December 16, 2004: New Lone Ranger coming from Vandor: Here's a photo of the coming new Lone Ranger mug from Vandor: "Lone Ranger Mug"
December 15, 2004: New Lone Ranger items coming: Something to look forward to in early 2005 will be five different Lone Ranger children's rings and a new Lone Ranger mug. Around March, 2005 fans can look forward to seeing child-sized Lone Ranger Secret Compartment Glow-In-The-Dark Rings. No description on the new mug yet but Jim at "Jim n' I Enterprises" says he will be carrying both items when they become available. Also, there should be 2 additional items coming out in 2005, including a new Lone Ranger game of some type. More details as I get the information from the manufacturers on all of the items.
December 13, 2004: Happy Birthday wishes to John Hart: Just wanted to wish John Hart a very Happy Birthday today: "John Hart birthday"
December 3, 2004: The Silver Bullet newsletter: Joe Southern reports The Silver Bullet should be mailed out on December 4th so most of us should get it early next week. Joe says it should be a fun issue and includes some speculation on the reported new Lone Ranger movie and reports on John Hart and Fred Foy. If you aren't a subscriber yet, you can always sign up. Get subscription details at: "The Silver Bullet newsletter"
December 3, 2004: Old Christmas catalog: I added a page that shows a page of Lone Ranger toys from a few years ago. Just one page so far but if I get anymore, I'll add them to this page: "Lone Ranger toys from Christmas past"
December 2, 2004: "Saddlemaker to the Stars: The Leather and Silver Art of Edward H. Bohlin" book: A Lone Ranger fan, Howard P., reports that those interested in acquiring a copy of the above book title, can obtain it through the Museum of the American West (formerly the Autry Museum of the American West). It's a hard to find book and at the price they are asking for it, it's a great buy. Here's the direct link to that book: "Saddlemaker to the Stars"
December 2, 2004: You can watch "The Lone Ranger" in the Middle East: Yes, you can even view "The Lone Ranger" in the Middle East. Nili, a Lone Ranger fan in Israel, reports that the show is seen 3 times a week day and once each on Saturday & Sunday, on METV television, based in Limssol, Cyprus, and it is available in many middle eastern countries. The program is brought to that part of the world through LeSEA Broadcasting. LeSEA Broadcasting also makes "The Lone Ranger" available to many fans here in the United States through World Harvest Television. "The Lone Ranger" truly remains as a worldwide wonder!
November 30, 2004: "Europeans can watch The Lone Ranger on television now: A Lone Ranger fan, J. McCarthy, wanted to let fellow fans who have access to the Bonanza Channel on the Sky Digital platform, can now watch episodes of The Lone Ranger. They recently started with the first episodes, so, those of you across the "big pond" should check it out!
November 29, 2004: Diamond Entertainment Lone Ranger DVDs information: A fellow Lone Ranger fan reported that he recently purchased the Diamond Entertainment "The Lone Ranger Show", Collectors Edition, 2 disc, 17 episode set. He advised that they are not the complete Lone Ranger episodes that were originally broadcast but they are similar to the episodes used by the Westerns channel in the past but are of poorer quality than what the Westerns Channel used to broadcast. He advised that the episodes are still edited and time compressed and he wanted to make the fans aware and that he has complained to Diamond Entertainment and has returned them for a refund.
November 9, 2004: "The Old Cowboy Picture Show" newsletter with Clayton Moore and The Lone Ranger: George Coan & Leo Pando have produced many issues of TOCPS together and the final issue, with Leo as a regular particpant, will be arriving in subscriber's mailboxes this week. Leo will contribute articles from time to time in the future but not on a regular basis. George will continue to publish TOCPS. Leo wanted to make his last issue a special one and he chose to salute Clayton Moore and The Lone Ranger with this issue with their photo on the cover. I hope you get a chance to read the November/December 2004 issue, Volume 8, No. 6. There are two additional articles by Leo Pando in this issue. Thanks Leo! You can check out the TOCPS web site here: "The Old Cowboy Picture Show"
November 9, 2004: "THE LEGEND LIVES ON" snow globes: Jim Hollaert at "Jim n' I Enterprises" informed me that he now has a limited quantity of snow globes available at his store's web site. Jim has them with his "The Legend Lives On" T-shirts section. You can find them by going to the following link and then clicking on the OUR STORE button at the top of the page and then scroll down a bit, to the picture of the T-shirts and snow globes: "Jim n' I Enterprises"
November 3, 2004: "Kemosabe" is not a racist term!: My thanks to fellow Lone Ranger fan & friend, Mark Largent, for bringing this to my attention. In a Reuters news item dated November 3, 2004 at 8:05 a.m. ET, a Canadian court has ruled that the term Kemosabe is not a racist term after a store manager called an employee by that term. Apparently the used sports equipment store manager called both his employees and his customers by the term of Kemosabe. The most recent ruling was made by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal and it upheld an earlier ruling by a Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission board of inquiry. The following link isn't very stable but hopefully, you can read the entire Reuters news story here: "Reuters News" Thanks again Mark! Mark does a great Lone Ranger web site as well and you can view it by going here: "Largent's Lone Ranger Page"
November 3, 2004: "Jim n' I Enterprises" -"Lone Ranger" T-shirts available: Jim Hollaert at "Jim n' I Enterprises" tells me that he now has "Jim n' I Enterprises" - Lone Ranger T-shirts for sale at his shop. You can take a look at the shirts with their color graphics at Jim's store page. Jim told me that the shirts are available in 2 sizes, Medium and Large. I'll give you the link here: "Jim n' I Enterprises" and just click on the OUR STORE button at the top of the page and then click on the T-shirt photo to get all of the details. If you have any questions about the shirts, send Jim an email.
October 26, 2004: Happy Trails Children's Foundation: The Happy Trails Children's Foundation is holding a A Tribute to
Our Hollywood Cowboy Heroes opportunity drawing for a specially made gun, holster, gun belt and presentation case. You can see the rig and get the full details at their web site. The Lone Ranger connection to this nice looking item is: "The hand crafted and engraved sterling silver buckles on both the belt and holster are replicas of the ones made famous by Clayton Moore as The Lone Ranger." "Silver Screen Legend VII". This drawing ends with the winner's name being drawn on December 19, 2004.
A second opportunity drawing, for a hand carved classic sterling silver saddle in the Bohlin tradition, ends in February, 2005, with the winner's name drawn at the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Western Film Festival in Victorville, CA. The Lone Ranger connection to this item, is that: "This saddle is to some extent a cross between saddles Bohlin made for Hopalong Cassidy and The Lone Ranger." and it includes "a beautiful silver bit similar to one used by The Lone Ranger on his great horse Silver." You can get the details for this drawing at the following web site: "The Legendary Classic Silver Saddle II". You can visit the main page of the Happy Trails Children's Foundation by clicking the Home button at the bottom of either page.
October 13, 2004: Lone Ranger at the Autry National Center: Thanks to Howard Peretti for directing me to the Autry National Center and the information about some of the Lone Ranger costumes and props that you can find on their web site. The Autry National Center is a history center and is connected to three museums, including the Museum of the American West (formerly the Autry Museum of Western Heritage), the Southwest Museum of the American Indian and Women of the West Museum. I'll give you several links that you can check out here:
"Texas Ranger’s prop badge used by Clayton"
"Hat worn by Clayton Moore in his role as the Lone Ranger"
"Mask worn by Clayton Moore in his role as the Lone Ranger"
"Wool shirt worn by Clayton Moore in his role as the Lone Ranger"
"Colt revolver used by Clayton Moore in personal appearances"
"Shirt worn by Jay Silverheels as Tonto on The Lone Ranger t.v. show"
There are a number of lobby cards and photos that you can find by conducting a search under Clayton's name but they are very small and most are hard to view. Then search with the words: Tonto, Jay Silverheels, etc. to discover other items. Also, they have description of items that are in one of the three museums but they don't yet have photos of the items for the web page. For example, one of these items, is the Colt 45 used by Chuck Courtney in his role of Dan Reid on The Lone Ranger and donated by Chuck & Geri Courtney. There is a photo of the parade saddle used by Brace Beemer. Here's the search page to use as there are many items to view: "Keyword Search page". Thanks again to Howard Peretti for directing me and fellow Lone Ranger fans to an interesting source of Lone Ranger information on the Internet.
October 1, 2004: The Silver Bullet newsletter: Joe Southern informed me this morning that The Silver Bullet newsletter is going to be mailed out today!
September 27, 2004: The Silver Bullet newsletter: Joe Southern informed me today that The Silver Bullet newsletter is at the printer, so it won't be long before it arrives in subscriber's mailboxes.
September 5, 2004: Ruben Procopio original Lone Ranger art: Jim Hollaert of "Jim n' I Enterprises" announced that he is the exclusive distributor of Ruben Procopio's original Lone Ranger artwork. Jim will be selling Ruben's one of a kind drawings and Ruben will also take requests for commissioned drawings which can be done through Jim's store. You can see samples of Ruben's one of a kind artwork and get all the details at Jim's web site and clicking on his LR News button: "Jim n' I Enterprises" Jim also informed me that he now carries the Schylling Lone Ranger alarm clock that last year was an exclusive item for TSC stores. Jim also will be getting in some new Katie West LR & Tonto tile art and mouse pads next Thursday, Sept. 9th so you may want to keep checking on Jim's web site for these new items.
September 4, 2004: Lone Ranger movie in 2006?: That's the information that film critic Leonard Maltin has on his web site. Check it out at his web site and you will find it in "Leonard's Journal", about halfway down the page with a picture of the red Lone Ranger statue. Leonard also gives well-deserved praise to Ruben Procopio's red and blue Lone Ranger statues and you can read that also on the page. Immediately below that section, Leonard makes mention of a possible new Lone Ranger movie in 2006. Ruben Procopio was kind enough to send me a nice photo of Leonard Maltin holding both of Ruben's Lone Ranger statues and I have that photo on page 2 of my Collectibles section. I'll give you both links here: "Leonard Maltin's Web site & Leonard's Journal" and "Leonard Maltin with Ruben Procopio's Lone Ranger statues" . Thanks to Ruben Procopio for the photo and information on Leonard Maltin's web site.
August 30, 2004: A photo of Clayton & Sally: I just added a Christmas photo, probably from 1948, that I found in an old fan club newsletter for "Andy Reynolds and the 101 Ranch Boys". I'm not sure of the date of the newsletter except that a letter in it, from one of the members, was dated in November, 1949. There was a short biography on Clayton on that page with the photo. I'll include a quick link to the page but a permanent link can be found on my Internal Links page, found on the front page of this web site. Here's the quick link to the photo: "Christmas Photo"
August 28, 2004: More Katie West Lone Ranger items now available: Jim Hollaert of "Jim n' I Enterprises" informed me that he has just added additional Katie West Lone Ranger collectibles to his inventory: A Lone Ranger 8 X 10 tile art #2, Lone Ranger coaster set #2, Lone Ranger Mouse Pads and Lone Ranger magnets (set of 2). These Katie West items are exclusive items to Jim n' I Enterprises and they feature images of Clayton Moore. Check them out at the following link and click on the "OUR STORE" button at the top of the page: "Jim n' I Enterprises" Jim also informed me that he is working on a Ruben Procopio exclusive for his store, with more details to come later. Jim reports the red Procopio Lone Ranger statue is selling quickly and is being sold only in combination with the blue statue but there are fewer red statues available.
August 28, 2004: The TV Schedule page: Just a reminder that some t.v. channels change their schedules just prior to the broadcast times, which is apparently what the Hallmark channel did again today. They rebroadcast an episode of "The Virginian" titled "The Drifter" instead of what they announced earlier, which was supposed to be the "Ryker" episode. Both episodes have appearances by Chuck Courtney. Not sure why they switched the episode.
August 22, 2004: Hakes Americana & Collectibles Auction # 180! Bidding has begun on the latest Hake auction and there are 55 Lone Ranger items up for bid. One of the items is an artist's proof of the Nostalgia Merchant poster from 1978. There was an "Official Lone Ranger Secret Operator Fingerprint Set", which I've never heard of before. There are a number of Lone Ranger rings, including the Atomic Bomb ring. There is a Lone Ranger cap gun & holster set, a Lone Ranger camera, a pair of Lone Ranger boots, etc. Take a look by going to the link and searching with the words: Lone Ranger: "Hakes Americana & Collectibles Auction # 180"
August 20, 2004: You'll have to hurry on this Ebay item.**NOTE: August 27, 2004 This item was relisted and now ends September 3rd: Jim Hollaert of "Jim n' I Enterprises" informed me that he now has on hand the new Lone Ranger clocks from Vandor (See the July 14th News item). Jim also informed me of a unique item on Ebay that he ran across. There's only a little over a day left on the bidding but the opening bid is a heart-stopper. Check it out with the close-up pictures here: "Ebay Lone Ranger Item" Thanks for the information Jim and if any of you fans are interested in the Vandor clock, here's how to contact Jim and to get more details, just click on "Our Store" button: "Jim n' I Enterprises"
August 9, 2004: Interesting auction in progress! Those of you interested in Lone Ranger cap guns might want to look at a current Ebay auction for a matched pair of Kilgore Lone Ranger cap pistols. With just over a day to go, in the auction, they currently have a high bid of $1,009.99. It ends on August 10th at 12:59 p.m. Central time and you can take a look at the various photos at: "Kilgore cap guns auction" *NOTE: This pair of Lone Ranger cap guns sold for $1,950.00
July 14, 2004: New Vandor Lone Ranger Collectibles coming: Here are a couple of new items from Vandor that should be coming out soon. "More Lone Ranger Collectibles" Note*: Jim Hollaert of "Jim n' I Enterprises" just advised me that he will carry both items, although the clock won't be available until mid-August. Jim informed me that the lunch box will sell for $13.99 and the clock will sell for $11.99 plus shipping. Here's how to contact Jim and get more details and click on "Our Store" button: "Jim n' I Enterprises" AND, there are still more LR items coming out as I mentioned in the previous News item!
July 11, 2004: New Lone Ranger merchandise coming! Not a lot of detail that I can go into yet, but there will be at least a couple of new Lone Ranger related items of merchandise coming to us in the next 4 to 9 months and possibly a third item from a third company which we are familiar with from past Lone Ranger merchandise. Once the companies get a bit closer to their product completion, I'll let you know what you can start looking for. My thanks to Lone Ranger fan, Ed S. for his help in tracking some of this information down. Ed was the first to let me know about the Bally Lone Ranger slot machine back in 2001 too. I appreciate the tips that fellow Lone Ranger fans give to me so I can pass along the information the rest of you.
July 1, 2004: Museum with many Lone Ranger items & Brace Beemer's guns: The Fawcett's Antique Toy Museum holds an amazing collection of Lone Ranger collectibles and memorabilia as well as other cowboy collectibles from Roy Rogers boots & shirts to Gene Autry's rodeo saddle to 1930s Disneyana, with Mickey Mouse and related characters. Here is the museum information that the owner, John Fawcett, sent to me: "We are located on Route One in Waldoboro, Maine. Three miles north of Moody's Diner. We show the finest Lone Ranger collection on public display anywhere. We have the best group of all the rare variations of the 1938 Dollcraft dolls, Brace Beemer's Hat, mask, guns, shirt, boots are in the museum. There is a complete 1948 frontiertown set up and on display. We have the complete set of all the 1940 Lone Ranger gum cards on display including the original painting for card #6. We have the Marx toy prototype for the 1939 Marx Lone Ranger on Silver tin wind-up. All 3 of the radios, The General Mills cereal store display and so much more. We are open Memorial Day to Columbus Day 10-4. We are shut on Tuedsdays and Wednesdays. From Columbus Day until Christmas, we are only open 12-4 on Saturday and Sunday. IF COMING FOR THE MUSEUM, YOU MUST ARRIVE BEFORE 3 PM. The building closes at 4pm. Private tours can be arranged on days we are closed ONLY if it is convienient for us for $50 minimum. Call 207-832-7398 only from 7am until 8pm eastern for more information." Waldoboro is located in mid-coast Maine, between Boothbay Harbor and Camden. You can view the story of how John Fawcett obtained the guns that belonged to Brace Beemer and see the page showing the Lone Ranger original WXYZ radio station paintings and the Dell comic book cover paintings in the museum here: "Fawcett's Antique Toy Museum"
June 30, 2004: VCI Entertainment with special pricing on the Lone Ranger movies: Check out the special pricing on the Special Edition DVDs of "The Lone Ranger" (1956) and "The Lone Ranger and the City of Gold" (1958) at VCI Entertainment's web site. VCI also carries a number of VHS tapes and DVDs on a large variety of films including additional movies that Clayton Moore and John Hart have appeared in over the past years. For example, you can get both Red Ryder movies that John Hart appeared in, on one DVD (Volume 3) or buy them separately on video tape. Or you can get Clayton's appearance in Gene Autry's feature film "Riders of the Whistling Pines" (1949) on either video or DVD. You can get a free catalog simply by asking for it to be sent to you. Get the details on these and many more movies, serials, cartoons, etc. and be sure click on the Special Offers & Promotions button for the special pricing on the Lone Ranger DVD special editions: "VCI Entertainment"
June 30, 2004: Looking for a copy of Clayton Moore/The Lone Ranger hat?: I ran across the web site for Baron California Hats, the company that made the hats that Clayton wore. The hat is custom made-to-order and they call it the "Silver Bullet". Even if you can't afford one, it is interesting to know that obtaining a reproduction hat is possible. If you wish to keep the hat for display, they even sell a hand-crafted custom hat display case. Check out their web site at: "Baron California Hats"
June 24, 2004: More Lone Ranger collectibles: Just wanted to bring to your attention, that the Smoky Mountain Knife Works is selling several different Lone Ranger pocket knives and also a Zippo "Lone Ranger" lighter. There are 5 different Lone Ranger pocket knives (one is temporarily out of stock) that range in price from $4.99 to $79.99 and the lighter is $24.99. Here are the product numbers that I found, if you want to search at their web site with their product numbers: NV115; 169158; UC878; L194183; RE18323 and ZP02109 for the lighter. I believe that RE18323 is their latest Lone Ranger knife and it has a Clayton Moore version Lone Ranger & Silver image inlay under an acrylic covering. View the items at their web site: "Smoky Mountain Knife Works"
June 15, 2004: "The Silver Bullet" issue 67 is out: Joe Southern surprised us with a couple of color pages on the latest edition of The Silver Bullet, including the front page. It was very impressive with the color photo, banner and logo that he used. To continue using color, Joe would have to charge $5 more per year's subscription and I think it really adds a lot. Either way, subscribers, send Joe your opinion and let him know whether the color is a good idea or not. A nice report on The Lone Ranger Radio Days in Illinois, an update on John Hart and stories on House Peters Jr. and Fred Foy. Also a story on Ruben Procopio and his fabulous Lone Ranger statue and information on how to get a special edition red-shirt version. The red shirt version is limited to 200 pieces and you can see both versions, in color, on the back page ad by Jim n' I Enterprises. If you want the details on these stories and more, be sure to get subscribed to "The Silver Bullet" and perhaps Joe can round up a copy of the current issue # 67 to get your subscription started with, if you don't want to wait until September to get the next issue. Get the details at Joe's web site: "The Silver Bullet newsletter"**NOTE-6/24/2004: Of the 200 red shirt versions of the Lone Ranger statue, apparently 100 of them are committed to the Comic Convention. Thanks to Jim Hollaert for that update.
June 2, 2004: Memphis Film Festival, June 17-19: There's an impresssive guest star list at the Memphis Film Festival which takes place June 17th, 18th & 19th in Memphis, TN. One of the stars, who will be making an appearance, is Mason A. Dinehart III who appeared in one episode of The Lone Ranger, in "The Tell-Tale Bullet". Mason also appeared in a number of episodes of "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" as Deputy Bat Masterson. This is a very rare appearance by Mason so don't miss this opportunity. Also appearing will be the wonderful Noel Neill who appeared in one episode of The Lone Ranger, in "Letter of the Law". You can get more details of the festival and other guest stars, which will include Ed Nelson, Julie Adams, Kim Darby and more, here: "Memphis Film Festival"
June 10, 2004: "Hake's Price Guide To Character Toys" 5th Edition now available: If you are interested in the latest price guide that you can use to check the value of some of your Lone Ranger collectibles, you should check for Hake's latest publication. This guide went on sale this week at comic book shops. The book is over 1,100 pages in length and the suggested retail price is $35. Thousands of different items included in this massive price guide but I don't know how different Lone Ranger items are included.
June 2, 2004: Memphis Film Festival, June 17-19: There's an impresssive guest star list at the Memphis Film Festival which takes place June 17th, 18th & 19th in Memphis, TN. One of the stars, who will be making an appearance, is Mason A. Dinehart III who appeared in one episode of The Lone Ranger, in "The Tell-Tale Bullet". Mason also appeared in a number of episodes of "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" as Deputy Bat Masterson. This is a very rare appearance by Mason so don't miss this opportunity. Also appearing will be the wonderful Noel Neill who appeared in one episode of The Lone Ranger, in "Letter of the Law". You can get more details of the festival and other guest stars, which will include Ed Nelson, Julie Adams, Kim Darby and more, here: "Memphis Film Festival"
May 24, 2004: "One More Round-Up, The Old West on the Silver Screen" in West Branch, Iowa, June 4th & 5th, 2004! UPDATED: A few tickets are still available!! and all of the guests are still intending on appearing. A little over a year ago, the Herbert Hoover Library and Museum in West Branch, Iowa (near Iowa City), held a symposium on Western film. It was such a success, that they are holding a 2 day symposium on Friday, June 4 and Saturday, June 5, 2004. The following guests are scheduled to be in attendance, both days: Robert Horton (he was in one Lone Ranger episode: "Tenderfoot" 11/25/1954); Dick Jones (he was in two episodes of the Lone Ranger: "Rustler's Hideout" 10/13/1949 and "Man Without a Gun" 6/15/1950); Gregg Palmer (he was in one episode of the Lone Ranger: "The Globe" 12/30/1954); Jan Shepard (she was in one episode of the Lone Ranger: "Framed for Murder" 8/4/1955; Also appearing will be actor Dirk London and also, the editor and publisher of Western Clippings, Boyd Magers, will be present and will be the moderator for both sessions. The symposiums will consist of an Introduction and Welcome; the showing of film clips and reminiscences; a roundtable discussion; a Q&A session panel and an autograph session for each day. Limited seating, first come-first served and no refunds and tickets are $10 each for the Friday evening session (starting at 7:30 P.M.) and $15 each for the Saturday afternoon session (starting at 1:30 P.M.). If you want more information or to request a registration form, you can call Matt Schaefer at (319) 643-5301.
May 14, 2004: "New Hake's Americana & Collectibles Auction # 179! If you have a few extra dollars in your pocket, you might want to check out Hake's auction # 179 for Lone Ranger and other items. There is a large number of Lone Ranger related items up for bid. For example, they are auctioning off a Clayton Moore autographed baseball with a small black mask also drawn on the ball near Clayton's signature from 1992; a Lone Ranger and Nestle's Quik sample and offer from the 1960's; a Lone Ranger & Silver child's sweater from the 1940's; an Aurora Comics Lone Ranger scene model, copyright 1974 and loads of other items. Fun to loook at, even if you don't want to bid. Here's where to find the auction: "Hake's Americana & Collectibles Auction # 179"
May 11, 2004: "Lone Ranger available via Internet streaming": Lone Ranger fan Jerry informed me that The Lone Ranger is available via Internet streaming for those fans who don't have access to it on t.v. You can watch an episode each day, Monday through Friday via Family-Life Media-Com, Inc. If you want to give it a try, go to the web site address below. Once you get there, click on the button "Watch us on the Internet" and follow the instructions. The Lone Ranger is broadcast at 4:00 p.m. CDT/5:00 p.m. EDT and they don't show a Lone Ranger episode for this Wednesday but I'm not sure if that's the schedule for every Wednesday or not. Also in the left hand column is a daily schedule but episode names are not given. You will view the show(s) via RealPlayer but you don't have to make Real Player the default player when you set it up. If you don't want RealPlayer to be your default player for everything on your computer, just don't click on that option when you are setting up. It would be helpful if you knew your Internet connection speed BEFORE you sign up, to ensure that you view it at the correct streaning rate as I haven't found the way to go back and change the streaming speed yet: "Family Life TV"
May 5, 2004: "One More Round-Up, The Old West on the Silver Screen" in West Branch, Iowa, June 4th & 5th, 2004! A little over a year ago, the Herbert Hoover Library and Museum in West Branch, Iowa (near Iowa City), held a symposium on Western film. It was such a success, that they are holding a 2 day symposium on Friday, June 4 and Saturday, June 5, 2004. The following guests are scheduled to be in attendance, both days: Robert Horton (he was in one Lone Ranger episode: "Tenderfoot" 11/25/1954); Dick Jones (he was in two episodes of the Lone Ranger: "Rustler's Hideout" 10/13/1949 and "Man Without a Gun" 6/15/1950); Gregg Palmer (he was in one episode of the Lone Ranger: "The Globe" 12/30/1954); Jan Shepard (she was in one episode of the Lone Ranger: "Framed for Murder" 8/4/1955; Also appearing will be actor Dirk London and the editor and publisher of Western Clippings, Boyd Magers, will be present and the moderator for both sessions. The symposiums will consist of an Introduction and Welcome; the showing of film clips and reminiscences; a roundtable discussion; a Q&A session panel and an autograph session for each day. Limited seating, first come-first served and no refunds and tickets are $10 each for the Friday evening session (starting at 7:30 P.M.) and $15 each for the Saturday afternoon session (starting at 1:30 P.M.). If you want more information or to request a registration form, you can call Matt Schaefer at (319) 643-5301.
April 15, 2004: "Memphis Film Festival, June 17-19, 2004": After attending the Lone Ranger Radio Days in Mount Carmel on May 15th, you may want to attend the Memphis Film Festival on June 17 - 19 in Memphis, TN. Two of the guests scheduled to appear, are Mason A. Dinehart III, who guest-starred in one episode of the Lone Ranger, "The Tell-Tale Bullet". This is a rare appearance by Mason so don't pass up this opportunity to see him and be sure to check my page on him elsewhere on my web site. Another Lone Ranger guest actor, who will be appearing in Memphis, is Noel Neill who appeared in the episode "Letter of the Law". Noel is of course well known for portraying Lois Lane on the "Superman" television series. Just two great reasons to include a visit to Memphis in June. Get all of the festival details and complete guest list at the Memphis Film Festival web site at: "Memphis Film Festival"
April 14, 2004: No Lone Ranger Hallmark ornament! Just to let you know that I just picked up the Hallmark 2004 Dream Book ornament catalog and there will not be a Lone Ranger related ornament for 2004.
April 8, 2004: "Lone Ranger Radio Days, Mount Carmel, Illinois, May 15, 2004": You have an opportunity to see the great Fred Foy and Brace Beemer's daughter, Barbara Beemer Daniel, at this one day show in Mount Carmel, Illinois on Saturday, May 15, 2004. Brace was born in this town of 9,000 people, in southeastern Illinois. Fred Foy will play the part of the Lone Ranger in a radio show re-creation and be a guest speaker as well as sign copies of his book. Barbara Beemer Daniel will unveil a commemorative sign at the dedication of the Brace Beemer Memorial Park in Mount Carmel. Terry Salomonson will be there and will assist with the radio show re-creation; Joe Southern of "The Silver Bullet" will be there. Lots of things to do in this one day event, so don't miss it. Here's the web site to go to for more information: "Lone Ranger Radio Days"
April 1, 2004: More Katie West, Lone Ranger items! Jim Hollaert has informed me that he has added 4 additional Katie West, Lone Ranger (Clayton Moore image) items. There are two kinds of mugs, a framed ceramic tile and a coaster set, with hand paintings of Clayton by Katie West. To find the Lone Ranger collectibles, click on the STOREFRONT button and then use the pull down menu and choose LONE RANGER COLLECTIBLES to find the list of collectibles at: "Jim n' I Enterprises" Jim also will be carrying the two Special Edition dvd versions of the VCI Lone Ranger movies.
March 30, 2004: "The Lone Ranger" on XM Satellite Radio: I found out today, that subscribers to XM Satellite Radio can listen to old time radio shows and that includes shows of "The Lone Ranger" on XM's "Radio Classics" channel. You can listen to these broadcasts in your car and/or in your home, with the right equipment. You apparently have to purchase the radio device and also pay a monthly subscription fee of $9.99 per month to receive 100+ channels of a variety of digital radio. The Lone Ranger shows are mixed in throughout the day and evening so a schedule is necessary. If you are interested and want to view a printable show schedule and get more details, check out their web site: "XM Satellite Radio - Radio Classics" Or check out the News item from March 24th if you would rather purchase good quality Lone Ranger radio shows on CDs.
March 27, 2004: VCI Entertainment is the best for Lone Ranger movies! If you haven't picked up the two VCI version of the Lone Ranger movies yet, "The Lone Ranger" (1956) and "The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold" (1958), I urge you to go to the VCI web site and place an order for them. If you purchase the Special Edition DVDs you get some great extras that aren't available anywhere else. If you buy both Special Edition DVDs the extras will include: The Cowboy Hall of Fame Induction for both Clayton Moore & Jay Silverheels; an interview with Clayton's daughter, Dawn, by Leonard Maltin; an interview with Michael Ansara, bios, photo gallery, the Lone Ranger creed and movie trailers. These two movies are also available on video tape from VCI too, but they do not include the Extras found on the DVDs. VCI did an excellent job on the two movies but you must remember that these are a limited supply so don't delay in adding these DVDs to your collection. VCI Entertainment also has some other movies featuring Clayton Moore, including "Riders of the Whistling Pines" with Gene Autry, "The Far Frontier" with Roy Rogers and "Black Dragons" with Bela Lugosi. VCI Entertainment also carries other 1950's television shows, such as "Annie Oakley" with Gail Davis, " Stories of the Century" (one of these episodes "Tom Horn" has Chuck Courtney in it) and other series. Also, VCI will be releasing the DVD version of "Jack Armstrong, The All-American Boy" starring John Hart, on April 27, 2004. Just do a search on your favorite show or actor to see what VCI has available. We need to keep VCI Entertainment busy with sales so they will be able to give us additional top quality DVDs and videos in the future. Get a copy of their free catalog when you visit their web site at: "VCI Entertainment"
March 24, 2004: Lone Ranger Radio Shows & Music Information: Terry Salomonson has an immense collection of Lone Ranger radio shows and he has expended a lot of effort in collecting & restoring these episodes over the years. Terry has authored various radio broadcast logs, including one for The Lone Ranger and is currently working on a new and revised Lone Ranger broadcast log. This new log will be a nice one and Terry hopes to have it finished and available by May 15, 2004. Terry has written many articles about old time radio, is publisher of Old Time Radio Digest, has assisted many authors with their books and has appeared at a number of events. One of the events included the 50th anniversary of The Lone Ranger on radio in Buffalo, New York in 1983 to which Terry was invited to participate by the Fran Striker family. In May of 1983, Terry was invited to Mount Carmel, Illinois, the birth place of Brace Beemer, to be the radio historian during a weekend of celebration. Terry assisted with a live rebroadcast of an original Lone Ranger script, which also included the presence of Fred Foy. Terry has informed me that he will also be at the Lone Ranger Radio Days in Mount Carmel, Illinois again, on Saturday, May 15, 2004. All details on the Lone Ranger Radio Days is in the latest issue (March, 2004, issue # 66) of "The Silver Bullet", including a schedule of events and order form for the official T-shirt. Terry operates a company and web site called Audio Classics Archives and if you enjoy the Lone Ranger radio shows and are interested in the music used in the shows, you will enjoy Terry's web site: "Terry Salomonson - Audio Classics Archives" To find The Lone Ranger music and the radio shows that Terry has available, click on "Programs on CD's" and then go down the list and click on The Lone Ranger.
March 16, 2004: Ruben Procopio's Lone Ranger statue: Ruben Procopio has sent me the following press release: "Electric Tiki presents a very special tribute to one of America's greatest icons, the Lone Ranger. Generations of fans have come to love the adventures of the original masked avenger and his faithful ally, Tonto. At app. 12" tall, the Lone Ranger stands heroically atop a detailed rock base, guns drawn, ready for action. The logo has been meticulously sculpted into the rock surface and each silver bullet(28 of 'em), buckle and stud has been individually painted. Authentically detailed and a must for all Lone Ranger fans young and old. Each statue come hand painted, ready to display. This extra special edition is strictly limited to 1500 pieces. Includes Certificate of Authenticity and comes in a special decorated collector box! Designed and sculpted by Ruben Procopio. SRP of $150. Electric Tiki is also planning a retro-version in his red shirt, black scarf/pants as a San Diego comic con exclusive." You can see a photo of the painted statue on my collectibles page here: "Lone Ranger Collectibles" . Also, don't forget that you will be able to purchase this statue when it becomes available for purchase, later this Summer, at JIM n' I ENTERPRISES: "JIM n' I ENTERPRISES"
March 15, 2004: "The Silver Bullet" newsletter: Joe Southern says the new "Silver Bullet" will be mailed out today so you can anticipate receiving it very soon. Brace Beemer and the upcoming Lone Ranger Radio Days in Mt. Carmel, Illinois will be a couple of the items to read about in this issue. If you aren't a subscriber yet, you really should think about it and sign up as Joe puts out a terrific Lone Ranger newsletter. Check it out at: "The Silver Bullet newsletter"
March 11, 2004: Lone Ranger Collectibles Info: Carlton Cards has sold out of their stock of the 2003 Lone Ranger ornament and they are no longer available on their web site. Jim Hollaert informed me that he has a few of the ornaments left for sale. Jim also informed me that he will be getting in some new Lone Ranger items, so be sure to check out his web site in the next week or so: "JIM n' I ENTERPRISES" While you are at Jim's web site, be sure to check out his photos from the recent Roy Rogers Festival including a photo with John Hart, House Peters, Jr. and others. Just go to Jim's web site and click on the "Other News" button on the left side of the page.
March 1, 2004: See John Hart this coming weekend: If you are going to be in or near the Victorville, California area on Saturday, March 6th or Sunday, March 7th, you have an opportunity to see a number of western stars at the 7th Annual Roy Rogers & Dale Evans Western Film Festival. The guest stars that were confirmed as of January 27th include: John Hart, Clint Walker, Ty Hardin, House Peters Jr., Chris Alcaide, Donna Martell, Kelo Henderson, and others. Guest appearances may change as a result of health and other availability. The festival will be held at the Cinemark 10 Theater in the Mall of Victor Valley, Victorville, CA. This is located at I-15 & Bear Valley Road in Victorville. It will be held 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. each day. The celebrity guests are usually there from 9 a.m. to about 2 or 3 p.m. They will have a celebrity guest panel discussion in one of the theaters hosted by Boyd Magers each day. You can check out the complete list of scheduled guests on this page of the Happy Trails web site: "Happy Trails" Thanks to Jim Hollaert for sending me the information.
February 26, 2004: More on the AMC TV Lone Ranger DVDs: A review of the AMC TV Lone Ranger dvd set by Howard P. is bad news for Lone Ranger fans, again. Howard writes that the episodes are edited and time compressed and one example of a missing scene is from "The Lone Ranger Fights On", episode # 2, where Silver gets up after being healed by the Lone Ranger. In the AMC TV version, that scene never happened. Howard wrote that there are no Special Features or "extras" and the packaging has a single picture of Clayton and no mention of Jay Silverheels. Howard summed up his feelings with this statement: "I think it's time to storm the gates of Classic Media" and make them not just copyright holders, but TRUE BELIEVERS!"
February 24, 2004: AMC TV Lone Ranger DVDs UPDATE: It appears that the AMCT TV DVDs contain 14 of the first 16 Lone Ranger t.v. episodes. For some reason, AMC TV decided to exclude episode # 4 "The Legion of Old-Timers" and episode # 9 "The Tenderfeet", according to the listing on the Amazon.com web site. I haven't heard anything about the quality of the 2 DVDs and I don't know why AMC TV decided to produce the same episodes that are already currently available, instead of releasing some seldom or rarely seen episodes onto DVD or VHS video tape. I am curious to see learn if they are the full, complete and unedited episodes as first run on television and if I find out, I'll let you know. This DVD set is now available for sale on Amazon and probably some other web sites now, if you are interested.
February 23, 2004: Dark Horse Comics Lone Ranger & Tonto statues: Jim Hollaert at Jim n' I Enterprises informed me today, that he will be carrying the Dark Horse Comics Lone Ranger & Tonto figures after they are released on April 7, 2004. Jim will only take pre-orders until the figures are released and only via his order phone number of: (760) 247-5020. Jim reported that he will only sell the statues as a set (1 Lone Ranger & 1 Tonto) for $89.95 + $8.00 for Shipping & Handling. Jim reports each statue is about 5 inches tall and comes with a small booklet and a vintage-style pin-back button of the character and that they are a limited edition with only 600 being manufactured of each figure.
February 16, 2004: "New Lone Ranger Statue available, Summer 2004!": Ruben Procopio is a Disney animation artist/sculptor who has outside hobbies that include drawing and sculpting the Lone Ranger characters. Ruben has informed me that sometime this summer, his recently finished statue of the Lone Ranger will become available for fans. Some of Ruben's credits include: "The Little Mermaid", "Aladdin". "Beauty and the Beast", "The Lion King" , "Mulan" etc. Ruben has informed me that the statue will be cast in cold cast porcelain, fully painted, the LR logo is on the rock at the bottom as if was engraved in stone and it will stand 11 1/2 inches high. You can take a look at the unpainted statue at the following web site that belongs to Ruben: "Ruben Procopio" Check out the Electric Tiki site later, this summer, to purchase the statue: "Electric Tiki"
February 5, 2004: Lone Ranger & Lee Felbinger in Reminisce Magazine:The March/April 2004 issue of "Reminisce" magazine mentions The Lone Ranger in a couple of different articles. The first is in the Fond Flashbacks article for the year 1949 where The Lone Ranger is one of several premiering television shows. They include the nice color photo of Clayton & Silver that I have on the front page of this web site. The second article, "Cowboy Heroes From the Colorful Past", is written by Lee Felbinger. As many of you are aware, Lee has written three Lone Ranger collectibles reference guide books in the past. Lee's topic of discussion in his article in Reminisce is cowboy coloring books. A nice article by Lee. I'd love to see a new Lone Ranger coloring book come out in 2004!
February 1, 2004: Lone Ranger in the Sunday comics today: If you didn't notice, in today's newspaper comics section, The Lone Ranger & Tonto were the subjects in "Mother Goose & Grimm" by Mike Peters.
January 30, 2004: Scoop report on the Hake's Auction:The Hake's Auction concluded this week and Scoop reports on a few interesting Lone Ranger items and the prices they brought. Check it out at: "Scoop's Hake's Auction Also, if anyone has seen the AMC TV Lone Ranger DVD set for sale anywhere, let me know as it was to have been released January 20th.
January 21, 2004: "Lone Ranger and Cisco Kid collectors": Here's a bit of interesting information for you. Bud Lee is a nationally known photographer and best known for his work during the late 60's and and early 70's. He was Time Magazine's Photographer of the year in 1967. In 1971, Bud Lee spent a day with Clayton Moore at his home. It was shortly after Clayton Moore had won one of his early fights for the right to legally wear his Lone Ranger costume again. Bud Lee took several great photographs of Moore that day and some of the images are or will be for sale at Bud's Cafe Press store. Right now there are are only postcards and greeting cards of Clayton Moore as the Lone Ranger. This week, 16x20 prints will also become available. There will be one additional Clayton Moore photo coming, with his daughter (offered only on greeting cards and postcards). Also for sale will be greeting cards and prints of The Cisco Kid, Duncan Renaldo (photographed by Bud Lee in 1971). These images have not been to print since the early 70's. Very soon, prints will be available and hand autographed by Bud Lee. Proceeds of sales of these items will go to help pay for medical costs as Bud suffered a stroke this past Summer. Check it out at the following web site: "Bud Lee - Picture Maker"
January 17, 2004: Can you help me?: I'm trying to find someone who has access to the Familyland Television Network, which is usually accessed through a DISH brand satellite through the Sky Angel Satellite System but it might possibly be on a few cable systems too. Familyland Television is a Catholic based religious channel but they do broadcast some old t.v. programs too and one of those programs is John Hart's "Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans". "Hawkeye" is shown at 3:00 p.m. Central time on Tuesdays and I would like to obtain tapes of those episodes if at all possible. If you can help me out, please send me an email at the address on the front page of this web site.
January 15, 2004: "Riders of the Whisting Pines" DVD: VCI Entertainment has made available on DVD or VHS tape, the 1949 Gene Autry movie, "Riders of the Whistling Pines" in which Clayton Moore makes an appearance as a bad guy. VCI has either the dvd or the VHS tape on sale for $9.99, regularly $14.00 for the dvd. In addition, VCI also has the 1948 Roy Rogers movie, "The Far Frontier" on VHS tape for $9.99. Clayton also appears in this film. Be sure to run a search for additional films that VCI has with Clayton at their web site at: "VCI Entertainment"
January 15, 2004: New Lone Ranger DVDs: There is a new Lone Ranger DVD set coming out next Tuesday, January 20th but not much information is yet available in regards as to what is on them yet. It appears that it will be a 2 disc set of what will be 420 minutes of the Lone Ranger, in some form. American Movie Classic (AMC) has joined forces with two other companies (Falcon Picture Group and Genius Products) to produce and distribute this set. AMC TV is also releasing other episodes of other older television shows on the same date. At least one of the shows being released is the old "Dragnet" television series with 14 episodes per dvd. I am assuming that the Lone Ranger set will also be of the television episodes and hopefully, they will not be the same episodes that have been released by every other company over the past 20+ years. None of the retailers have any additional information as of this date, as to what is actually on the Lone Ranger set. The prices will be pretty reasonable with prices ranging from a low of $6.59 to $9.99 (the suggested retail price) but, as always, the value will be in the quality of the product. Stay tuned...
January 10, 2004: Williamsburg Film Festival! Bill Sasser of the Williamsburg Film Festival reports that the next festival will be held March 11-13, 2004 at the Holiday Inn Patriot in Williamsburg, Virginia. Among the guests that are scheduled to appear is Steve Mitchell. Steve appeared in one Lone Ranger t.v. episode titled "Mrs. Banker", episode # 107. The other guests appearing at the festival will be: Robert Fuller, Alex Cord, Joe Canutt, Tommy Farrell, Kay Linaker, John Alderson, John Calvert, Betsy Palmer, Ann Robinson, Daniel Roebuck, and William Smith. Robert Fuller was best friend for many years to Chuck Courtney who played the part of Dan Reid in a number of episodes of the Lone Ranger. Check out the festival details here: "Williamsburg Film Festival"
January 7, 2004: Just a reminder: I just want to remind fellow fans that there is an Internal Links button on the front page that will lead you to a number of informative pages on my web site. There are 4 main sections of this Internal Links page. I'll give you the link here but there is a button on the front page of my web site to take you directly to it as well: "Internal Links" (to more Clayton Moore & Lone Ranger related information)