The Lone Ranger

The TV premiere of "The Lone Ranger," based on the successful WXYZ Detroit radio show was September 15, 1949. The radio show's creator, George W. Trendle needed an inexpensive dramatic show to save his station. According to a 1939 article in the Saturday Evening Post, it had to be: dramatic because drama was inexpensive and required no name stars; for kids because they are less critical and they talk their parents into buying the advertised products; and wholesome, so, from among kid's favorite topics, he chose Westerns over crime stories. Trendle's hero would have a white horse with silver shoes and be named Silver. The writer of the series, Fran Striker, remembered that Robin Hood had silver-tipped arrows, so he gave the Ranger silver bullets. In the radio script No. 10 Striker introduced Ke-mo sah-bee's faithful Indian companion, Tonto, because the Ranger, lone or not, needed someone to talk to for plot development. The William Tell Overture composed by Gioacchino Rossini in 1829 remains synonymous with their adventures. The live radio broadcasts ran from 1933 until 1954. The original TV series ended in 1957, but there have been numerous reappearances in several TV series, films, film serials, comic strips, and merchandise.

From The Lone Ranger, Clayton Moore