into TV drama, directing The Nearly Man, Hard Times starring Timothy West, and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy with Guinness, Ian Richardson, Patrick Stewart and Beryl Reid. The miniseries won two Baftas from six nominations and was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding limited series.

The success of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy opened the door to Hollywood, with Irvin directing The Dogs of War (1980) starring Christopher Walken and Tom Berenger; the horror film Ghost Story (1981) starring Fred Astaire; Champions (1984) starring John Hurt; Turtle Diary (1985) starring Ben Kingsley, Glenda Jackson and Michael Gambon; Raw Deal (1986) starring Schwarzenegger; Hamburger Hill (1987) starring Don Cheadle and Dylan McDermott; and Next of Kin (1989) starring Patrick Swayze and Liam Neeson.

In 1991 Irvin directed Robin Hood with Patrick Bergin and a 20-year-old Uma Thurman; the film was deliberately commissioned as a rival to Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves starring Kevin Costner. While Irvin’s film was released two months before Costner’s, the latter was a megahit at the box office. “It was very much a stand-alone film with the aim of giving Kevin Costner’s version a good kicking if we could,” Irvin told the Guardian in May. “The studio wanted to go immediately because they wanted to pre-empt the Costner … I didn’t get involved in that mess, I just put my head down. Politics were left to the producers and executives.”

In the 2000s, Irvin focused on independent cinema, directing films such as Shiner (2000) with Michael Caine, The Moon And The Stars (2006) with Alfred Molina and Jonathan Pryce, and The Garden Of Eden (2008) with Jack Huston, Mena Suvari and Richard E Grant.

Irvin’s final film was 2016’s Mandela’s Gun, a biopic of Nelson Mandela focused on his experience as a guerrilla fighter for the African National Congress. Irvin was working on a new cut of the film at the time of his death.

Irvin is survived by his three children, Emilie, Luke and Amy, and two grandchildren.

IRVIN, John (John Charles Greenway Irvin)

Born: 5/7/1940, Wallasey, Cheshire, England, U.K.

Died: 8/11/2026, England, U.K.

 

John Irvin’s western – director:

Crazy Horse (TV) - 1996

RIP Fulvio Lucisano

 

Fulvio Lucisano, the historic film producer has died. He was 98 years old

In his long career he has produced over one hundred and thirty films including "Three tigers against three tigers", "Lobster for breakfast", "Groundhog Day" and "Fantozzi the return"

la Republica

By Chiara Ugolini

August 18, 2026

 

Fulvio Lucisano, one of the most important film producers with seventy years of career behind him, has died. He was 98. Lucisano helped write the history of Italian cinema with his production company Italian International Film and Lucisano Media Group and was president of Anica from 1998 to 2001. To give notice of it the daughter Paola who with her sister Federica has collected the artistic legacy in a post in which she writes: "Rest in peace Dad."

Fulvio Lucisano, one of the most important film producers, with a career spanning seventy years, has died. He was 98 years old. Lucisano helped shape the history of Italian cinema through his production companies, Italian International Film and Lucisano Media Group, and served as president of ANICA from 1998 to 2001. The news was announced by his daughter Paola—who, along with her sister Federica, has carried on his artistic legacy—in a post reading: "Rest in peace, Dad."

Born in Rome in 1928, Lucisano took his first steps in the industry in the late 1940s at Istituto Luce, focusing on documentary production. Although he earned a law degree from Sapienza University, he had already been captivated by cinema before completing his studies. In 1949, he participated in the making of “Anno Santo” (Holy Year), a documentary about the 1950 Jubilee. This marked the beginning of a long period dedicated to documentaries, with around three hundred works produced independently and for Documento Film. He transitioned to feature films in 1955 with “I quattro del getto tonante”, and in 1958 he founded Italian International Film (IIF), which would become one of the longest-running and most significant entities in Italian cinema. He served as its honorary president, while his daughters Federica and Paola hold the roles of CEO and president, respectively.

Lucisano produced hundreds of films over his long career, including “Tre tigri contro tre tigri” (1977), “Aragosta a colazione” (1979), “Ricomincio da tre” (1981), “Il ras del quartiere” (1983), “Il tassinaro” (1983), “Un ragazzo di Calabria” (1987), “Il grande cocomero” (1993), “Fantozzi - Il ritorno” (1996), “Notte prima degli esami” (2006), “Non ci resta che il crimine” (2019), and “Tramite amicizia” (2023). Among his greatest achievements was placing his faith in Massimo Troisi, for whom he produced his first film. “Winning the David di Donatello for “Ricomincio da tre” came as a surprise,” he told la Repubblica a few years ago. “I had fallen in love with Massimo Troisi’s work in the theater; I was struck by how the crowd listened to him and enjoyed themselves—even those who didn’t understand Neapolitan. Everyone advised me against making the film. The only piece of advice I gave him—since he spoke in dialect—was: ‘Repeat the words a few times; that way, by the third time, people are bound to understand the line.’”

Since 2004, IIF has also been involved in television productions (ranging from “Mina Settembre” to “Liberi tutti”), and, starting in the 1990s, it partnered with Aurelio De Laurentiis to establish a chain of multiplex cinemas in Rome. In October 2007, the President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, awarded Fulvio Lucisano the title of “Cavaliere del Lavoro” (Knight of the Order of Merit for Labour).

With an impressive career spanning over 600 films—both produced and distributed—Lucisano worked across every genre, amassing five David di Donatello awards (including the prize for “Il grande cocomero” and a Special Lifetime Achievement David in 2009), four Nastro d'Argento awards, and two Oscar nominations. Lucisano’s funeral will take place tomorrow morning at 10:30 AM in Rome at the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo in Piazza del Popolo. His daughters, Paola and Federica, have announced that a memorial service will be held at a later date, following the Venice Film Festival.

LUCISANO, Fulvio

Born: 8/1/1928, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Died: 8/18/2026, Rome, Lazio, Italy

 

Fulvio Lucisano’s westerns – producer:

Savage Gringo -1966

2 Crosses at Danger Pass – 1967

They Still Call Me Amen - 1973

RIP Laura Cardoso

 Laura Cardoso, legend of Brazilian soap operas, dies aged 98

euro news

By Joana Mourão Carvalho

8/18/2026

 

Her death was confirmed by relatives via the actress's official Instagram. On TV she shone in telenovelas including "Chocolate com Pimenta", "Caminho das Índias" and "Gabriela".

Actress Laura Cardoso has died at the age of 98 in the early hours of Tuesday in São Paulo. Her death was confirmed (source in Portuguese) by the family through the official Instagram profile of the Brazilian actress.

"Our great star has said goodbye to us. Laura Cardoso will forever be in our hearts. Thank you for everything, our beloved and eternal Laura Cardoso," reads the message posted on the social network.

According to Fátima Cardoso, the actress's daughter, reports G1 (source in Portuguese), Laura died on Monday night after feeling unwell at her home in the Sumaré neighbourhood, in the western district of São Paulo.

With a career spanning more than 80 years in television, radio, theatre and cinema, Laura Cardoso is regarded as one of the leading figures in Brazilian drama. Born in 1927, she began working as a teenager, at the age of 15, in radio soap operas on Rádio Cosmos

She made her television debut in 1952, at the age of 25, in the programme "Tribunal do Coração" on TV Tupi. Since then, she worked on more than 60 telenovelas, making her the Brazilian actress with the largest number of titles to her name.

The actress joined TV Globo in 1981, in the telenovela "Brilhante" by Gilberto Braga. In the following decades, she appeared in more than 20 productions on the channel, including "Caminho das Índias", "Gabriela", "Chocolate com Pimenta", "Império" and "O Outro Lado do Paraíso".

Her last role on television was in the telenovela "A Dona do Pedaço", in 2019, broadcast in Portugal by SIC, in which she played Matilde.

Throughout her eight-decade career, Laura Cardoso was recognised with Brazil's main arts awards. Among them are five APCA (Associação Paulista de Críticos de Arte) trophies, the Oscarito Award at the Gramado Festival for her contribution to Brazilian cinema, and in 2006 she was also honoured by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva with the Order of Cultural Merit, one of Brazil's highest cultural distinctions.

Her last project was the short film "Dona Rosinha", released in 2025, which addresses the abandonment of elderly people.

CARDOSO, Laura

Born: 9/13/1927, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

Died:  8/17/2026, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

 

Laura Cardoso’s western – actress:

Corisco, O Diabo Loiro – 1969 (Tia de Corisco)

RIP Peggy Webber

 

Peggy Webber, Prolific Radio and Film Actress Who Worked With Welles and Hitchcock, Dies at 100

The Eric Alper

August 17, 2026

 

Peggy Webber, an American actress and writer whose career spanned nearly seven decades across film, radio, television, and stage, died on August 15, 2026, in Napa, California, at the age of 100.

Born in Laredo, Texas, the daughter of a wildcat oil driller, Webber began performing almost as soon as she could talk, entertaining theatre audiences during intermissions before the age of three. She made her radio debut at just 12 years old on San Antonio station WOAI and graduated from Tucson High School in 1942, where she was active in dramatics. By 1946, Time magazine was already highlighting her vocal range, noting that in just three years she had voiced 150 different characters across roughly 2,500 broadcasts.

Webber made her film debut in 1946’s ‘Her Adventurous Night’ and went on to appear in Orson Welles’s 1948 adaptation of ‘Macbeth,’ playing Lady Macduff. She later appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Wrong Man’ and the 1952 film ‘Submarine Command.’ On television, she became a familiar presence across dozens of anthology series and Westerns throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including recurring and guest roles on ‘Dragnet,’ ‘Gunsmoke,’ ‘Cheyenne,’ and ‘Wagon Train,’ and later appeared in ‘The Waltons,’ ‘Marcus Welby, M.D.,’ and ‘Night Gallery.’ She lent her voice to characters in ‘The Smurfs’ during the 1980s and continued working into the 2000s, with one of her final credits coming in a 2005 episode of ‘The Inside.’

Beyond performing, Webber built a substantial career as a writer, director, and producer, credited with writing and directing roughly 250 stage plays and radio and television programs over her career. She served as writer and producer for the early television program ‘Treasures of Literature,’ which the Television Academy named the most popular television program of 1949, and in her later decades she founded the California Artists Radio Theatre, continuing to write, direct, and produce hundreds of new audio programs. In 2014, she became the first woman to receive the Norman Corwin Award for Excellence in Audio Theatre, recognizing a lifetime of achievement in the medium.

Webber was married twice, first to Dr. Robert Marshall Sinskey, and later to actor Sean McClory, to whom she was married from 1983 until his death in 2003. She had three children.

Across nearly a century of life and decades spent working across nearly every format American entertainment had to offer, Webber left behind an extraordinary body of work and a reputation as one of radio drama’s most dedicated and versatile champions.

WEBBER, Peggy (Margaret Webber)

Born: 9/15/1925, Laredo, Texas, U.S.A.

Died: 8/15/2026, Napa, California, U.S.A.

 

Peggy Webber’s westerns – actress:

Cheyenne (TV) - 1956 (Ella McIntyre)

Frontier (TV) - 1956 (Meg Horn)

Gunsmoke (TV) - 1957 (Flora Stancil)

Zane Grey Theatre (TV) - 1957 (Norah)

Man Without a Gun (TV) - 1959 (Kate Hutchins)

Trackdown (TV) - 1959 (Nora)

Wagon Train (TV) - 1959 (Millie Collins)

Wanted: Dead or Alive (TV) - 1959 (Minnie Lee Blake)

Law of the Plainsman (TV) - 1960 (Hattie Mullen)

The Rebel (TV) - 1960 (Juanita Flynn)

Laramie (TV) - 1962 (Martha Grundy)

The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (TV) – 1968 (old lady)

RIP Jan Frycz

 

‘A great artist’: Jan Frycz, acclaimed Polish stage and screen actor, dies at 72

Frycz bagged some of Poland’s most prestigious acting honors over a career spanning nearly five decades.

TVP World

By Ammar Anwer

8/17/2026

 

Jan Frycz, one of Poland’s most acclaimed stage and screen actors whose career spanned nearly five decades, has died aged 72.

Frycz passed away at his family home on Saturday surrounded by his loved ones, Poland’s National Theatre in Warsaw announced on Monday. 

“It is with profound sorrow that we received the news of the death of Jan Frycz, one of the most distinguished Polish actors,” the theatre said, calling him a “great artist.”

The Krakow native first stepped on the stage in the late 1970s, and build a stellar career in theatre, film and television. 

He won individual prizes at Poland’s most prestigious film awards on three occasions and gained popular acclaim for his role as Dario, a chilling veteran gangster in HBO Europe’s 2018 crime series Blinded by the Lights.

He remained professionally active until his final days and had begun rehearsals for a new production of Aeschylus’ ancient Greek tragedy Oresteia just days before his death.

Five decades on stage

Frycz graduated from the State Higher School of Theatre in Krakow in 1978 and made his professional stage debut the same year.

Over the following decades, he became one of the leading Polish actors of his generation, playing nearly 200 roles across theatre, film, television and radio.

His career included collaborations with some of Poland’s most celebrated film and stage directors, including Krystian Lupa, Jerzy Jarocki and Oscar-winning filmmaker Andrzej Wajda.

Frycz won the Polish Film Award – also known as the Eagle – for supporting roles in Pornography (2003), The Welts (2004) and 25 Years of Innocence (2021). 

His other honors also included the prestigious Aleksander Zelwerowicz Award for outstanding theatre acting and Poland’s Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis, awarded for distinguished contributions to Polish culture.

Among Frycz’s most notable theatrical roles were Ivan in Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, Pontius Pilate in Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita, and leading parts in productions of King Lear, Uncle Vanya and Ivanov.

Working until his final days

“Jan Frycz was an incredibly important member of our ensemble – not only a great artist, but also a friend and, for many of us, a mentor,” the National Theatre in Warsaw said.

“We will greatly miss his charisma during rehearsals, his laughter behind the scenes, his long conversations and insights. Above all, we will miss him as a wonderful human being.”

Frycz had been associated with the National Theatre from 2006, having previously spent a brief period there in the early 1980s.

In May, he received an acting award at the Kalisz Theatre Meetings, one of Poland’s oldest festivals devoted to the art of acting, for his role as the King in Jan Klata’s Polish Thermopylae.

The National Theatre said Frycz had begun rehearsing for Luk Perceval’s production of Oresteia in the week before his death.

FRYCZ, Jan

Born: 5/15/1954, Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland

Died: 8/15/2026, Warsaw, Poland

 

Jan Frycz’s western – narrator:

Miasteczko Brighthope – 2023 [narrator]

RIP Phil Lyne

 

Legendary ProRodeo Hall of Famer Phil Lyne passes away

Pro Rodeo

By Tracy Renck

August 15, 2026

 

ProRodeo Hall of Famer Phil Lyne, considered one of the best cowboys in PRORODEO history, passed away Aug. 14 in Cotulla, Texas. He was 79.

Lyne's decorated PRORODEO career was highlighted by him winning the Rodeo Cowboys Association – the precursor to the PRCA – All-Around World Championships in 1971 and 1972 and the Tie-Down Roping World Championships in 1971 and 1972 as well.

Then, he captured the 1990 PRCA Steer Roping World Championships.

He also shined when the spotlight was the brightest at the National Finals Rodeo and National Finals Steer Roping. He won the tie-down roping average in 1971 and 1972, the 1972 bull riding average and the NFSR average in 1983 and 1986.

Lyne was the 1969 RCA Overall Rookie of the Year, and he also won the Linderman Award – an honor given to select cowboys willing and able to perform at both ends of the arena –  in 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1976. 

"We crossed paths quite a few times – and I sure thought a lot of him, and he was definitely a hero of mine," said ProRodeo Hall of Famer Ty Murray, a nine-time PRCA World Champion to the PRORODEO Sports News. "He's absolutely one of the greatest to ever play the game and the most versatile. Then, you look at the span between his world championships, it's a big span. He was a Hell of a competitor, and it's crazy to me to see somebody that can do it that good and for that long. I had so much respect and admiration for Phil."

Bobby Steiner, the 1973 RCA Bull Riding World Champion, became friends with Lyne in the late 1960s and was well aware of how talented Lyne was in the arena.

"I first started on a permit in, like, 1968. And Phil was college rodeoing – and there was talk of him then. You know, he was just that guy," Steiner said. "I'm just glad he was really more serious about his calf roping and didn't go as hard in bull riding because he was just one of the toughest guys to get on the ground ever. He was just that tough, so you knew you were going to have to beat him.

"I'm glad he took roping more seriously and the all-around fit in his plans with bull riding. He never dedicated himself to being the champ in bull riding. You know what I mean? He was a champion calf roper, but he could kick your ass in a bull riding. The top three cowboys (of all-time) in my book are Larry Mahan, Ty Murray and Phil Lyne."

Lyne qualified for the NFR six times – tie-down roping (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973); and bull riding (1971, 1972). He added 10 more qualifications to the National Finals Steer Roping – 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1990.

"I was never one of those people who set goals," Lyne said in "A Complete History of the First 50 Years of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo". "I just wanted to do my best every time I went out there. I always thought that when you set a goal, you gave yourself a stopping point. I just always wanted to be the best I could be from the day I started rodeo in high school. I loved doing it. I started calf roping and eventually started riding bulls. Everything just fell into place for me all along the line.

"After a while, I would get to an airport pretty loaded up with stuff, but I liked doing it all. I had friends in every event, and they helped me out a lot. When I was steer wrestling, I rode horses that belonged to Jim Smith and Roy Duvall."

Lyne was inducted into the 1979 inaugural class of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Lyne grew up in George West, Texas. He started out in the Texas Youth Rodeo Association, then the National High School Rodeo Association, and the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association at several Texas colleges starting and ending up with Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, with stints at colleges in Uvalde and San Marcos. By the time Lyne entered PRORODEO in 1969, he had won 42 saddles and quite a bit of prize money.

"He was a hero of mine. I mean, he is to a lot of people," said fellow ProRodeo Hall of Famer Guy Allen, who won a record 18 PRCA Steer Roping World Championships. "And he was a super, super great guy. I mean, as honest as the day is long. He's one of the best guys you'd ever know. I think what made him so great was his desire to win. He wanted to win. He didn't want to just compete and hear his name called. He wanted to win. What made him so successful was the effort that he put into practice. It was full contact with him when he practiced. He wasn't out there just to pass the time. He was out there to rope and win. He practiced, and he practiced hard. That's what made Phil Lyne great, the practice and the work ethic that he put into it."

Allen and Lyne traveled together for five years in the late 1980s.

"We used to also enter some rodeos in team roping together," Allen said. "I was heading and he was heeling. I didn't have a (steer roping) horse for one year, and he had a backup. So, I rode his backup horse, and he rode his good one. Then, I'd head on his good (steer roping) horse, and he'd heel on his backup. We had an inline trailer and a station wagon, and we drove around to rodeos."

When Lyne won his 1990 PRCA Steer Roping World Championship, it was Allen who finished second. The title was decided in Round 10.

Lyne, 43 at the time, turned in a disappointing 19.3-second run after he missed with his first loop and was forced to throw a second. Allen answered with a quick 12.7-second performance – but a broken barrier pushed that time to 22.7 seconds. That allowed Lyne to capture the title with $39,854 by a mere $85 over Allen.

"We were traveling together and we were winning first and second," Allen said. "I was ahead of him going into the (NFSR), and then we roped there. He was still in the average, and I'd went out of the average. It's kind of a funny story, really. His wife, Sarah Kay, came up to me and said, 'God let him win.' I said, 'Sarah Kay, I'm not going to let him win.' I broke the barrier and probably could've won, but it wasn't on purpose. I'll promise you that."

Tanner Green, Lyne's grandson, and PRCA tie-down roper and team roper, relished the time he spent with his legendary grandfather.

"As a kid, I – it was very hard to learn from him because he was very natural at everything. So as a kid, it was pretty hard because he really didn't break stuff down," Green said. "But now that I'm older, I see what he was doing and I understand it better. He's the reason I am the way I am, and I will never do what he did in the rodeo world, but he taught me how to be humble and not let the highs get too high and the lows get too low.

"He was the reason I did it, and he's the only reason I could go. He taught me everything. I lived with him for all my life, 28 years, and he taught me everything. He was a dad to me, is what he was. He was my dad."

LYNE WAS A HUMBLE LEGEND

As talented Lyne was, what set him apart was how humble he was about his accomplishments.

 

"Phil was just a cowboy. I mean, nothing ever went to his head at all. He was a hunter and a cowboy, and that's what he was every day," Steiner said. "There are not many people who you can say that about, but he was just a talented guy who in his mind was just a basic cowboy. He would talk to you and stuff, but he never was about, 'Man, I did this,' or, 'I did that.' You'd never know (about his accomplishments)."

Murray also appreciated Lyne's demeanor.

"He was such a gentleman. He always gave me a lot of praise and every time I would see him, I got my picture taken with him. Every time," Murray said. "To me, he just seemed like a world-class human being. He was not a flamboyant guy. He was not a guy who was seeking attention. Larry (Mahan) was a lot more flamboyant and a lot more out there with the media. And I think Phil always just kind of shied away from that. I think Phil mainly just liked doing cowboy stuff.

"I just thought he was always such a classy guy every time I was around him. It also felt like he and I totally understood each other."

Green summed up his grandfather's legacy perfectly.

"You almost had to pry the rodeo talk out of him. He really didn't talk about it very much," Green said. "He'd rather talk about coyote hunting or something like his cow dogs. He wasn't big on talking about rodeo and himself. He did what he wanted to, and he hung it up and never went back and never looked back.

"There will never ever be another Phil Lyne. I don't think there will ever be a man as tough, as humble, or as handy as him ever again. I'm not saying that because he was my granddad. I mean, that's the toughest human being I think I've ever seen."

Lyne is survived by his wife, Sarah; and daughters, Amanda and Samantha, who qualified for the 2014 NFR in barrel racing and is married to world champion bull rider JB Mauney.

LYNE, Phil (Philip Lyne)

Born: 1/18/1947, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A.

Died: 8/14/2026, Cotulla, Texas, U.S.A.

 

Phil Lyne’s western – himself:

The Great American Cowboy - 1974