Clayton Moore

Clayton Moore (September 14, 1914 – December 28, 1999) was an American actor.

Career
His real name was Jack Carlton Moore. He was born in Chicago, Illinois. He began his career as a child, as an acrobat in the circus. In 1938 he went to Hollywood and acted in minor roles in Class B Western movies. In 1947 he was in the movie Jesse James Rides Again. He played Jesse James. He also played James in Adventures of Frank and Jesse James (1948). He starred in The Ghost of Zorro (1949). The other B-movies he starred in were Cyclone Fury 1951; Montana Territory, 1952, as Commissioner George Ives; and Gunfighters of the Northwest, 1954.

The Lone Ranger
In 1949 he was chosen by ABC Television to play The Lone Ranger. In the series of the same name. His co-star was the actor Jay Silverheels. It was the biggest success of ABC in the postwar period. From 1949 to 1956, 169 episodes were made of The Lone Ranger. His silver bullets, white hat and black mask were icons of the western U.S. In 1979, the company owning the rights to The Lone Ranger forced him to no longer use the character. Judge Vernon Foster said Moore could no longer use his black mask, or advertise as The Lone Ranger. Moore obeyed the judge's decision. In 1987 a star was placed on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.

He died on December 28, 1999 from a heart attack in his Los Angeles, California home, aged 85.

Other websites

 * Clayton Moore Memorial
 * Clayton Moore at The Old Corral (b-westerns.com)
 * Clayton Moore, Television's Lone Ranger And a Persistent Masked Man, Dies at 85
 * Clayton Moore, Television's Lone Ranger And a Persistent Masked Man, Dies at 85