I WAS THAT MASKED MAN by Clayton Moore – Lone Ranger…
I WAS THAT MASKED MAN by Clayton Moore – Lone Ranger – Book Review from Brian Alan Burhoe.
I’m an Early Boomer, so I grew up on Westerns. Loved ’em! And among my first TV heroes were the Lone Ranger and Tonto.
I’ve finally added I WAS THAT MASKED MAN by Clayton Moore to my Biography & Memoirs bookshelves. It’s a Father’s Day gift. What a read!
“When I was a child,” Clayton tells us, “whenever anyone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would always answer, ‘I want to be a policeman’ or ‘I want to be a cowboy.’ Sometimes I wanted to be a combination of the two…”
Like my own generation, Clayton loved those movie matinees that were dominated by cowboy heroes. In his time, those Western actors were Ken Maynard, Tom Mix, George O’Brien and William S Hart.
He also thrived as a young athlete. He even earned a place in the Flying Behrs, a performing trapeze group.
In 1937, age 23, Clayton set out to become a Western actor. His ride to becoming Clayton Moore – Lone Ranger had begun.
It was slow going at first, of course. Small parts for MGM and Warner Bros. He had to learn to act. And in Westerns, he learned to ride a horse, stage a fight and survive the thrilling stunts.
After a Wartime stint in the Army he was hired by Republic Pictures. Republic made fast-paced serials. They required long hard days, dedicated movie-makers and saying yes to dangerous stunts. Clayton loved the serials. After those bit parts before, now his name was prominently listed on lobby posters. He even starred in some of ’em.
I WAS THAT MASKED MAN – The Many Western Characters of Clayton Moore.
Before he became the Lone Ranger full-time, Clayton played in a number of feature and serial films. His roles included a number of Western heroes, even an earlier Masked Man:
He played Jessie James in Jessie James Rides Again (1947) and Adventures of Frank and Jessie James (1948)
Zorro, the Masked Avenger in The Ghost of Zorro (1949)
Jim Scott, peacemaker between Settlers and Apaches in Son of Geronimo (1952)
Buffalo Bill (William Frederick Cody), Frontiersman and Scout in Buffalo Bill in Tomahawk Territory (1952)
Constable Bram Nevin of the North-West Mounted Police in Gunfighters of the Northwest (1953).
And then Clayton Moore was offered a new role in a new medium — TV.
The role was the Lone Ranger. Already popular on radio, the Lone Ranger had been created by producer George W Trendle and prolific writer Fran Striker.
From the moment Clayton donned the black mask and jumped into the saddle of the big white stallion, he was riding into international fame.
For five seasons, we Early Boomers gathered around our new television sets and rode with the Masked Man and his one loyal friend.
In his chapter “Jay Silverheels” Clayton wrote: “we became the best of friends. In the television scripts, Jay and I played equals. I stressed our equality and brotherhood whenever I could. Although it was not written into any scripts, whenever Jay left to go into town, I would say, “Be careful, Tonto.” That ad-libbed line was my way of showing how much I cared for him and admired him.”
Clayton said that because of that friendship, Jay’s Mohawk People initiated him “into the Six Nations as a blood brother.”
By the time the last Lone Ranger episode (“Outlaws in Greasepaint”) appeared on the small screen on June 6, 1957, Clayton had little interest in playing any other character. He and Jay starred in two more movies together. The Lone Ranger (1956) and The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold (1958).
Clay writes: “The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold was extremely popular with the show’s fans. And Jay and I were proud to have been connected with such a fine production. We were also quite sad. Although neither of us was through with the characters yet — not by a long shot — we would never again appear in film or on television in adventures about the Lone Ranger and Tonto.”
I WAS THAT MASKED MAN – Clayton Moore – Lone Ranger – Personal Appearances
Personal appearances were part of show business. Especially with top Western cowboy stars who were welcomed anywhere from county fairs to major rodeos.
Clayton always made his appearances in full costume, including the mask. And often riding Silver.
In early years he made them with Richard Simmons, who wore his Sergeant Preston Canadian Mountie uniform. Sergeant Preston of the Yukon had also been created by George Trendle and Fran Striker. They wanted their two stars to appear together. Simmons rode his own horse Rex, which he had ridden in the “Summer episodes” of his hit Northwestern series.
But for Clayton that was just the beginning. He would also appear with Jay Silverheels. Times he really enjoyed.
In fact, he would make public appearances as the iconic Lone Ranger for decades. Even when the new owners of the Lone Ranger brand wanted to strip him of that right. They took him to court. He fought back. Which is a dramatic and heroic story in its own right.
I WAS THAT MASKED MAN – Clayton Moore – Lone Ranger – The Later Years
There’s more to Clayton Moore’s story. Women. His public pairing with “Mexican Spitfire” Lupe Vélez. His long, loving marriage with Sally.
And there’s the “Lone Ranger Creed,” which meant so much to Clayton.
- I believe that to have a friend, a man must be one.
- I believe that all men are created equal and that everyone has within himself the power to make this a better world.
- That God put the firewood there but that every man must gather and light it himself.
- In being prepared physically, mentally, and morally to fight when necessary for that which is right.
- That a man should make the most of what equipment he has.
- That “This government, of the people, by the people and for the people” shall live always.
- I believe that men should live by the rule of what is best for the greatest number.
- That sooner or later — somewhere — somehow — we must settle with the world and make payment for what we have taken.
- That all things change but truth, and that truth alone, lives on forever.
- In my Creator, my country, my fellow man.
“The Lone Ranger Creed” was written by Fran Striker. It was a thoughtful and stirring interpretation of the Cowboy Code.
All together, the Creed had ten lines. They recaptured and taught the essential values of honour, loyalty, friendship, patriotism and religion in a time when these beliefs were under attack. Clayton would quote from the Creed in his appearances and speeches. Always to a happy response from his fans.
I WAS THAT MASKED MAN is back in print! And well worth reading.
“Live Free, Mon Ami!” – Brian Alan Burhoe
Did you like this Western Book Review?
YOU MUST SEE “THE GREAT WRITERS OF THE NORTH-WEST MOUNTED POLICE” — MY MOST POPULAR LITERARY HISTORY POST:
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“I just discovered your blog recently. I’m all for anything that increases people’s knowledge about these older, mostly forgotten authors. That post on Mountie fiction is great!” Western writer James Reasoner
A wide-ranging study of the writers who created the marvelous Mythology of our North-West Mounted Police. My Top 10 Mountie Fiction Writers in some detail — and a look at many other authors. Lavishly illustrated with breathtaking book and pulp magazine cover art. FREE TO READ ==> The GREATEST AUTHORS OF NORTH-WEST MOUNTED POLICE FICTION
Learn about Clayton’s Canadian co-star and friend at Northernstars – Jay Silverheels.
And You Have Gotta See Our National Mythmakers — The Western Writers!
IMAGES: “The Lone Ranger & Tonto” top of page and “Clayton Moore & Richard Simmons” are promotional still photos released by ABC Television. “I Was That Masked Man” book cover by Taylor Trade Publishing; Revised edition (Oct. 1 1998), newly reprinted. “Gunfighters of the Northwest” movie poster from my Classic Westerns digital scrapbook. “Rearing Ranger” drawing by W A Smith, illustrating Fran Striker’s novel THE LONE RANGER RIDES, G P Putnam’s & Sons, 1941.
I WAS THAT MASKED MAN Clayton Moore – Lone Ranger – Book Review.
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