'Lone Ranger & Tonto' Page at 'Readers of the Purple Sage'

Six Texas Rangers were ambushed by the Butch Cavendish Gang, and only one survived – barely. He was nursed back to health by a stoic Indian named Tonto, and by the time the 'lone ranger' was able to ride, he had already been declared dead. So he and Tonto constructed a bandit-like costume with a black mask so that the Lone Ranger could mingle with the bad-guys and seek revenge for the deaths of his fellow Rangers.
Other parts of the radio series and TV series and feature film Legend of the Lone Ranger include the many disguises, the silver bullets (from their own silver mine, which also financed their wanderings), the great white horse Silver and Tonto's paint horse Scout, and nephew Dan Reid.

The radio series first aired 30 January 1933 on WXYZ radio in Detroit, Michigan. Success led to national broadcasts on the Mutual Broadcasting System radio network, then on N.B.C.'s Blue Network, which became the A.B.C. radio network. The show's final new episode aired on A.B.C. on 3 September 1954, and was the last of 2,956 radio episodes.
The series was created and written by Fran Striker, for producer and WXYZ station-owner George W. Trendle. Actors who portrayed The Lone Ranger on radio included John L. Barrett, George Seaton (under the name George Stenius), Earle Graser and Brace Beemer; the voice of Tonto was acted by John Todd.

Republic Pictures produced two feature film serials: "The Lone Ranger" [1938] and "The Lone Ranger Rides Again" [1939]. The second serial starred Robert Livingston; Tonto was played in both by Victor Daniels (under the name Chief Thundercloud). The horse Silver was portrayed in the first serial by Silver King, the talented steed owned & trained by silent film cowboy star Fred Thomson [1890-1928]; the second serial used a horse called Silver Chief.
Rights-owner Trendle was not pleased with either serial; he gathered up all the film elements and prints and took no steps to preserve them; little exists today beyond a few reels discovered in foreign film vaults, mostly dubbed or subtitled. The 1938 serial was re-edited as a feature film and released in 1940 as "Hi-Yo Silver"; prints exist and DVDs are available.

          The Lone Ranger television series aired on A.B.C.'s television network from 1949 to 1957; Trendle hired Jack Chertok to produce; Jay Silverheels portrayed Tonto on the entire series. Clayton Moore starred from 1949 to 1952, when he was dropped in a dispute over salary & perks. John Hart starred from 1952 to 1953, that season was rerun in 1953-54. Tremble sold the rights to Jack Wrather (of later "Lassie" fame), who immediately hired Clayton Moore back for the 1954-55 season; that season was also rerun in sequence for the 1955-56 season. Although A.B.C. broadcast only in black-and-white, Wrather filmed the final 1956-57 season in costly color; the network series ended in September 1957, and continued in daytime reruns for many years.
          Clayton Moore & Jay Silverheels worked together in two color feature films co-produced by Wrather – "The Lone Ranger" [1956] and The Lone Ranger and The Lost City of Gold" [1958] – that were well-received; Lone Ranger movies before and since were less successful.
          The attempt to make the 1981 "The Legend of The Lone Ranger" feature film was fraught with problems. Moore was then making his living traveling the country to county fairs and such, in costume as the Lone Ranger character. To shore up his legal rights, Wrather got a court order preventing Moore from appearing in public in costume; fans were incensed. {Moore's solution was to wear gigantic black sunglasses for his appearances.} The movie itself was an artistic catastrophe; Klinton Spilsbury, the unknown actor hired to star, was handsome but could not act; actor James Keach was brought in to overdub all of Spilsbury's dialogue; the movie bombed.

The Lone Ranger received the full mass-merchandising treatment from the beginning – box-top driven premiums on the radio show, toys thru the years, s series of novels published from 1936 to 1956, two daily comic strips (1938-71 and 1981-84), and even a recent video game. Lone Ranger comic books began in 1948 and are still being published; for a while, both Tonto and Silver had their own comic book issues. The recent Dynamite Entertainment comics are extremely successful (though some readers are upset about the graphic violence).
News reports in 2008 and since have described the on-going development of what purports to be a big-budget feature film version of The Lone Ranger: the studio is Disney, the script is by two writers of "Pirates of The Caribbean", the producer is Jerry Bruckheimer; Johnny Depp is said to be attached (as Tonto!); release was set for 2014, but Disney balked at the budget and put the project in turnaround in August 2011 (see recent details below).

'Lone Ranger' comics {Comic Book Archive website is gone}
issues 1-145 & 4 'Giant' issues, plus 'Tonto' comics

"Hi-Yo Silver" [Republic Pictures April 1940]

Hi-Yo Silver 1940 feature film starring Lee Powell & Chief Thundercloud

The 1938 Republic Pictures serial "The Lone Ranger" was re-edited as a feature film and released in 1940 as "Hi-Yo Silver". The strange plot concerns six men suspected of being the Lone Ranger, ultimately revealed to be the one portrayed by Lee Powell. The story was edited down from 15 episodes to 69 minutes; the prints & elements of the original serial are mostly lost. Directed by John English & William Witney; starring Lee Powell, Victor Daniels (under the name Chief Thunder- cloud), William Farnum, Bruce Bennett, George Montgomery & Lane Chandler
Good Times Video DVD [5/2001] out of prodn/scarce
also available as Double Feature on DVD {with "The Legend of The Lone Ranger" [1952]}
VCI Home Video b&w DVD [7/2001] for $13.49
full credits from IMDb

"Return of The Lone Ranger" [1961 TV pilot]
Starring actor/stuntman Tex Hill; bare credits from IMDb

"The Lone Ranger" [CBS-TV animated series 1966-69]

Each of the thirty episodes was split into three distinct sections, some featuring Tonto only; the last original episode ran in March 1968, and the series continued into 1969 as reruns. The plots were bizarre imitations of the odd "Wild Wild West" TV series, with science fiction elements and 'steampunk technology' and an arch-villain who was a dwarf. Produced by Wrather Productions & Format Films; featuring voices of Michael Rye & Shepard Menken; video/DVD not available; series credits from IMDb

"The Legend of The Lone Ranger"
[Wrather Prodns/Universal May 1981]

After a modified version of the Origin Legend (six Texas Rangers ambushed by evil Butch Cavendish, etc), Lone Ranger and Tonto rescue kidnapped President Ulysses Grant from Cavendish and his gang. Co-produced by Jack Wrather & Lew Grade; directed by William A. Fraker; cinematography by L�szl� Kov�cs; starring Klinton Spilsbury {overdubbed by James Keach}, Michael Horse, Christopher Lloyd, Matt Clark, Juanin Clay, Jason Robards, John Bennett Perry, David Hayward, John Hart, Richard Farnsworth {as 'Wild Bill' Hickok}, Lincoln Tate {as Gen. George A. Custer}, Ted Flicker {as 'Buffalo Bill' Cody} & Marc Gilpin; location filming in California & Utah, and at Abiquiu, Bonanza Creek Ranch, Cook Ranch, Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Eaves Movie Ranch & Santa Fe in New Mexico
LionsGate color DVD [8/2008] for $11.99
Family Home Ent. color VHS [6/95] out of prodn/used
full credits from IMDb

"The Lone Ranger" TV movie [Warner Bros./T.N.T. Feb 2003]

A 2-hour TV movie, intended as a pilot for a series. The storyline was altered in strange ways: the name Reid was changed to Hartman; the Lone Ranger was not one of the six ambushed Texas Rangers; he is smitten by Tonto's sister; and the Lone Ranger has a real identity as well as the costumed outlaw identity (much like 'El Zorro')..
Directed by Jack Bender; starring Chad Michael Murray & Nathaniel Arcand, with Anita Brown, Fay Masterson, Sebastian Spence, Dylan Walsh & Wes Studi; video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb

"Lone Ranger" feature film [Disney release Dec 2014?]

Yes, indeed, producer Jerry Bruckheimer's {terrible} official website has information on a forthcoming Lone Ranger movie, with a script by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio; rumors swarmed across the net in September 2008 that actor George Clooney was 'eager' to join already-signed actor Johnny Depp (as Tonto!} in the proposed big-budget Disney Pictures production; hunky actor Armie Hammer signed in May, and the release date & director Gore Verbinski were confirmed in June 2011. Then in August, Disney pulled the plug as the budget had escalated to $250M; the project was placed in 'turnaround' status, the budget was trimmed, then they got a new greenlight in February 2012.
Time will tell - latest info from IMDb � official movie site

"The Lone Ranger" TV Series
Written & directed by George Seitz, Jr.; starring Clayton Moore, John Hart & Jay Silverheels
"The Lone Ranger" TV series [187 episodes 1949-57] credits at IMDb
With 187 television episodes (the last 39 in color), organizing the often un-organized product of half-a-dozen
video/DVD producers is impossible. (Same with the 2,956 half-hour radio episodes, only more-so.) In order to
attempt clearing up the confusion, red number symbols have been coded when series season/year is known.
u is 1949-50; v is 1950-51; w is 1952-53; x is 1953-54 (rerun 1954-55); and y is 1955-56 (rerun 1956-57)

uv	"The Lone Ranger: 75th Anniversary Collector's Edition" [2008] Classic Media b&w DVD/media set [11/2008] 13 disks for $83.99 Contains all 78 episodes of the first two seasons of the Lone Ranger TV series starring Clayton Moore & Jay Silverheels; extras include a selection of Lone Ranger cartoons from the 1960s, the 1959 "Lassie" episode "Peace Patrol" {with Clayton Moore), an 86-page book & 'more collectible items'
uy	"Lone Ranger Collection" [2008] Wrather/PopFlix b&w/color DVD set [2/2008] 2 disks for $6.98 16 episodes from the first season, 1 episode from 1957
	"The Lone Ranger" TV series 2-DVD Pack [2004] Echo Bridge Home Ent. b&w DVD [7/2004] for $4.49 12 episodes from unknown seasons
uy	"The Lone Ranger" TV series DVD collections from Mill Creek Entertainment "Lone Ranger: The Legend Begins" DVD Collection Volume 1: Mill Creek Ent. b&w DVD [5/2007] 2 disks/4 sides for $7.98 16 episodes from the first season, 1 episode from 1957, plus remnants of the 15-chapter Republic Pictures serial of 1938 starring Lee Powell & Chief Thundercloud
uy	"The Lone Ranger" TV series DVD collections from Alpha Video Vol 1: Alpha Video DVD [10/2002] for $7.98 includes "Legion of Old Timers", "Renegades", "Old Joe's Sister" & "Cannonball McKay" Vol 2: Alpha Video DVD [1/2006] for $7.98 includes "Six Gun Legacy", "Return of The Convict", "The Tenderfeet" & "High Heels" Vol 3: Alpha Video DVD [1/2006] for $7.98 includes "Finders Keepers", "Masked Rider", "War Horse" & "Message From Abe" (1957)
	"The Lone Ranger" TV series DVD collections from Brentwood Home Video 17-episode box set: Brentwood color DVD [6/2003] 2 disks/4 sides for $9.98 Vol 1: Brentwood color DVD [10/2004] for $4.98 Vol 2: Brentwood color DVD [10/2004] for $4.98 includes "Rustler's Hideout", "War Horse", "Pete and Pedro", and "The Renegades"
y	"The Lone Ranger" TV series DVD collections from Rhino Records Lone Ranger Classics Boxed Set [2003] WEA/Rhino DVD [3/2003] 4 discs for $53.96 includes 19 episodes, plus interviews Vol 1: Rhino b&w/color DVD [11/2001] for $12.99 includes "The Wooden Rifle", "The Sheriff of Smoke Tree", "The Counterfeit Mask", "No Handicap" & 2 b&w episodes
y	"The Best of The Lone Ranger" DVD set [2007] Timeless Media Group color DVD [7/2007] 3 disks for $12.49 Fifteen episodes from the fifth and final season of "The Lone Ranger" TV series, filmed in color – including "The Crossing of Santa Domingo", "Quicksand", "The Twisted Track", "The Avenger", and "The Courage of Tonto"

	"The Lone Ranger Chronicles" audio box set [2006] Radio Spirits audio CD set [1/2006] 5 disks - out of prodn/used Ten original broadcasts from 1948 to 1954, plus a 56-page booklet
	"The Lone Ranger" radio programs on CD [2003] Radio Spirits audio CD set [2/2003] 3 disks for $14.38 includes "The Outlaw's Gold" Parts 1 & 2 from 1946
	"The Lone Ranger" radio programs on CD [2006] 20 half-hour episodes from 1948 starring Brace Beemer Radio Spirits audio CD [6/2006] 10 disks for $30.38 "Old Time Radio Classics Featuring The Lone Ranger" Dollar Ent. audio CD [undated] out of prodn/rare
	"The Mystery of The Masked Man's Music: A Search For The Music Used On The Lone Ranger Radio Program, 1933-1954" [2002] by Reginald M. Jones, Jr. Scarecrow Press 8½x5½ pb [4/2002] for $35.95

	Lone Ranger Double Feature VCI Home Video b&w DVD [7/2001] for $13.49 includes "Hi-Yo Silver" [Republic April 1940], starring Lee Powell & Chief Thundercloud, and "The Legend of The Lone Ranger" [1952], starring Clayton Moore & Jay Silverheels
	Lone Ranger Triple Feature Brentwood VHS [7/98] 3 tapes - out of prodn/used includes "The Legend of The Lone Ranger" [1952], "The Lone Ranger" [1956] & "The Lone Ranger & The Lost City of Gold" [1958]

	Clayton Moore [1914-99] Clayton Moore credits at Internet Movie Database Clayton Moore entry at Wikipedia Steve Jensen's Clayton Moore/Lone Ranger fansite Mary Spooner's Clayton Moore fansite
	Jay Silverheels [1912-80] Jay Silverheels credits at Internet Movie Database Jay Silverheels entry at Wikipedia Canadian Jay Silverheels fansite

Readers of the Purple Sage BookstoreThe Lone Rangerand Tonto

Readers of the Purple Sage Bookstore
The Lone Ranger
and Tonto