When most people hear the strains of Rossini's William Tell Overture, they think of the Lone Ranger, and when they think of the Lone Ranger they think of Clayton Moore, who has died aged 85.
As the famous galloping rhythm gathered pace, his thrilling cry of "Hi-yo, Silver, away!" delivered to his "fiery horse with the speed of light", was heard at the beginning of each episode of the television series, and imitated by generations of kids.
The handsome, six-foot actor was the white-stetsoned, masked rider, who never shot to kill, in 169 episodes from 1949 to 1957.
He was accompanied by Jay Silverheels as Tonto, his loyal Mohawk Indian companion, who called the Lone Ranger "kemo sabe" (trusty scout), and together they rode the range righting wrongs in less than 30 minutes a time. The stories may have been formulaic and simplistic, but they made a noble pair. Jack Carlton Moore was born in Chicago, the son of a real-estate broker. As a youngster he loved the western TV serials and wanted to be a real cowboy when he grew up.
A fine athlete and gymnast, he entered show business as a trapeze artist in a circus in Chicago in 1934, and then worked as a model in New York. In 1937 he arrived in Hollywood, where he started in films as a stunt man, graduating to small roles as villains in a few features such as Kit Carson (1940) and The Son of Monte Cristo (1941).
Throughout the 1940s he appeared in serials that were the staple of Saturday children's matinees. As the leader of a jungle expedition to find sacred tablets containing the secret of life, he had to battle the evil Vultura and Satan the gorilla in The Perils of Nyoka. In 1949, he played the title role in the serial The Ghost of Zorro, playing the grandson of the original Zorro, wearing a mask for the first time.
The image of Clayton Moore as a masked hero stuck in the minds of the ABC TV producers who were looking for an actor to portray the Lone Ranger in the transfer of the radio hit to television, and he got the job. The Lone Ranger was the first western series ever produced specifically for television. It was so popular that the cry of "Hi-yo, Silver" could also have been an expression of the money that it earned.
A leather-clad Clayton Moore, with Silverheels, was seen in colour for the first time in two feature-length spin-offs, The Lone Ranger (1956) and The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold (1958), neither of which challenged John Ford's westerns. The only other character he played after becoming the Lone Ranger, apart from an appearance in an episode of Lassie, was in the title role in Buffalo Bill in Tomahawk Territory (1952).
When the TV series ended in 1957, he refused to hang up his mask and continued to make personal appearances as the Lone Ranger in commercials, the opening of new stores, and rodeos. However, in 1979 the producers of a new feature called The Legend of the Lone Ranger, who had bought the rights for £3 million forbade him to make further appearances in his famous cowboy garb.
"This country needs heroes, and there aren't many left," he protested. "For many Americans, the Lone Ranger is a hero, and people don't want to see their heroes shot down." He went on talk shows to press his case, but a court order restrained him, so he took to wearing sunglasses cut in the shape of a mask. The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981) lost more than £11 million.
After this debacle, Clayton Moore, in his 70s donned his mask once again. The actor, who is survived by his fourth wife and a daughter, said, "It's my symbol, it's Americana. I guess when I go up to the big ranch in the sky, I'll still have it on."
Jack Carlton (Clayton) Moore: born 1914; died December, 1999