Horse Was Silver, Word Was Gold

As the mysterious masked man astride his fabled stallion Silver, he embodied all that was brave and honorable, a hero whose noble deeds and sense of justice made him a national icon.

And even when he wasn’t portraying the Lone Ranger, Clayton Moore embodied the same high ideals as his most famous role, said friends and fans who attended his memorial service Sunday. The actor died Dec. 28 of a heart attack at age 85.

“We’re all here to honor someone we all loved,” producer Rob Word told a packed audience of more than 200 inside the Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Griffith Park, and a couple of hundred additional fans gathered outside. As the Lone Ranger, Moore “was everywhere for a lot of us growing up,” Word said.

Inside the auditorium, longtime friends took turns speaking at the lectern, as an image of a smiling Moore sporting his trademark white cowboy hat was projected on a screen.

Outside, fans huddled under overcast skies around a simultaneous broadcast on a small television set. The crowd, many of whom were graying, was also full of those who arrived in cowboy hats, bolo ties and fringed clothing for the occasion.

Near the museum’s entrance, about a dozen officers on horseback from the Los Angeles Police Department’s mounted unit stood sentry.

“There were many heroes in my childhood,” among them, the Cisco Kid and Will Rogers, said Johnny Crawford, who had appeared in “Lone Ranger” television episodes as a child actor and now leads an orchestra. “They all stood for wonderful things. But there was only one Lone Ranger.

“There was something special about the Lone Ranger”--and there was something special about Moore as well, Crawford added. “He never let you down. Clayton was always a gentleman, down to earth, always friendly, upbeat and full of energy. There’ll never be anyone like him.”

Moore was kindhearted as well, to those close to him as well as his fans, speakers said.

“He always rose to the occasion,” said his closest friend, Rand Brooks, who had been an actor before becoming owner of an ambulance company.

“I never, in all my years, ever heard Clayton say . . . “ Brooks fell silent, and then wiped away tears. “He never said one bad word about anyone, anyone.”

That Moore, in the role that defined his career, represented not only all that was virtuous but also an era gone by was a recurring theme in the speeches.

“Clayton Moore was a hero,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich said, as Moore’s widow, Clarita, daughter Dawn and son-in-law Michael Gerrity stood beside him. “Today’s generation, we do not have that kind of hero.”

Between speeches, the audience watched film highlights of Moore’s career, which included more than 70 feature films, his starring role in “The Lone Ranger” television series from 1949 to 1957, and his personal struggles for justice.

In 1979, the corporation that owned the rights to the Lone Ranger obtained a court order barring Moore from appearing at public functions as the mythical masked figure. An outpouring of public support for Moore and five years of legal battles later, Moore prevailed and was able to continue wearing his famous mask for fans.

“Some people, some actors will complain about typecasting,” film historian Leonard Maltin told the audience. “That never worried [Moore], in part because he loved the role so much.”

The Lone Ranger creed--which includes seeking truth, respect for others and belief in God among its ideals--helped instill in a generation of children a sense of values, several speakers as well as audience members said.

Standing outside in Western clothing, Debbie Bennett, an optician in Larchmont Village, said, “I always wanted to be a cowgirl because of the Lone Ranger.”

Herm Perlmutter, a supervisor with the Orange County Health Department, said: “He was my first and lasting inspiration to go into a life of humanitarian work.”

The Lone Ranger “taught me to do the right things, to help every day when I could to do things that are positive, whether it’s for one person or for mankind,” Perlmutter said.