Clayton Moore
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Notes
"I've been The Lone Ranger for 30 years, and I intend to be The Lone Ranger for the rest of my life; I've decided I'll stay The Lone Ranger until I'm called" --Clayton Moore, quoted in The New York Times, September 6, 1979.
"I try to lead a good, clean life; I don't smoke; I don't drink; it's not that I'm trying to be a goody-good, but I just don't want to" --Moore to The New York Times, September 6, 1979.
Biography
Although best-known as TV's "The Lone Ranger," Clayton Moore also appeared in dozens of Westerns and serials in the 1940s and 50s. The dark, handsome Chicagoan worked as a model and circus aerialist before heading to Hollywood as a stuntman and extra in 1938. With the help of his girlfriend, actress Lupe Velez, he began getting roles in 1940. He made brief appearances in a handful of UA films ("Kit Carson" and "The Son of Monte Cristo," both 1940; "International Lady," 1941; "The Bachelor's Daughters," 1946), but spent most of the decade at minor studios like Monogram and Republic.
Moore started his long association with the Western genre in films like "Outlaws of Pine Ridge" (1942), "Along the Oregon Trail" (1947), "Adventures of Frank and Jesse James" (1948) and "The Cowboy and the Indians" (1949, with Gene Autry and future co-star Jay Silverheels). He also made several penny-dreadful serials, including "The Perils of Nyoka" (1942), "Cyclotrode X" (1946), "G-Men Never Forget" (1947) and the memorable "Radar Men from the Moon" (1952).
Stardom finally came with the ABC series "The Lone Ranger" (1949-57), co-starring Silverheels as Tonto. Riding the crest of the Western TV craze of the 1950s, Moore became the idol of a generation of American youth. He missed only the 1952-53 season, when he struck for more money and was briefly replaced by John Hart. Moore spent his vacations making films: amazingly, he released eight films and two serials in 1952 alone. Among his later titles were "Desert Passage" (1952), "Kansas Pacific" (1953), "The Lone Ranger" (1956) and his last, "The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold" (1958).
Moore continued playing The Lone Ranger in commercials and promotional tours (mostly for Dodge), hitting the headlines again in 1979 when Lone Ranger Television Inc. and the Wrather Corporation barred him from appearing as the character. He was forced to abandon his mask for large sunglasses until winning the case on appeal in 1985.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (Short)
Life Events
1938
Began working in films as stuntman
1940
Made acting debut in "Kit Carson"
1942
Serial debut in "Perils of Nyoka"
1949
Starred as The Lone Ranger on TV
1956
First "Lone Ranger" feature
1979
Legally forbidden from appearing as The Lone Ranger (won case in 1985)
Videos
Movie Clip
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
"I've been The Lone Ranger for 30 years, and I intend to be The Lone Ranger for the rest of my life; I've decided I'll stay The Lone Ranger until I'm called" --Clayton Moore, quoted in The New York Times, September 6, 1979.
"I try to lead a good, clean life; I don't smoke; I don't drink; it's not that I'm trying to be a goody-good, but I just don't want to" --Moore to The New York Times, September 6, 1979.
