Tucson Time Capsule : Tonto at old Tucson

azstarnet.com ^ | 09.11.2009 | 09.11.2009

[Nikas777]

TUCSON REGION

Tucson Time Capsule : Tonto at old Tucson

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.11.2009

On Sept. 11, 1974 Jay Silverheels, perhaps better known as Tonto, was in town. But he wasn't here with his trusty sidekick — that Masked Man — to fight evil in the Old West, he was filming a commercial at Old Tucson. This wasn't his first trip to Tucson; he and Clayton Moore, the Lone Ranger, had been here in the late 1950s filming "The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold." Given the chance, Silverheels would gladly reprise his Tonto role; he was fond of the role because he and the Masked Man always followed an honest moral code. There is more about Silverheels in today's Morguetale at go.azstarnet.com/ morguetales, including film of him and the Lone Ranger in an Aqua Velva commercial filmed in the desert.

[Nikas777]

The Lone Ranger radio and television shows are now mostly online and free. It is before my time but I eat this stuff up.

Some of The Lone Ranger TV shows are free to stream on Youtube now.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=episodes&search_query=the+lone+ranger

If you are a fan of the old radio show you can find them here (along with other classic shows):

http://www.otr.net/?p=lone

[RexBeach]

“Tonto speak esperanto in Toronto.” -Jay Silverheels during a “Tonight Show” appearance with Johnny Carson

[Nikas777]

Was he the one that threw the axe that hit the wrong body part in all those old clips?

[RexBeach]

Nope. That was Ed Ames. LOL!!!! Ouch!

[Nikas777]

I got into listening to old radio shows because I can't really stand any music on the radio anymore. And the stations that do play songs I like, play them over and over again.

So I have old radio shows as back ground streaming while at work.

Growing up in the Star Wars age I am surprised how well they hold my interest and how fun they are listening to.

[sr4402]

Jay Silverheels

[sr4402]

Wikipedia: Clayton Moore was so identified with the masked man that he is the only person on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, as of 2006[update], to have his character's name along with his on the star, which reads, "Clayton Moore — The Lone Ranger." He was inducted into the Stuntman's Hall of Fame in 1982 and in 1990 was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

In keeping with the nature of the Ranger character, Moore chose to protect the Ranger's identity at all times and is perhaps the only actor whose full face is largely unknown to the public. It was never shown in the TV series, although occasionally he would don a disguise and affect an accent, revealing the upper half of his face in the process. However, there is no shortage of photos of Moore unmasked, including many in his autobiography. His many fans, however, could easily recognize him by his distinctive voice. Death

Clayton Moore died at the age of 85 on December 28, 1999, in a West Hills, California, hospital after suffering a heart attack at his home in nearby Calabasas. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale.

[sr4402]

Jay Silverheels

[sr4402]

Clayton Moore

[Nikas777]

The guy who played The Loner Ranger was the real deal - even saved someone's life once or twice. Unlike the guy (George Reeves?) who played Superman and was upset at the typecast Moore LOVED IT! He could not get enough of him playing the Lone Ranger because of the joy it brought people.

Again, it was before my time but I am fascinated by Americana.

[Nikas777]

PS: If anyone is into old TV or old Radio shows and is part of some ping list can you add me along? Much appreciated.

[Verginius Rufus]

There's the old joke about the Lone Ranger and Tonto being surrounded by a lot of hostile Indians--the Lone Ranger says to Tonto, "It looks like we're surrounded," and Tonto replies, "What do you mean 'we,' paleface?"

There is a Far Side cartoon where the aged Lone Ranger is perusing an Indian dictionary and discovers that "Kemo sabe" actually means a horse's rear end.

...with the "William Tell Overture" playing on the Victrola, no doubt.