Clayton Moore

 Clayton Moore (September 14, 1914 – December 28, 1999)

Moore was best known for playing the fictional western character the Lone Ranger from 1949–1951 and 1954–1957 (missing two seasons due to a contract dispute) on the television series of the same name and two related movies from the same producers. In 1949 Moore's work in the Ghost of Zorro serial drew the attention of George Trendle, co-creator and producer of The Lone Ranger, a popular radio series about a mysterious former Texas Ranger, the sole survivor of a six-Ranger posse ambushed by a gang of outlaws, who roamed the West with his Indian companion battling evil and helping the downtrodden. When Trendle brought the series to television, Moore landed the title role. With the "cavalry charge" from Rossini's William Tell Overture as their theme music, Moore and co-star Jay Silverheels made history as the stars of the first Western written specifically for television. The Lone Ranger soon became the highest-rated program to that point on the fledgling ABC network and its first true hit. It earned an Emmy Award nomination in 1950. Clayton Moore died on December 28, 1999, in a West Hills, California, hospital after suffering a heart attack at his home. He is buried at Forest Lawn-Glendale.