Editing Lone Ranger (section)

==Television==

===''The Lone Ranger'' (1949–1957)===
{{Main|The Lone Ranger (TV series)}}

''The Lone Ranger'' is a TV show that aired for eight seasons, from 1949 to 1957, and starred [[Clayton Moore]] as the Lone Ranger and [[Jay Silverheels]] as Tonto. Only five of the eight seasons had new episodes. It was the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] television network's first big hit of the early 1950s.<ref name="History.com"/> Moore's tenure as the Ranger is probably the best-known treatment of the franchise.<ref>{{cite news|title= After 60 Years, the Lone Ranger Still Lives |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=June 12, 1993 |url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-06-12-ca-2379-story.html |access-date=September 27, 2010 |first=Dennis |last=McLellan}}</ref> Moore was replaced in the third season by [[John Hart (actor)|John Hart]],<ref>{{cite news |title=John Hart dies at 91; the other 'Lone Ranger' |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=September 22, 2009 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/obituaries/la-me-john-hart23-2009sep23,0,2385894.story |access-date=November 1, 2010 |first=Dennis |last=McLellan}}</ref><ref name=Moore1998>{{cite book |last1=Moore |first1=Clayton |last2=Thompson |first2=Frank |title=I Was That Masked Man |year= 1998 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield|Taylor Trade Publishing]] |page=130 |isbn=978-0878332168}}</ref> but he returned for the final two seasons. The final season was shot in color. A total of 221 episodes were made.

After the series ended, Moore continued to make public appearances as the Lone Ranger. In 1979, [[Jack Wrather]], then owner of the rights to the character, obtained a restraining order against Moore, enjoining Moore from appearing in public in his mask.<ref name=LATimes2>{{cite news |title=Who's That Masked Man? Hi-Yo-It's Clayton Moore! |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=January 15, 1985 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-15-mn-7324-story.html}}</ref> The actor began wearing oversized wraparound [[Foster Grant]] sunglasses, as a substitute for the mask. Moore later won a countersuit, allowing him to resume his costume.<ref name=LATimes2/>

===''The Return of the Lone Ranger'' (1961)===
In 1961 [[CBS]] produced ''Return of the Lone Ranger'', starring Tex Hill, as the pilot episode for a proposed TV series.{{Citation needed|date=June 2013}}

===Format Films animated cartoon, 1966 to 1968===
{{Main|The Lone Ranger (1966 TV series)}}

An animated series of ''[[The Lone Ranger (animated TV series)|The Lone Ranger]]'' ran from 1966 to 1968 on CBS. It was produced by [[Herbert Klynn]] and [[Jules Engel]] of [[Format Films]], Hollywood, and designed and animated at the [[Halas and Batchelor|Halas and Batchelor Cartoon Film]] studios in London, England. The show lasted thirty episodes; however, these were invariably split into three separate shorts, with the middle segment being a solo adventure for Tonto, so that there were actually 90 installments in all. The last episode aired on March 9, 1968.

These Lone Ranger adventures were similar in tone and nature to CBS's [[science fiction Western]], ''[[The Wild Wild West]],'' in that the plots were bizarre and had elements of science-fiction and [[steampunk]] technology thrown in. Even the Lone Ranger's greatest enemy in the animated series was a dwarf, similar to James T. West's greatest enemy, [[Dr. Loveless|Dr. Miguelito Loveless]]. He was called Tiny Tom, and was voiced by [[Dick Beals]]. This animated cartoon was credited as being a Jack Wrather production, and it provided the first exposure many 1960s children had to the characters.

The Lone Ranger's voice was provided by [[Michael Rye]], who had portrayed ''[[Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy]]'' on radio. [[Shepard Menken]] played Tonto. The narrator in the opening title was [[Marvin Miller (actor)|Marvin Miller]]. Other "guest voices" were provided by [[Paul Winchell]], [[Agnes Moorehead]] and [[Hans Conried]].

===''The Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure Hour'', early 1980s===
{{Main|The Lone Ranger (1980 TV series)}}
{{Further|The Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure Hour}}
The Lone Ranger was featured, along with [[Zorro]] and [[Tarzan]], in ''[[The Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure Hour|Adventure Hour]]'' cartoon shorts in the early 1980s, produced by [[Filmation]]. These episodes featured [[William Conrad]] as the voice of the Masked Man, although he was listed in the credits as "J. Darnoc" (Conrad spelled backward). This series took a more realistic tone with a heavily historical context to include an educational element to the stories, even though there were several episodes that did feature elements of science fiction (much like the earlier cartoons from the 1960s). There were 14 episodes, combining two adventures in each episode, for a total of 28 stories. Though Conrad was the main voice featured, other noted voice actors in the Filmation series include an uncredited [[Lou Scheimer]], [[Frank Welker]], and [[Michael Bell (actor)|Michael Bell]].

===''The Lone Ranger ''(2003)===
{{Main|The Lone Ranger (2003 film)}}

In 2003, the [[The WB|WB]] network aired a two-hour Lone Ranger TV movie, starring [[Chad Michael Murray]] as the Lone Ranger. The TV movie served as the pilot for a possible new series. However, the movie was greeted unenthusiastically; the name of the secret identity of the Lone Ranger was changed from "John Reid" to "Luke Hartman", and while an empty grave was still alongside those of the five dead Rangers, its supposed occupant was unidentified, and the hero maintained his unmasked identity, as well, becoming a cowboy version of [[Zorro]], as in the first film serial. Ultimately, the project was shelved, with the pilot aired in telefilm form during the summer season due to Murray's popularity with the target audience of the network.

===Other appearances===

Clayton Moore appeared in character in an episode of ''[[Lassie (1954 TV series)|Lassie]]'' in 1958. John Hart appeared in an episode of ''[[Happy Days]]''.
An episode of ''[[The Greatest American Hero]]'', titled, "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys," had a special appearance by John Hart as The Lone Ranger.  In the story, superhero Ralph Hinkley is despondent over his failures, and considers giving up, until he is encouraged by Hart's retelling of the Lone Ranger's exploits.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}