Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels in publicity photo for the Lone Ranger.
Clayton Moore gets Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1987. Provided by Dawn Moore.
Dawn Moore with father Clayton Moore in 1990 when inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. Provided by Dawn Moore.
As TV’s Lone Ranger in the 1950s, Clayton Moore was a hero both on and off the screen. With September being the centenary of his birth, Dawn Moore has been sharing the life and legacy of her father who passed away in 1999.
“I still get letters from policemen, firemen, and teachers who say they chose a career in service because of him,” said Dawn from Los Angeles. “He not only acted out the Lone Ranger’s Creed on TV, but lived it.”
The Creed, written by Fran Striker in 1933 for the original Lone Ranger radio show, was an ethical guide that emphasized friendship, respect, truth, God, country and, remarkably for the period, stewardship for the planet.
Dawn will be recalling stories about her father at this year’s Lone Pine Film Festival, Calif., held Oct. 10-12 (see www.lonepinefilmfestival.org).
The following week, one of her father’s famous Lone Ranger black masks will be sold through the Profiles in History auction house.
“People ask how I could sell it,” noted Dawn. “The spirit of my father doesn’t lie in the props he used for his job. Far more important to me are his fishing tackle and the old Coleman lamp we took on family camping trips.”
As a child, Dawn didn’t even know her father had been the Lone Ranger until one day the pair went shopping for a television and the salesperson recognized his voice.
“I was 8 or 9, and wondered how this stranger knew my father,” she recalled. “The show ended in 1957 so I never saw it growing up. And when we went out, no one recognized him because his character had always been masked.”
Both the mask and clothes worn by Moore were rather uncomfortable.
“They filmed the Lone Ranger at the Iverson Ranch, near Los Angeles, where summer temperatures were over 100 degrees,” explained Dawn. “Dad’s costume was made out of heavy wool and was skintight. And Jay Silverheels who played Tonto wore an outfit of heavy suede. So these guys worked their tails off making the show!”
Dawn says she had no interest working in entertainment, preferring a business career in luxury retail (see www.mooreabout.com). But she learned a lot about the show and her dad when helping him prepare his 1998 autobiography, “I Was That Masked Man.”
“I had a father who made a difference in the lives of others,” she said. “Many of his fans have told me they grew up not wanting to be the Lone Ranger, but to be Clayton Moore.”
Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Ala., with features, columns, and interviews in over 450 magazines and newspapers.
The Lone Ranger was part of our growing up. We still get it on PBS on Saturdays. We never miss it. Seems like there were different men portraying The Lone Ranger, but Tonto always the same. I was give 2 signed, framed and matted picture, one of him riding Silver and signed “as ever Tom Gill and the other is a picture of his face, hat, and scarf. That one is just signed the Lone Ranger. It looks like it wa by Wrater Corporation. They are very special and we need them to go to someone that loved him like we did. If you need a picture of the pictures, we can send that to you. They were purchase at a comic book convention many years ago. For more information please email me @ below.