From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Gene Lyons (February 9, 1921 – July 8, 1974) was an American television actor from Pittsburgh, best known for his role as police commissioner Dennis Randall on the NBC detective series Ironside starring Raymond Burr. A life member of The Actors Studio, Lyons was in the Broadway production of Witness for the Prosecution for two years. His other Broadway credits include Masquerade (1958), The Trip to Bountiful (1953), Harriet (1942), and This Rock (1942). I ...