Clayton Moore - I Was That Masked Man

CLAYTON MOORE

With Frank Thompson

Copyright 1998 by Clayton Moore

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher.

TAYLOR TRADE PUBLISHING
An Imprint of the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200
Lanham, MD 20706

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Moore, Clayton, 1914

I was that masked man / Clayton Moore with Frank Thompson.

p. cm.

Filmography:

Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-87833-216-8

1. Moore, Clayton, 1914 . 2. ActorsUnited StatesBiography. I. Thompson, Frank T., 1952 . II. Title.

PN2287.M6948A3 1996

791.45'028'092dc20

This book has been printed on acid-free recycled paper.

Printed in the United States of America

by Leonard Maltin

by Frank Thompson

by Frank Thompson

Grateful thanks go to those who helped make this book possible: Dawn Moore, Clarita Moore, Michael Gerrity, Kate Seago, Ann Marie Tierney, Leonard Maltin, Claire McCulloch Thompson, Rand Brooks, Dave Holland, David Rothel, Susan Grode, Jim Hoiby, Broadway Video, Mike Emmerich, Frank Weimann, Thel Arthur, and, of course, Sally Allen Moore.

A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty Hi Yo Silver! The Lone Ranger rides again. With his faithful Indian companion Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains led the fight for law and order in the early western United States. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. Out of the past come the thundering hoofbeats of the great horse Silver. The Lone Ranger rides again!

Like millions of other kids of my generation, I grew up believing Clayton Moore was the Lone Ranger. It wasnt just that he gave a good performance as the masked rider; he seemed to embody the spirit and essence of the character. There was, in fact, no evidence of acting.

It was many years later that I met Clayton at a fan convention in New York City. He was scheduled to sign autographs for a set amount of time one afternoon, but the line was long and he didnt want to disappoint anyone. After staying past his scheduled period, he was leaving the room when a father and son rushed up to ask if he would pose for a photograph. He smiled and said yes, then not only posed, but posed in character!

Right then and there I knew he was someone special.

Ive been with Clayton a number of times since then, and hes never let me down or caused me to change my high opinion of him. He recognizes that many of us (especially those of us who grew up watching him in the 1950s) regard him with a kind of reverence. And far from being put off by this blur between his television persona and his private self, he seems to thrive on it.

No one could be as consistently noble as the Lone Ranger. Few would even try. But Clayton Moore has made an honest effort to carry himself like the hero he is to so many millions of fans. At the annual Golden Boot Awards ceremony, where veterans of television and movie Westerns are honored, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and Dale Evans are cheered with great enthusiasm. But consistently, the biggest ovation of the evening goes to Clayton Moore whenever he recites The Lone Ranger Creed. He brings the house down every time.

This charming autobiography tells us more than any of us have ever known about the man behind the mask; he emerges as a likable, hard-working actor who enjoyed his job. Its a treat to get to know Clayton Moore as someone other than the fabled crusader for law and order, and were all in his debt for sharing these memories on paper.

Clayton Moore may not be larger than life, like the Lone Ranger, but he is a genuinely good manand there arent enough of them in this world. If you ask me, he is a hero. God bless him.

LEONARD MALTIN

The image is burned into the imaginations of several generations. Into a stark landscape of craggy rock gallops a brilliant white stallion. On his back is a figure in blue suit, white hat, and black mask, mysterious and mythic at the same time. Pausing at the summit of an incline, the stallion rears magnificently, pawing the air with his front hooves. As the stirring, trumpeting strains of Rossinis William Tell Overture fill the soundtrack, the Masked Man calls out, Hi Yo Silver! Awayyy! And off they ride, into adventure, into legend.

A breathless announcer tells us who it is. But who doesnt already know? Hes the Lone Ranger, the champion of good, the bane of the outlaw, and these are the opening moments of the television show that broadcast his adventures from 19491957and on into the future.

With his faithful Indian friend Tonto and his mighty horse Silver, the Lone Ranger was a genuine hero, equal to any task. Through his many dramatic adventures, spanning over six decades, on radio, television, and in the movies, the Lone Ranger has become more than just a memorable fictional character. He is the epitome of a particular kind of American archetype: brave, honest, compassionate, patriotic, inventivean unswerving champion of justice and fair play.

Many actors have portrayed the Lone Ranger over the years, from Brace Beemer on the radio to Klinton Spilsbury in the ill-fated 1981 motion picture The Legend of the Lone Ranger. But one man has become synonymous with the role

Clayton Moore.

Adults in their forties and fifties have only to hear his voice to become ten years old again. Children who werent even born when The Lone Ranger was on the air in the fifties flock to him at personal appearances. Audiences fascination with the Lone Ranger and Clayton Moore has never died out. Over the years, he has been asked countless times to tell his own story, and now he has, reliving for his legions of fans those thrilling days of his personal yesteryear.

Although Clayton Moore became famous for his portrayal of the Lone Ranger, that character is only one aspect of Moores remarkable life and career. By the time he won the role in 1949, he had already lived a life worthy of a Republic serial, filled with adventure and glamour, danger and hardship. He was an athlete, a trapeze artist, a model, and a soldier. But from earliest childhood there was really only one thing Clayton Moore wanted to become: a movie cowboy hero. His wish came true, first in exciting, low-budget cliffhangers like Jesse James Rides Again (1947) and then as the star of the television series The Lone Ranger.

Clayton Moores story is an exciting and nostalgic tour of Hollywood in the Golden Agetable hopping at glamorous nightspots like the Trocadero with Mexican Spitfire Lupe Velez, lounging beside Cary Grants pool, and creating indelible movie moments at studios like Warner Bros., MGM, and Republic. Through him we experience the fast-paced world of the serial, the excitement (and agony) of turning out several half-hour television episodes a week, and the good-natured camaraderie of actors, directors, stuntmen, and crews on distant locations.

But his is also a story about change. When Clayton Moore began portraying the Lone Ranger, it was a role he coveted. But it was only thata role. A decade later, it was much, much more. The two identities had merged until only Moores family and closest friends could recognize the line that separated them. Its a remarkable transformation; Moore was inspired by the honesty, integrity, and idealism inherent in the Lone Ranger and wanted to embody those traits himself. Despite the distinct disadvantage of being a real person and not a fictional character, he has succeeded in doing just that. There are no skeletons in Clayton Moores closet. He is exactly what he appears to bemoral, upstanding, generous, honest, and patriotic.