Stephen E. Lyons
1955-2020
Stephen E. Lyons in production on “Across the Pacific” in 2018. (Photo Courtesy Moreno/Lyons Productions)
We are shocked and saddened by the news that Producer/Writer/ Director Stephen Lyons of Moreno/Lyons Productions has passed away at the age of sixty-five. The Pan Am Community is deeply indebted to Steve for finally accomplishing what has been a long and cherished goal: “Across the Pacific”, a documentary history for public television about Pan American World Airways.
Steve was always ready to cast his ideas for the future with a plan, which put him in the right lane to get things accomplished. His lifetime’s work encompassed much more than the documentary project through which we came to know him, but it was because of his work on “Across the Pacific” that we got to see just how good he was at his chosen profession.
Steve had the necessary talents, experience, and imagination to make “Across the Pacific” a reality. Without him, the documentary would not have succeeded. It was Steve who stuck with the dream and succeeded where others had failed. It was his determination that carried the project past numerous obstacles all the way to its successful culmination.
We owe a lot to Steve Lyons, probably in ways that have yet to reveal themselves.
We hope his family will be able to take some small comfort in knowing that Steve's legacy will include the lasting gratitude from the thousands of people who have seen, or will see, the history that he brought to life. Many of those people - former Pan Am folks - had been hoping for years that someone would do justice to the historical record of the company they identify so strongly with, even after all these years.
Thank you, Steve.
January 27, 2021 at 9:00 pm NOVA Science Series on PBS will rebroadcast "FORGOTTEN GENIUS" - the story of the African-American Chemist Percy Julian - by Steve Lyons. It will be aired nationwide and the broadcast will be dedicated to Stephen and note his passing at the end. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/schedule/
