Tonto in this depiction was a Potowatomi tribesman.įor the WB network's ill-received 2003 TV movie, Nathaniel Arcand assumed the role of Tonto. Though Tonto still spoke in pidgen English, this is the first time he was played by a Native American actor (Silverheels was a Mohawk from Canada) and was the first time a television show featured a Native American actor in a major role. This version was essentially the same as he was presented in the radio series. Silverheels appeared in every one of the 221 episodes alongside both Clayton Moore and John Hart. He even carried the majority of the action during the transition between Rangers Earle Graser and Brace Beemer, when the Lone Ranger character was injured and could not speak above a whisper.įor the entire run of the television series, 1949-1957, Tonto was portrayed by Jay Silverheels. When Reid decides to put on a mask and become the Lone Ranger, Tonto vows his loyalty to his friend and joins him in his pursuit of law and order.Īctor John Todd played Tonto almost exclusively on the radio series from 1933 to 1954. He buries the other five Rangers, but digs six graves, to make the outlaws believe all six men were killed. He recognizes the living Ranger as the boy who helped him long ago, and now cares for him. Years later, Tonto is hunting when he comes upon the scene of the ambush in Bryant's Gap, finding five dead Texas Rangers and one barely alive. Before they part company, Tonto gives Reid a ring, and calls him " Kemosabe," which means "faithful friend" or "trusty
A white boy named John Reid finds Tonto still alive and cares for him until he heals. His tribe, in some versions including a sister, is massacred when he is young boy. His acting career began after being approached to appear in a Chrysler commercial, and in the late 1980s he began acting in character roles, with early credits including “War Party” (1988), “Harts of the West” (1993-94) and a 1993 episode of “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles” where he played Grey Cloud opposite Harrison Ford.In most versions of the Lone Ranger story, Tonto is the last surviving member of a wandering band of Potawatomi Native Americans. “He made his home here as an actor, but he never forgot his roots in Oklahoma. “He loved both Oklahoma and L.A.,” Carmichael said about Grant, who was also the hereditary chief of the Sac and Fox Nation. Grant’s publicist, Lani Carmichael, confirmed to the AP that he died peacefully of natural causes at a private care facility. Saginaw Grant, the Native American actor known for his performance as Chief Big Bear in “ The Lone Ranger” and for featured roles in “Breaking Bad” and other popular series and films, died Wednesday in Hollywood, according to the Associated Press.
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