THE LONE RANGER – Live Radio Play<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Directed by Charles C. Urban<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201cA fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty Hi-Yo Silver! The Lone Ranger! … Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear<\/em><\/strong>! The Lone Ranger rides again\u201d!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n THE LONE RANGER<\/strong> is a masked<\/em> Texas Ranger in the American Old West who gallops about righting injustices with the aid of his clever, laconic Native Indian assistant, Tonto<\/strong>. This American Pop Icon was first introduced in a 1933 radio show, which became an immediate hit, resulting in 2,956<\/strong> broadcast radio episodes<\/em>, going on to television and cinema. Tonight, we will be presenting two related episodes from THE LONE RANGER<\/strong> archive.<\/p>\n The First Episode<\/strong> is from 1948 and recounts the Origin of the Lone Ranger<\/em><\/strong>; why wears the mask, how he met his Indian companion Tonto<\/strong>, why he shoots silver bullets, where he found his magnificent stallion Silver. The basic story of THE LONGE RANGER<\/strong> is ingrained in American culture. The unnamed hero was the only survivor of a group of six Texas Rangers who were ambushed by Butch Cavendish and his gang in a canyon named Bryant\u2019s Gap. An Indian named Tonto<\/strong> later came upon the massacre, finding one ranger still alive. Tonto<\/strong> nurses the ranger back to health, who then swears to bring Cavendish to justice. To keep Cavendish off his guard, the ranger and Tonto<\/strong> make six graves in Bryant\u2019s Gap, and the ranger fashions a black domino mask from a ranger\u2019s vest to conceal his identity. He tamed the wild horse Silver for his mount, and after making sure Cavendish paid for his crimes, the Lone Ranger continued to fight for justice in the Old West.<\/p>\n The Second Episode<\/strong> is from 1953 and celebrates the 20th<\/sup> Anniversary of the series with The<\/em><\/strong> Return of Butch Cavendish<\/em><\/strong> – the Lone Ranger\u2019s arch nemesis,. Will Cavendish escape yet again? Or will justice prevail this time!? Tonto<\/strong> and THE LONE RANGER<\/strong> are inseperable. The character of Tonto<\/strong> made his initial appearance in the 11th episode of the radio show. The author, Fran Striker, told his son that Tonto<\/strong> was added so “The Lone Ranger would have someone to talk to.” <\/em>He was named by James Jewell, who also came up with the term “Kemosabe<\/em>“, based on the name of a Summer Camp owned by his father-in-law in upstate Michigan. In the local Native American language, Tonto<\/strong> meant “Wild One<\/strong>.” \u00a0<\/em>Because Tonto<\/strong> means “Stupid”<\/em> or “Ignorant”<\/em> in Spanish, the character was renamed “Toro<\/strong>” (Spanish for “Bull<\/em>“) or “Ponto<\/strong>” in Spanish-speaking countries.<\/p>\n The THEME MUSIC <\/strong>is just as iconic as THE LONE RANGER<\/strong> himself and\u00a0 was primarily taken from the “MARCH OF THE SWISS SOLDIERS<\/em>” finale of\u00a0 Gioachino Rossini’s\u00a0 WILLIAM TELL<\/em> OVERTURE<\/em><\/strong>, which thus came to be inseparably associated with the series.<\/p>\n THE LONE RANGER<\/em><\/strong> is the fifth installment of our highly popular Live Radio Series<\/em>, after the Classic Crime Story SORRY, WRONG NUMBER<\/em><\/strong> by Lucille Fletcher, THE MARX BROTHERS RADIO HOUR<\/em><\/strong>, the Orson Welles\u2019 Radio Adaption of DRACULA<\/em><\/strong> by Bram Stoker, and the Film Noir Detective Spoof by The Firesign Theatre \u2013 NICK DANGER; Third Eye. <\/em><\/strong>In October, we will be presenting THE WIZARD OF OZ<\/em><\/strong> by L.Frank Baum using the original 1950 LUX RADIO HOUR script!<\/p>\nThe Golden Age of Radio<\/strong><\/h3>\n