Hi-Yo!

Leonard Maltin informs us that memorabilia from the late Clayton Moore is going up for auction. I only met Mr. Moore once but he was — the term is unavoidable — a real straight-shooter. He was quite devoted to doing right by the character who made him famous. When I met him, he was making a personal appearance at a Lone Ranger restaurant — a chain that didn't last long, perhaps because the food was so painful, it made you want to bite on a silver bullet. He gave a masterful performance that day, meeting and greeting folks, many of whom probably didn't grasp that this wasn't just some actor who'd been hired to put on the costume. This was the real guy from the TV show. He talked to everyone perfectly in character and when he became aware that I was more interested in meeting Clayton Moore than the Lone Ranger, he took me aside and talked to me as Clayton Moore. But not in front of others. In front of others, he had to be the Lone Ranger…and boy, was he good at it.