"The Lone Ranger" (1949) TV series 1949-1957

Creator:

George W. Trendle
(more)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Release Date:

15 September 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Western | Family

Plot:

The adventures of the masked hero and his Native American partner.

Plot Keywords:

Indian | Hero | Texas Ranger | Texas | Native American

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Jay Silverheels	...	Tonto (217 episodes, 1949-1957)
Clayton Moore	...	The Lone Ranger / ... (169 episodes, 1949-1957)

Series Directed by
Hollingsworth Morse		(50 episodes, 1950-1953)
Oscar Rudolph		(32 episodes, 1954-1957)
George B. Seitz Jr.		(31 episodes, 1949-1951)
Earl Bellamy		(29 episodes, 1956-1957)
Wilhelm Thiele		(26 episodes, 1954-1955)
Paul Landres		(23 episodes, 1952-1953)
George Archainbaud		(14 episodes, 1949-1950)
Charles D. Livingstone		(4 episodes, 1955)

Series Writing credits
Fran Striker		(81 episodes, 1949-1956)
Tom Seller		(37 episodes, 1949-1957)
Joe Richardson		(28 episodes, 1950-1955)
George W. Trendle		(22 episodes, 1949-1957)
Charles Larson		(21 episodes, 1952-1957)
Dan Beattie		(20 episodes, 1950-1955)
Harry Poppe Jr.		(15 episodes, 1949-1955)
Ralph Goll		(15 episodes, 1950-1955)
Curtis Kenyon		(15 episodes, 1950-1955)
Eric Freiwald		(13 episodes, 1954-1957)
Robert Schaefer		(13 episodes, 1954-1957)
David P. Sheppard		(10 episodes, 1950-1953)
Herb Meadow		(10 episodes, 1950-1951)
Betty Joyce		(8 episodes, 1950-1955)
George B. Seitz Jr.		(6 episodes, 1949-1953)
Felix Holt		(6 episodes, 1950-1955)
Tom Dougall		(6 episodes, 1951-1955)
William Bruckner		(6 episodes, 1953-1955)
Jack Laird		(6 episodes, 1954-1955)
Robert Leslie Bellem		(6 episodes, 1956-1957)
Doane R. Hoag		(6 episodes, 1956-1957)
Gibson Fox		(5 episodes, 1949-1950)
Eve Greene		(4 episodes, 1950)
Edmond Kelso		(3 episodes, 1949-1957)
Polly James		(3 episodes, 1949-1950)
Doris Schroeder		(3 episodes, 1949-1950)
Ande Lamb		(3 episodes, 1949)
Joseph F. Poland		(3 episodes, 1950)
Steve McCarthy		(3 episodes, 1953-1955)
Bert Lambert		(3 episodes, 1954-1955)
Wells Root		(3 episodes, 1956-1957)
Terence Maples		(2 episodes, 1953)
Samuel Rice		(2 episodes, 1955)
George Van Marter		(2 episodes, 1955)
Hilary Creston Rhodes		(2 episodes, 1956-1957)
Herbert Purdom		(2 episodes, 1957)
Dwight V. Babcock		(unknown episodes)
Hal G. Evarts		(unknown episodes)
Shirley Ulmer		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
Jack Chertok	....	producer (182 episodes, 1949-1955)
Harry Poppe	....	associate producer (182 episodes, 1949-1955)
Sherman A. Harris	....	producer (39 episodes, 1956-1957)
George W. Trendle	....	producer / executive producer (16 episodes, 1949-1954)
Jack Wrather	....	executive producer (1 episode, 1954-1957)
Paul Landers	....	producer (unknown episodes)

Series Cinematography by
Robert Pittack		(104 episodes, 1952-1955)
Mack Stengler		(78 episodes, 1949-1951)
William P. Whitley		(39 episodes, 1956-1957)

Series Film Editing by
Everett Dodd		(59 episodes, 1949-1957)
Frank Capacchione		(57 episodes, 1949-1957)
Ben Marmon		(17 episodes, 1949-1955)
Marsh Hendry		(16 episodes, 1950-1955)
Ernie Leadlay		(8 episodes, 1953)
Harvey Manger		(6 episodes, 1953)
Axel Hubert Sr.		(5 episodes, 1949-1953)
Richard G. Wray		(5 episodes, 1949-1952)
Stanley Rabjohn		(5 episodes, 1954-1955)
Hal Gordon		(2 episodes, 1956)
John Faure		(unknown episodes)
Stanley Frazen		(unknown episodes)

Series Art Direction by
Howard Campbell		(52 episodes, 1954-1955)

Series Set Decoration by
William Stevens		(19 episodes, 1954-1955)
Harry Reif		(10 episodes, 1957)

Series Costume Design by
John Sacha		(unknown episodes)

Series Makeup Department
Gene Hibbs	....	makeup artist (52 episodes, 1954-1955)
Ben Lane	....	makeup artist (39 episodes, 1956-1957)

Series Production Management
Hugh McCollum	....	production manager (39 episodes, 1956-1957)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lester D. Guthrie	....	assistant director (67 episodes, 1949-1951)
Herbert S. Greene	....	assistant director (41 episodes, 1952-1955)
Gene Anderson Jr.	....	assistant director (17 episodes, 1956-1957)
George Loper	....	assistant director (11 episodes, 1957)
Mark Sandrich Jr.	....	assistant director (8 episodes, 1956-1957)
Hal Herman	....	assistant director (5 episodes, 1950)
Francis X. Baur Jr.	....	assistant director (3 episodes, 1949)
Richard Bremerkamp	....	assistant director (unknown episodes)
Leonard J. Shapiro	....	assistant director (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
Richard Van Hessen	....	sound (60 episodes, 1949-1951)
Earl Snyder	....	sound (52 episodes, 1952-1953)
Robert B. Lee	....	sound recordist (52 episodes, 1954-1955)
Philip Mitchell	....	sound (29 episodes, 1949-1957)
William Brady	....	sound (15 episodes, 1956-1957)
Byron Chudnow	....	sound editor (unknown episodes)
Marsh Hendry	....	sound (unknown episodes)
Francis J. Scheid	....	sound (unknown episodes)

Series Stunts
David Sharpe	....	stunt double: Clayton Moore (1 episode, 1954)
Troy Melton	....	stunts (unknown episodes)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Barlow Simpson	....	lighting technician (91 episodes, 1954-1957)
Edward Petzoldt	....	chief electrician (52 episodes, 1954-1955)
Maynard Rugg	....	camera operator (22 episodes, 1956-1957)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Richard Bachler	....	wardrobe (21 episodes, 1956-1957)
John Zacha	....	wardrobe (16 episodes, 1956-1957)

Series Editorial Department
Jack Ruggiero	....	supervising editor / editorial supervisor (182 episodes, 1949-1955)
Everett Dodd	....	supervising editor (4 episodes, 1957)

Series Music Department
Elias Friede	....	music supervisor (8 episodes, 1956-1957)

Series Other crew
Freddie Fralick	....	tv coordinator (52 episodes, 1952-1953)
C.D. Livingstone	....	tv coordinator (51 episodes, 1954-1955)
Bertram Millhauser	....	story editor (39 episodes, 1956-1957)
Shirley Ulmer	....	script supervisor (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• Apex Film Corp. (1949-1954)
• Wrather Productions (1954-1957)

Distributors

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1949-1957) (USA) (TV)
• United American Video (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• Timeless Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• GoodTimes Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• GoodTimes Home Video (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Rhino Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Navarre Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Rhino Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• WEA Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Genius Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• BCI Eclipse (2006) (USA) (DVD) (episodes 1-3)
• Radio Tokyo Television (1958) (Japan) (TV)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (video) (17 episodes)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)

Runtime:

30 min (221 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (1949-1956) | Color (1956-1957)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Apex Film Corp.

Trivia:

The "Hi-Yo Silver!" shout at the beginning of each episode is a recording of Earle W. Graser, who played the Lone Ranger on radio from 1933-1941.

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Tonto: Um, that right, Kemosabe.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Starsky & Hutch (2003) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Finale from 'William Tell Overture'

The Greatest Heroes

Looking back on `The Lone Ranger' TV series as an adult is a strange experience. Watching episodes through an adult's eyes alerted me to flaws I didn't notice when I was a kid: the acting was sometimes on the B-movie level. The stories tended to be repetitive and simplistic. The Native Americans were generally played by Caucasian or Hispanic or Italian-American actors. The `outdoor' exteriors in a lot of episodes were obviously indoor sets. But there is a spirit and an energy to the show that you can't deny.

Most of the credit for the show's success goes to its leads, Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels. They became the Lone Ranger and Tonto, lived the roles as no other actors before or since. Moore, in particular, knew the Ranger was presented as a hero and an example to children, and from what I've heard, he tried his best to live up to that. He made the Ranger a fair and just man, someone who didn't judge, who gave people the benefit of the doubt, but acted correctly when the time was right. He used violence only as a last resort. He was a symbol of honor and integrity, the kind of person I wish I could be.

As for Tonto... It occurs to me nowadays how great an actor Jay Silverheels was. Critics of the show always want to use Tonto as the stereotypical ignorant savage, but you have to look at all the things Tonto does. Tonto tracks, takes care of the Ranger when he's wounded, spies out information - you can tell from the expressions on Silverheels' face that there's a lot more going on inside Tonto's head than he lets on. Don't let the broken English fool you!

The thing that really impresses me about `The Lone Ranger' now is how much of a partnership these two characters have. Tonto is not the Ranger's subordinate - they are friends, equals in their adventures. That, as much as any lesson taught in any episode, is what draws me back to the series after so many years: a tried and true friendship.

Oh, if only the Lone Ranger could ride again.