| Inside Black Beauty Timebridge exclusive special updates pages |
| Clayton Moore, the actor best known for his portrayal of John Reid ,The Lone Ranger, was born Jack Carlton Moore on 14 Sept. 1914 in Chicago, Illinois. According to legend, John Reid was the great-granduncle of Britt Reid, so the Green Hornet was not the first crimefighter in the Reid family. Fran Striker's legendary hero of the old west had some tough times after the series ended. It even came to pass that for a period of time, Clayton could not wear the Ranger mask at all. The sole surviving member of a group of Texas Rangers ambushed and left for dead, he vowed to get justice for his fallen comrades. His crimefighting career always adhered to his Lone Ranger Code. Much more is available at Steve Jensen's Lone Ranger site, including the TV show audio and the William Tell Overture. Hornet fans are invited to return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear, and to be ever mindful of the long crimefighting history of the Reid family. Sadly, a heart attack took Clayton's life on 28 December, 1999 in Los Angeles, California. Today he is buried in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, Forest Lawn Glendale, in an area called "Garden Of Everlasting Peace". Clayton Moore and The Lone Ranger are one and the same, a cherished American icon who will forever be loved and respected by millions. Steve Jensen's memorial page here is a solid tribute to a great man. A beautiful irony is that these days Clayton's nephew, C Craig Coomer is a Green Hornet fan. He shares his wonderful website in loving memory to his "uncle Clayton" here. Craig shares with Hornet fans the story of meeting his "uncle Clayton" as a six year-old boy here. Jay Silverheels, born Harold Smith on 26 May 1912 on the Six Nations Reservation, Brantford, Ontario, Canada was the son of a Mohawk chief. He portrayed Tonto, the loyal lifelong friend to the Lone Ranger. He legally changed his name to Jay Silverheels in 1971. According to the legend, first Texas Ranger John Reid saved Tonto's life, then later Tonto saved John Reid's life, which resulted in the team the world came to know as the Lone Ranger and Tonto.It was Tonto who coined the term, when he saved John's life and said "You are Lone Ranger now, Kimo Sabe". 'Kimo Sabe', by the way, means 'trusty scout' and these two men taught many people the true meaning of trust and friendship. Jay Silverheels passed away on 5 March, 1980 in California following a stroke. Many similarities to the Kato role are seen in the unique and special bond these men shared. Young people saw heroes of different cultural backrounds embodying the same values and fiercely fighting for the same justice. Yet they still always show a great love and respect for each other and their fellow man. They simply do not make more loyal and true friends than this. A tribute site to Mr. Silverheels here is another good stop for fans. Louis Ringe, owner of Black Beauty #1, is today an active businessman who still finds time to run his Movie Car Company. His collection of famous autos includes the RoboCop car, a Knight Rider car and the Dean Jeffries creation " Gullwing", among others. Louis' appearance in the short film 'The Black Beauty' has turned out to be a fan favorite and due to some legal issues, has gone out of print and is now a collector's item. His website www.theblackbeauty.com is the home of the only two cars in the world with a real Green Hornet lineage. He lives with his wife in Temecula, California. Karl Kirchner owner of Black Beauty #2 is a family man living in South Carolina. Karl has been very helpful to the Hornet legacy, keeping fans informed and on the right track regarding Black Beauty. His keen dedication to his car, BB#2 during its restoration will lead him to permanent Black Beauty historic status. Karl's family owns one of the top canine training services in the country. Check out Kirchner Canine Consultants. Dean Jeffries is still "going strong and loving every minute if it". He says" I'll never retire because I love what I do too much". Dean has been responsible not only for building both original Black Beauties, but many other unique film cars as well. America is sometimes described as a car culture, where Americans travel, eat at drive-thru hamburger places, watch movies at drive-ins, even get married at drive-thru services. If indeed America is a car culture, than perhaps one of the major pioneers of this culture is Dean Jeffries. His Moonmobile for the James Bond movie 'Diamonds Are Forever' may qualify him as the first American car builder in space. A more recent creation, the super-futuristic Gullwing, belongs to Louis Ringe. To Green Hornet fans, Dean Jeffries is the man who built the two Black Beauties. To fans of American car culture, the name Dean Jeffries is much more. Dean has no interest in computers, and no interest in going online anytime soon. A special thanks to Dean for his valuable assistance with this story and for creating these machines. Dennis Rau still writes on several subjects, and calls his Hornet involvement "perhaps the most meaningful of all, as it turns out". His uncle, Ed McGrath hosted the 'Asian World of Martial Arts' tournaments in NY's Madison Square during the late sixties. His personable emceeing earned him the nickname 'The Voice of Karate', he was at the time a sixth dan (degree black belt) in Isshinryu karate, a rarity for an American in those days. The name 'Isshinryu' means, in the Okinawan land of its origin, "One Heart Way". Dennis shares a quick story from the old days: "Hornet fans may remember a men's cologne call Hai Karate, which was supposed to require martial arts skill to fend off aggressively amorous women when you wear it. What people do not know is that Ed McGrath posed for the photos of the karate hands on the Hai Karate bottles, he was very well-known from the martial arts tournament circuit in those days. Those were the early days of kung-fu and karate in America, and new stars like Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris were rising in those exciting times.. Today, that same Ed McGrath is a 10th dan (degree black belt) and the highest living grandmaster of Isshinryu karate in the world. He became this as the last wish of his master, Don Nagle, himself a martial arts legend, who passed away on Aug.23, 1999. . To see this man, my uncle Ed, at the top of the mountain after all these years makes me realize what one man, one heart can achieve. I'm so proud of him." Hai Karate fans will get a chuckle listening to the old commercial here. Special thanks to Mike Cumellla. Interested martial artists may enjoy Master McGrath's open letter to the martial arts community here. |
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