Name: Jerry Potter
Date of Birth: Best remembered as TV's "The Lone Ranger." Inducted into the Stuntman's Hall of Fame in 1982. Received the Western Heritage Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1990. "The Lone Ranger" premiered on WXYZ-AM radio in Detroit, MI, in 1933. The show was created because WXYZ, a small station, could not afford network programs. After getting the role in the TV series "The Lone Ranger" (1949), Moore had to train his voice to sound more like the radio Lone Ranger, Brace Beemer. Moore's favorite character was "The Ol' Prospector", in which the Lone Ranger would dress up as a crotchety old miner and infiltrate places to gather information. He used the character on his home answering machine in Calabasas, CA, and would greet callers with it. ... He had a history of heart trouble, and died at 9:20 am PST of a heart attack. Liked to quote and live by "The Lone Ranger Creed" written by Fran Striker around 1940, which began, "I believe that to have a friend, a man must be one" and included moral lessons such as, "God put the firewood there, but every man must gather and light it himself". He is the only person to have a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame with both his name AND the character he was famous for playing. His star says, "Clayton Moore, The Lone Ranger". Adopted a baby girl, Dawn Angela, in December of 1958. Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1990. Was a stuntman for many years before becoming "The Lone Ranger". During 1952 when the producers of "The Lone Ranger" (1949) replaced him for a year with John Hart due to a salary dispute, he appeared under the name of Rex Moore as a "Ryker" in Shane (1953). It was a brief part consisting of a memorable fight scene between Shane and the Ryker family. "The Lone Ranger" (1949) premiered on September 15, 1949, exactly one day after his 35th birthday. Of the nearly 200 appearances Moore made with co-star Jay Silverheels, they appeared together in just three features where they did NOT play The Lone Ranger and Tonto: Perils of Nyoka (1942), The Cowboy and the Indians (1949), and The Black Dakotas (1954). During his hiatus from "The Lone Ranger" (1949) in 1952-53 he appeared in three serials: Radar Men from the Moon (1952), Son of Geronimo: Apache Avenger (1952) and Jungle Drums of Africa (1953). In an earlier "masked" role, he was the title character in Ghost of Zorro (1949). "Silvercup Bread" was the original sponsor of "The Lone Ranger" on radio. Hence, the use of silver bullets and his horse named "Silver". Appears as The Lone Ranger, with his horse Silver, on a 44? USA commemorative postage stamp in the Early TV Memories issue honoring "The Lone Ranger" (1949), issued 11 August 2009. Published an autobiography, "I Was That Masked Man". In 1952 when John Hart assumed the role of "The Lone Ranger" for 52 episodes on ABC, CBS began showing reruns of the first 78 episodes (1949-51) with Moore as "The Lone Ranger", on Saturday afternoons. When Moore returned to the series in 1954, he was seen as the "only Lone Ranger", twice weekly, on ABC and with reruns on CBS. Read more Jerry Potter movies (actor)User Comments |
