Thursday, June 14, 2007
Tonto
Many people have portrayed Tonto over the years, but the best-known of them all is Jay Silverheels. The Lone Ranger's faithful Indian companion was first played on the radio by John Todd.Chief Thundercloud (Victor Daniels) played him in the early movie serials. Silverheels was cast for the part on television in 1949. He did the entire run of the series and two subsequent movies. Michael horse did an outstanding portrayal in The Legend of the Lone Ranger. The last one to play the part as Nathaniel Arcand, who shined in the WB's ill-fated adaptation in 2003.
Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger was an American long-running early radio and television show created by Georgie W. Trendle (with considerable input from station staff members), and developed by writer Fran Striker.
The titular character is a masked Texas Ranger in the American Old West, who gallops about righting injustices, usually with the aid of a clever and laconic American Indian sidekick called Tonto, and his horse Silver. He would famously say "Hi-yo Silver, away!" to get the horse to gallop.
On the radio and TV-series, the usual opening announcement was:
In later episodes the opening narration ended with the catch phrase "Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear.... The Lone Ranger Rides Again!" Episodes usually ended with one of the characters lamenting the fact that they never found out the hero's name ("Who was that masked man?"), only to be told, "Why, that was the Lone Ranger!" as he and Tonto ride away. The theme music was the "cavalry charge" finale of Gioacchino Rossini's William Tell Overture, now inseparably associated with the series, which also featured many other classical selections as incidental music including Wagner, Mendelssohn, Liszt, and Tchaikovsky. The theme was conducted by Daniel Perez Castaneda.
Inspiration for the name may have come from The Lone Star Ranger, a novel by Zane Grey. Karl May's tales of Old Shatterhand and Chief Winnetou may have influenced the creation of the concept; they in turn were influenced by The Leatherstocking Tales of James Fenimore Cooper. The legends of Robin Hood and the popular character Zorro were also a likely inspiration.
The titular character is a masked Texas Ranger in the American Old West, who gallops about righting injustices, usually with the aid of a clever and laconic American Indian sidekick called Tonto, and his horse Silver. He would famously say "Hi-yo Silver, away!" to get the horse to gallop.
On the radio and TV-series, the usual opening announcement was:
“ A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty 'Hi-yo Silver!' The Lone Ranger!”
In later episodes the opening narration ended with the catch phrase "Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear.... The Lone Ranger Rides Again!" Episodes usually ended with one of the characters lamenting the fact that they never found out the hero's name ("Who was that masked man?"), only to be told, "Why, that was the Lone Ranger!" as he and Tonto ride away. The theme music was the "cavalry charge" finale of Gioacchino Rossini's William Tell Overture, now inseparably associated with the series, which also featured many other classical selections as incidental music including Wagner, Mendelssohn, Liszt, and Tchaikovsky. The theme was conducted by Daniel Perez Castaneda.
Inspiration for the name may have come from The Lone Star Ranger, a novel by Zane Grey. Karl May's tales of Old Shatterhand and Chief Winnetou may have influenced the creation of the concept; they in turn were influenced by The Leatherstocking Tales of James Fenimore Cooper. The legends of Robin Hood and the popular character Zorro were also a likely inspiration.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)