John
Reid (The Lone Ranger)-John Hart/Clayton Moore
Tonto-Jay
Silverheels
Dan
Reid (Nephew)-Chuck Courtney
Dan
Reid (Brother)-Tristim Coffin
Butch
Cavendish-Glenn Strange
Father
Paul-David Leonard
Jim
Blaine-Ralph Littlefield
Various
Outlaws-Ben Welden
Lone
Ranger’s Horse-Silver
Tonto’s
Horse-Scout
Announcer-Fred
Foy
The
Lone Ranger originated on WXYZ radio in Detroit in 1933.It
was created by George Trendle and written by Fran Striker.The
radio show was so popular that the radio stations shared programming on
what became the Mutual Broadcasting System.It
was aimed at a child audience primarily.In
1949 the show made a successful transition from radio the ABC television.The
original show told the background story of the Lone Ranger, and was repeated
very often.
The
Lone Ranger was one of six Texas Rangers who was ambushed while chasing
a gang of outlaws led by Butch Cavendish.After
the battle, the Lone Ranger survived and the rest were killed.He
was found by Tonto, a Native American who recognized him as a man who had
saved his life before.Tonto called
him “Kemo Sabe” which translates to “trusty scout”.Tonto
and the Lone Ranger faked his funeral, and the Lone Ranger vowed to hide
his identity from Cavendish and make the west a decent place to live.This
is why he wore the mask.Tonto and
the Lone Ranger saved a horse from being gored by buffalo, and set it free.The
horse followed them, so the Lone Ranger adopted it.He
named him Silver.They run into
a man who has been set up to take the blame for some of Cavendish’s murders.They
hide him in a silver mine, and have him produce silver bullets for the
Lone Ranger.Even when Cavendish
is captured, the Lone Ranger keeps his mask on.At
the end of this show and many others someone asks about his identity.The
typical response was “I don’t rightly know his real name, but I’ve heard
him called the Lone Ranger”.
The
Lone Ranger always engaged in a lot of action.His
silver bullets represented justice by law, and were never used to kill
people.He had good manners and speech,
which made him a good role model for children.After
the show had gone of the air, Clayton Moore would make appearances as the
lone ranger until a corporation took action against him in court, and won.He
was not able to wear the mask.He
would wear oversized sunglasses until he was granted his previous right
to wear the mask.
The
Lone Ranger has been, and always will be a classic story regardless of
actors who play him or the way in which the stories are passed on.Although
the show has not been on the air in quite some time, the stories are still
told through comics as well as cartoons.Hopefully
in our near future we will see new episodes of the show.