There are a lot of people I’m sure that can remember The Lone Ranger. This show originally started as a radio show back in 1933, and it premiered on the 30th of Jan, and the first of 2,956 episodes were on WXYZ a station that served the Detroit, Michigan area. As most of us know this became a huge success. The show then went to TV and ran from 1949 to 1957, there was also movies made as well as comic books. Over the years there has been reruns of the show, I remember this as one of the shows I used to watch when I come home from school.
Image via Wikipedia
Clayton Moore as the Lone Ranger
Alter ego – John Reid
Team affiliations – Texas Rangers
Partnerships – Tonto
Abilities – Expert marksman
Trained in hand-to-hand combat
The Lone Ranger on his beautiful white stallion, Silver would be riding on the open plain and would shout “Hi-yo, Silver! Away!” Of course then someone would say “Who was that masked man anyway?” You just have to love these old shows. Like a lot of Good Guys, The Lone Ranger had a very good friend in Tonto who by the way didn’t enter the script until the 11th episode of the radio show. Tonto was an Indian, and he usually referred to the Lone Ranger as “Ke-mo sah-bee”, meaning “trusty scout” or “trusted friend.”
Wikipedia has a very good article on The Lone Ranger, the original characters, a section about the horses that were used in the TV series, and of course about the original radio series. It is well worth the read.
I enjoyed this reminder. I never heard or watched any of the programs with the Lone Ranger. But as a kid a had a close relationship to him and Tonto through the comic strips. Great post!
Hi munchow,
Oh yes the comic books were very popular, when I was a kid you would often see these at school. 🙂
Aww right blokes and sheilas, you aren’t going to believe this one, but it IS true (some my pronounce that twue).
I was born in Buffalo New York and a family by the name of Smith, happened to be my families next door neighbor. Can’t recall ALL the children they had, but one was named Harold, Harold Smith.
Although born on the Six Nations Reservation in Canada, Harold and of course the rest of the Smith family migrated to Buffalo, NY. Harold had a stage name, that stage name was Jay Silverheels. And guess what? Jay Silverheels had another name, that name was TONTO. Harold was a star athlete,
Every time Harold came back to see his family, in Buffalo, NY our shared neighborhood went crazy.
I present this link, as an afterthought, NOT before hand to type a tall tale.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Silverheels
Hi elcampeador,
Thats unreal, it really is a small world. 😀
Thanks for the link also, it is a very interesting read.
Ah, nostalgia; how great. I loved the Lone Ranger TV show; it was one of the few that my brother and I watched. Lovely memories; thanks.
Ronnie
Hi Ronnie,
Yes I was also a fan, it was always fun to watch. 😀
Reblogged this on et cetera* and commented:
From Australia, Magsx2’s Blog and post, near and dear to my childhood. Thank you Mags..
That was a blast from the past. I can just remember watching The Lone Ranger on the weekends. I was more into the superheros of the time like Superman or Batman etc :-).
Hi Windsmoke,
There have been some recent reruns of The Lone Ranger every now and then, although I must of missed some of these I think. 🙂
I’m also the superheros fan, these shows are always fun to watch I feel. 🙂
Yes the Lone Ranger was one of my heroes on afternoon black and white television in the late fifties and early sixties. On the radio/wireless, the favourite was “The Adventures of Smoky Dawson” and his palomino horse “Flash”.
Hi Mal,
Well you got me on the Smoky Dawson and Flash, although my Husband said he remembered the show.
Found this in Wikipedia:
When he returned to Australia in 1952 he starred in his own radio show, echoeing that of Roy Rogers in the United States.—The Adventures of Smoky Dawson—which stayed on the air for ten years. At its peak, the show was broadcast on 69 stations across the country
His Famous Palomino TV horse, “Flash”, bedecked in more American-style tack than Australian, lived to be 42 years old, and Smoky fed him porridge with a spoon.
Smokey Dawson
I didn’t know about this guy, so this was interesting reading 🙂
Hi Rebekah,
I am so glad I was able to give you something new to read about. It’s amazing sometimes some of things we find out in the blogosphere. I am always learning new things, especially about other country’s through different blogs.
Outstanding post … and I too watch many episodes during my childhood.
Hi aFrankAngle,
Thank You. The show certainly used to be a favourite with a lot of people I feel. 🙂
You’ve given me a great idea for a blog post, but anyway, when I used to deliver pizza, one day I got so sick of the radio that I started listening to all kinds of unusual things. Eventually I happened on this 4 hour show called The Big Broadcast, and it had all kinds of old time radio shows on it. Suspense, The Whistler, etc. – and it was awesome! I only heard The Lone Ranger a couple of times, but the whole experience was great.
Hi Edward,
Sounds like a fantastic show, it’s great that there was someone that played some of the old radio shows, this way they can give a different generation an idea of what some of these shows were like. 🙂
Thank You very much for visiting and taking the time to comment.
I grew up in Scotland, and I remember going to the cinema every Saturday morning with my brothers to get our fix of the Lone Ranger and his trusted pal Tonto. We would cheer them on and ‘boo’ the baddies!
I loved Silver, he could do anything, and helped the Lone Ranger get out of trouble many times – perhaps that’s when my passion for pets started!
Thanks for the memories Mags!
Hi barb19,
Wow, I didn’t know The Lone Ranger was shown over there as well, that’s great, he definitely was one of those hero’s, I think he’s horse was a big attraction for every child back then. 😀
I never heard about The Lone Ranger before. But after reading your post; I feel he must be a very famous & Interesting character. 🙂
Hi Arindam,
Yes he was very famous, with kids and adults, as was Tonto, and of course the famous horse Silver, he was always the hero, and saved the day. 😀
I never caught the last episode of ‘The Lone Ranger’ … in which, it is said, the Lone Ranger shot Tonto because he found out what ‘Kemo Sabay’ really means! 😀
Yes, I used to enjoy it … although my first thought today, on seeing the clips, was that Rossini must be turning in his grave at that version of the ‘William Tell Overture’!
Hi travelrat,
You can always look at it this way the “William Tell Overture” had never been so popular, just about every child back then knew the music to The Lone Ranger, they may not of known what the music was, but they certainly knew the sound. 😀
Thanks so much. I didn’t know when it began, but I loved being raised with it. The Lone Ranger and Tonto was a special part of my child hood. Thanks again for this fun reminder and info on one of my top favorite shows from youth. 🙂
Hi E.C.
I’m happy to hear the post brought back some nice memories for you. 🙂
Pingback: Simple Amusements, Part Three-Radio « Grumpa Joe's Place
The lone ranger..How I loved to watch this when I was a child! 😀 And this Palomino is stunning 🙂
Hi wolke205,
The show would not of been the same without Silver, such a stunning horse, and just so well trained. 🙂
great soundtrack from the movie classic…
…thanks for your visits to my blog
Hi Ianus Christius,
It certainly is, and it will always be remembered as the theme from The Lone Ranger I feel. 🙂
No problem, I do enjoy reading your posts.
Pingback: Today In History : Hi-Yo Silver, Away 1933 | Wis U.P. North
I remember the Lone Ranger – though he was a bit before my time.
I saw something the other day that said he was one of the most popular characters of the 20th century.
And rightfully so.
Hi El Guapo,
There have been heaps of reruns of The Lone Ranger over the years, I remember watching a couple of old black and white reruns back in 2004. It doesn’t surprise me that he was the most popular.
Oh yah…one of my favs! As a kid, I had to go to Canadian Girls In Training – an Anglican deal. It was Fridays after school and I learned how to do needlework. Yipee Dee! (To be fair, some of the techniques are still very handy today.) However, when we finished at 5:30, there was hot chocolate AND The Lone Ranger! It just didn’t get any better!! 😀
Hi souldipper,
Wow, hot chocolate and The Lone Ranger, I really feel like I missed out on something here, I never got any hot chocolate. 😕
Thanks for the memories. 🙂
Hi Doraz,
Your welcome. 😀
I was a big fan of the Lone Ranger – once we finally got a TV. Kids today probably don’t realize that many of us ‘still not all that old’ folks remember when there was no such thing as television where we lived!
Hi Margie,
Spot on. I felt like we were never going to get a TV. Some of the kids at school already had them. I remember being amazed when I went over to a friends place to check out her new Black and White TV. It was many years again before the rural areas could get a reception even if they could afford a TV. 😀
I read the comics too. The show was brilliant. It brought back such great memories to read this!
Hi Selma,
This show brings back a lot of memories for me as well, I love seeing reruns of some of these old shows but unfortunately I don’t always get to see them.
This was one of my favourite TV shows when I was a boy but the most baffling thing about the Lone Ranger was that he wasn’t the sort of guy you would miss easily in a crowd. He wore a powder blue skintight costume and a broad brimmed white Stetson, wore a mask to conceal his face, had a deep baritone voice and rode in a black buckled saddle on a white stallion called Silver. It was surprising therefore that no one could ever recognise him! Interestingly the only thing that gave him away usually came at the end of the show and when asked who he was by a cerebrally challenged frontiersman he would pass the enquirer a silver bullet and then the penny would finally drop. “That was the Lone Ranger,” they would announce as the masked stranger and Tonto galloped off at an impossibly high speed to the sound of Rossini’s William Tell overture.
Hi Andrew,
You are obviously a big fan. Yes you had to smile when no one actually reconized him, but you have to love those silver bullets. 😀
Thank You very much for visiting and taking the time to comment.
Pingback: Play Dance: Horse (Video) | Magsx2's Blog
I never had the chance to watch the show, but in our writing class we’ve used the story for impromptu writings, so I have little knowledge about it. And it’s really one good story, and people still love it these days. Nice feature story, Mags😊 thanks for sharing!
Hi Aina,
That is fascinating to know that you used the story in writing class, unreal. Yes it was a very popular show in it’s day, everyone loved the Long Ranger and Tonto. 😀