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The Lone Ranger galloped through performance after performance of radio heroism on

Detroit’s WXYZ: His dramatic “Hi-Yo Silver” echoed through living rooms across the

nation and fans young and old thrilled with excitement when “the thundering hooves of

the great horse Silver” were heard via the airwaves, bearing the masked rider, with

Tonto at his side, to his mission of rescue.

Seventy-two years ago, when the Lone Ranger was first broadcast, the identity of the

sonorous-voiced hero was a closely-guarded secret. Actually, an actor named Jack

Deeds played the title role for the first six broadcasts. He was replaced by a young

actor, George Stenius (later famous as George Seaton, movie producer) who

continued in the role for three months. When Stenius quit, then-station manager Brace

Beemer was selected to play the lead, but Beemer quit after a few months to open his

own advertising agency.

Earl W. Graser, another actor, played the masked hero with an easygoing naturalness

that had a strong identification for listeners until his untimely death in an automobile

accident in April of 1941. Baffled on Graser’s replacement, the producers decided to

buy some time by having the Lone Ranger critically wounded and unconscious, unable

to speak except for some heavy breathing to show he was still alive.