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Who Was That Masked Man?
by Bill O'Neal
This question was
asked hundreds of times on radio, television, and film. That masked
man, of course, was played most memorably on the radio by Brace Beemer
and on TV and movie screens by Clayton Moore. There were 6 motion pictures
and 169 television episodes featuring the Lone Ranger, but the character
first achieved popularity on network radio.
The
Lone Ranger was the creation of George W. Trendle. The initial broadcast
of The Lone Ranger emanated from Detroit’s WXYZ on January 31,
1933. The juvenile western show won immediate popularity, and within
a year it was the cornerstone of a new radio network—the Mutual Broadcasting
System. The thirty-minute program aired at 7:30, three nights a week.
On each of these three evenings, there were three live performances
to accommodate the three time zones.
The
initial episode, which was repeated on a regular basis through the years,
centered around the ambush of a band of Texas Rangers by the Butch Cavendish
Gang. The six Rangers were led by Captain Dan Reid whose small command
included his younger brother John. The Reid brothers were partners in
a rich silver mine, but they intended to stay with the Rangers until
the notorious Cavendish Gang was apprehended. However, they were guided
into a deadly ambush in Bryant’s Gap by their treacherous scout. Although
the Rangers fought bravely, they were gunned down one by one. Captain
Reid asked John to provide his wife and son Danny with income from the
silver mine. (George Trendle soon created another popular program, The
Green Hornet. A modern crime fighter, the Green Hornet was a secret
identity of crusading newspaperman Britt Reid, son of Danny Reid—and
great nephew of Lone Ranger!)
When
John Reid fell wounded beside his dead brother, all six Rangers lay
still on the canyon floor and the outlaws rode away. That night under
a bright moon, the fallen Rangers were discovered by an Indian. Finding
that John Reid was still alive, the Indian carried him to a cave and
tended his wounds. Then the Indian buried the five dead Rangers, creating
a sixth grave so that outlaws would not suspect there was a survivor.
When
John Reid recovered consciousness four days later, he recognized his
caretaker as Tonto, a boyhood friend whose life he once saved. Reid
would call Tonto “kemo sabe” (faithful friend).
“You only Ranger
left,” Tonto informed Reid. “You Lone Ranger.”
Reid
announced his intention to devote his life to the battle for justice,
and Tonto vowed to stay by his side. Reid devised a mask to conceal
his identity. He employed a retired Texas Ranger, Jim Blaine, to work
the silver mine, providing the Lone Ranger with income and silver bullets.
When he acquired a magnificent white stallion, Tonto remarked, “Him
shine like silver.”
 “Silver!”
exclaimed the Lone Ranger. “That would be a great name for him.” Silver
would save the life of the Lone Ranger on many future occasions.
The
Lone Ranger and Tonto soon captured the Cavendish Gang. When a later
episode saw Butch escape from prison, the Lone Ranger tracked him to
Bryant’s Gap and killed him. But Butch Cavendish was the only man the
Lone Ranger would ever kill. He apprehended countless villains but whenever
shooting was necessary, the Lone Ranger always wounded his opponent.
In addition to being an expert marksman and a superb fist fighter, he
was a master of disguise. He never drank or smoked, and he spoke flawless
grammar. Parents were delighted with such an exemplary role model.
“A
fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and hearty ‘Hi-Yo
Silver!’ The Lone Ranger rides again!” Excited audiences listened expectantly
for this introductory announcement, accompanied by the swelling orchestral
strains of The William Tell Overture. The best-remembered announcer
was Fred Foy, who joined the show in 1948 and continued until the final
episode aired in May 1956. The Lone Ranger was first played by George
Steinus, who was soon replaced by Earl Graser. In 1941 Brace Beemer
assumed the role, lending his rich bass voice to the Lone Ranger for
a decade and a half. Tonto was played by John Todd.
The
show was written by the prolific Fran Striker, who had to churn out
156 Lone Ranger radio scripts a year in addition to his work on The
Green Hornet and other shows! Soon Striker, who sometimes was aided
by other writers, also was creating Lone Ranger comic books and comic
strips, along with a dozen Lone Ranger novels. Then he was called on
to write two 15-chapter Lone Ranger movie serials.
The
Lone Ranger was filmed by Republic Studios, which excelled at producing
Westerns for juvenile audiences. Lee Powell starred in the title role,
while Chief Thundercloud played Tonto. Bruce Bennett and George Montgomery
had featured roles. While comic books and comic strips had pictured
the Lone Ranger clad in a raccoon mask, Lee Powell and his stunt double
wore a long black mask with eyeholes. The mask dropped well below the
chin and since the stuntmen chewed tobacco, several masks were used.
Released
in 1938, the fast-paced serial found large Saturday afternoon audiences
who were thrilled at last to actually see their radio hero in
action. In 1939 Republic filmed a serial sequel, The Lone Ranger
Rides Again. Lee Powell was replaced by handsome Robert Livingston,
who had just played another masked hero of the frontier, Zorro. Chief
Thundercloud returned as Tonto, while the supporting cast included Duncan
Renaldo (Renaldo later gained fame on TV in his own right as The
Cisco Kid) and Glenn Strange (who later would become famous on television
as Sam the bartender on Gunsmoke). Strangely, the Lone Ranger’s
mount was called “Silver Chief.”
Livingston
soon returned to his most familiar role as Stony Brooke in Republic’s
Three Mesquiteers series. The next Three Mesquiteers film was Kansas
Terrors, released in 1939, and Livingston briefly donned the black
mask to make a cameo appearance as the Lone Ranger.
In
1940 Republic re-edited The Lone Ranger into a feature film titled
Hi-Yo Silver. Although The Lone Ranger remained immensely
popular on radio, sixteen years would pass before the masked man would
reappear on movie screens. Indeed, long before there was another Lone
Ranger motion picture, the masked man had become a hit on the nation’s
television screens.
Television
sets began to appear in American living rooms during the late 1940s
and many popular radio programs were tried on TV. The Lone Ranger
began its first television season on September 15, 1949. Telecast on
Thursday nights from 7:30 until 8:00, The Lone Ranger became
the biggest hit in the early years of ABC-TV.
A
veteran actor, Jay Silverheels, was cast as Tonto. A Mohawk born in
1918 on the Six Nations Indian Reservation in Ontario, Canada, he moved
with his family to the United States where he became noted for athletic
prowess in boxing and lacrosse. In 1939 he began working as a movie
stuntman and extra, and he was well known in Hollywood when he won the
role of Tonto. Silverheels’ real name was the very un-Indian sounding,
Harold J. Smith! In 1971 he had his name legally changed to Jay Silverheels.
Another
Hollywood veteran, Clayton Moore, claimed the title role. Moore had
starred in several Republic serials, including The Adventures of
Frank and Jesse James, Jesse James Rides Again, and G-Men
Never Forget. He also was featured in numerous Republic Westerns
opposite such stars as Rocky Lane. After three seasons on TV, Moore
was replaced for the next two years by a minor actor named John Hart.
Moore returned as the Lone Ranger in 1954 and went on to achieve permanent
identity as the masked man.
When
The Lone Ranger debuted on television in 1949, there were far
more radios than TV sets, and it had been nearly a decade since young
fans had seen a new Lone Ranger film at the movies. Therefore, radio
listeners were excited to view a small screen version of the masked
man and Tonto on the growing number of TV sets in neighborhoods across
America.
In
1956 the masked man reappeared on large screens. The Lone Ranger,
produced by Warner Brothers, brought Clayton Moore, Jay Silverheels,
and Silver to movie theaters. Although following the juvenile formula
of the radio and television shows, The Lone Ranger was filmed
in color and boasted a strong support cast including burly Robert J.
Wilke and sly Lyle Bettger, two familiar Western villains.
Moore
and Silverheels returned to the movies two years later with The Lone
Ranger and the Lost City of Gold. Filmed in color at Old Tucson,
a classic Western set, the movie in one scene featured Clayton Moore
unmasked in one of the bearded disguises patented by the Lone Ranger.
(Moore and Silverheels actually worked together before The Lone Ranger.
In Gene Autry’s 1949 The Cowboy and the Indians, Moore and Silverheels
appeared briefly in the same scene—but never met!)
The
Lone Ranger aired on ABC-TV from 1949 through 1957, after which
there was a steady supply of reruns. From 1966 through 1969 an animated
version of The Lone Ranger ran on Saturday mornings on CBS, and
the cartoon series was revived in 1980 as part of The Tarzan/Lone
Ranger Hour.
In
1981 the aging Moore was not included in the cast of The Legend of
the Lone Ranger. Young, muscular Klinton Spilsbury played the Lone
Ranger while Michael Horse was Tonto. The Lone Ranger and Tonto rode
to the rescue of a kidnapped President Grant, played by the distinguished
actor Jason Robards. Although filmed in color in Monument Valley—John
Ford’s favorite Western location—The Legend of the Lone Ranger
was a box-office flop. There was far more violence than customary in
Lone Ranger films, and Spilsbury was utterly without talent.
But
two decades later, The Legend of the Lone Ranger is still occasionally
scheduled on cable TV, while the 1956 and 1958 Moore-Silverheels movies
appear with greater regularity. Indeed, to the general public the Lone
Ranger has become the most familiar and recognizable character—real
or fictional—of the Old West.
Note: About two years before his death, Clayton Moore was
made an honorary board member of the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum.
Bill
O'Neal first researched Jack Hays for his 1991 book, Fighting
Men of the Indian Wars. Bill is the author of more than twenty
books and three hundred articles and book reviews. He has appeared in
televised documentaries about the West on The Learning Channel, TNN,
and TBS. Bill teaches history at Panola College in Carthage, Texas,
and recently he was awarded a Piper Professorship.
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