Tonto was so much more than the Lone Ranger’s sidekick

The Lone Ranger

The Lone Ranger and Tonto might not mean much to younger generations but these characters are near and dear to the hearts of baby boomers and their parents. Boomers are now between the ages of 57 and 73 and their parents are at least age 80 or above. These individuals grew up enjoying Saturday morning Westerns and continue to be able to watch them today thanks to retro TV and streaming service. The Lone Ranger can currently be seen at night on the CIRCLE network.

I knew The Lone Ranger was portrayed by Clayton Moore but I don't recall hearing anyone mention the name of the man who played. Tonto. Clayton Moore's partner was Jay Silverheels who was born Harold Jay Smith, on May 26, 1912. Silverheels was an athlete who excelled at Lacrosse. Smith was so fast that his teammates nicknamed him "Silverheels" and this is why he chose this as his professional moniker.

Jay Silverheels

Silverheels was an Indigenous (Mohawk) Canadian actor who was born in Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario, Canada. He was the grandson of Mohawk Chief A. G. Smith and his wife Mary Wedge. Their daughter, his mother Mabel Phoebe Dockstarter married Captain Alexander George Edwin Smith, MC, Cayuga, who was Seneca. Silverheels had 10 siblings.

On the television series, Tonto was the sidekick to THE LONE RANGER but Jay Silve's athletic abilities led to his becoming a stuntman and shortly after his acting career began. In 1944 he had a role in a small film I AM AN AMERICAN. He later began getting major movie roles beginning with CAPTAIN FROM CASTILE, (1947).

He was also in KEY LARGO, (1948)LUST FOR LIFE (1949), BROKEN ARROW (1950)WAR ARROW (1953) THE BLACK DAKOTA'S (1954) DRUMS ACROSS THE RIVER (1954), WALK THE PROUD LAND (1956) ALIAS JESSE JAMES (1959) and INDIAN PAINT(1964). TRUE GRIT (1969) SANTEE (1973) One of his final roles was as the wise, gray-haired Native chief in 1973's THE MAN WHO LOVED CAT DANCING.

Tonto and The Lone Ranger

Silverheels earned his greatest fame as Tonto from 1949-1957 on The Lone Ranger. The main character the Ranger was the lone survivor of a Texas massacre. He rides throughout the West on his horse Silver assisted by his companion Tonto. The actor was considered to be irreplaceable in his role as Tonto and therefore was cast in two Lone Ranger film sequels, THE LONE RANGER (1956) and The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of GolTHE LONE RANGER AND THE LOST CITY OF GOLD (1958). He later made appearances in the 1970s on THE BRADY BUNCH, AND LOVE AMERICAN STYLE.

Jay Silverheels was married twice and had 6 children. In later years he supplemented his income by becoming a salesman and also writing poetry. He often did spoofs of his Tonto character on programs like The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The actor passed away at age 67 on March 5, 1980, in Calabasas, California. Jay Silverheels was a product of the times in which he lived and took on the roles that were available to him during that era. Even so, he held his own with some of the greats like Humphrey Bogart and John Wayne.

Stereotypical roles

If Silverheels wanted to work he had to accept what was offered the same way African Americans during that time were basically maids and butles in movies and on TV. Today many fans have great respect for his portraying Tonto and see him as his own man and not a sidekick in Clayton Moore's shadow. During an interview in 2014, Claton Moore's daughter Dawn said that her father had great respect for Jay Silverheels. She added that the man who portrayed Tonto was famous long before The Lone Ranger and that her father learned from Silverheels how to stand up for his rights while filming.