John Hart (actor)
Encyclopedia
John Hart was an American motion picture and television actor, born in Los Angeles, California. In his early career, he appeared mostly in Westerns. Although he played mostly minor roles in some fairly well known films, he was probably best-known for replacing Clayton Moore
in 1952 for one season of the television
show The Lone Ranger
when Moore demanded a higher salary
.
Based on the assumption that the mask
ed character, rather than the actor was the true star of The Lone Ranger, the program producers fired Moore and replaced him with Hart, who was of a similar build and had a comparable background in westerns. However, the public never truly accepted Hart as "The Ranger," and by 1954 the owners acquiesced to Moore's demands and returned him to the role. According to Clayton Moore's autobiography, I Was That Masked Man, Moore never knew why he was replaced with John Hart. He also stated that he had not sought a pay increase to portray "The Lone Ranger".
Though terminated, Hart continued to act in films for over two more decades on a fairly regular basis. He appeared in films of several genres, almost always in supporting roles.
In 1955, he starred in Adventures of Captain Africa, which was originally intended to be a new movie about famous comic book hero The Phantom
. However, licencing issues made Columbia re-film the entire serial and re-christen the hero "Captain Africa".
In 1957, Hart portrayed Nat "Hawkeye" Cutler in the syndicated
western series Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans
, set in New York State of the 1750s. The one-season program was based loosely on the novels of James Fenimore Cooper
. It was filmed in Canada
and featured some Indians
in a favorable image. Interviewed by Tom Weaver in "Western Clippings" magazine (May–June 2000), Hart revealed that he met actress Beryl Braithwaite when she played a role in an episode of the series; they married just days later, with "Hawkeye" co-star Lon Chaney, Jr.
, the best man at the wedding.
Hart played The Lone Ranger along side Jay Silverheels
as Tonto, spoofing their characters in The Phynx
, released in 1970.
His last film appearance was in 1981's The Legend of the Lone Ranger
in which he appeared as a newspaper
editor
, apparently as a tribute to his time as "The Ranger" years earlier. Another appearance was in the television series Happy Days
as "The Lone Ranger" in the episode "Hi Yo, Fonzie Away" (Feb. 9, 1982), with Hart reprising his role as "The Lone Ranger". In this episode Fonzie
, played by Henry Winkler
meets his childhood hero, The Lone Ranger, for his birthday. The other major late appearance was in a The Greatest American Hero
episode, My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys, where Hart gives the title character an inspiring speech about heroism. John Hart also had numerous supporting roles in Highway Patrol
.
On September 20, 2009 Hart died at his home in Playas de Rosarito, Baja California at the age of 91, survived by his wife Beryl and a daughter. His ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean
.
Clayton Moore
Clayton Moore was an American actor best known for playing the fictional western character The Lone Ranger from 1949–1951 and 1954-1957 on the television series of the same name.-Early years:...
in 1952 for one season of the television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
show The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked Texas Ranger who, with his Native American companion Tonto, fights injustice in the American Old West. The character has become an enduring icon of American culture....
when Moore demanded a higher salary
Salary
A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis....
.
Based on the assumption that the mask
Mask
A mask is an article normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance or entertainment. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes...
ed character, rather than the actor was the true star of The Lone Ranger, the program producers fired Moore and replaced him with Hart, who was of a similar build and had a comparable background in westerns. However, the public never truly accepted Hart as "The Ranger," and by 1954 the owners acquiesced to Moore's demands and returned him to the role. According to Clayton Moore's autobiography, I Was That Masked Man, Moore never knew why he was replaced with John Hart. He also stated that he had not sought a pay increase to portray "The Lone Ranger".
Though terminated, Hart continued to act in films for over two more decades on a fairly regular basis. He appeared in films of several genres, almost always in supporting roles.
In 1955, he starred in Adventures of Captain Africa, which was originally intended to be a new movie about famous comic book hero The Phantom
The Phantom
The Phantom is an American adventure comic strip created by Lee Falk, also creator of Mandrake the Magician. A popular feature adapted into many media, including television, film and video games, it stars a costumed crimefighter operating from the fictional African country Bengalla.The Phantom is...
. However, licencing issues made Columbia re-film the entire serial and re-christen the hero "Captain Africa".
In 1957, Hart portrayed Nat "Hawkeye" Cutler in the syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
western series Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans
Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans
Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans is a 1957 Western television series made for syndication by ITC Entertainment and Normandie Productions. It ran for one season of 39 half-hour monochrome episodes...
, set in New York State of the 1750s. The one-season program was based loosely on the novels of James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. He is best remembered as a novelist who wrote numerous sea-stories and the historical novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales, featuring frontiersman Natty Bumppo...
. It was filmed in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and featured some Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
in a favorable image. Interviewed by Tom Weaver in "Western Clippings" magazine (May–June 2000), Hart revealed that he met actress Beryl Braithwaite when she played a role in an episode of the series; they married just days later, with "Hawkeye" co-star Lon Chaney, Jr.
Lon Chaney, Jr.
Lon Chaney, Jr. , born Creighton Tull Chaney, was an American character actor. He was best known for his roles in monster movies and as the son of famous silent film actor, Lon Chaney...
, the best man at the wedding.
Hart played The Lone Ranger along side Jay Silverheels
Jay Silverheels
Jay Silverheels was a Canadian Mohawk First Nations actor. He was well known for his role as Tonto, the faithful American Indian companion of the Lone Ranger in a long-running American television series. -Early life:...
as Tonto, spoofing their characters in The Phynx
The Phynx
The Phynx is a 1970 comedy film directed by Lee H. Katzin about a rock and roll band named The Phynx and their mission in foreign affairs. The group is sent to the country of Albania to locate hostages.-Cast:*The Phynx... Themselves...
, released in 1970.
His last film appearance was in 1981's The Legend of the Lone Ranger
The Legend of the Lone Ranger
The Legend of the Lone Ranger is a 1981 British-American western film directed by William A. Fraker and starring Klinton Spilsbury, Michael Horse and Christopher Lloyd....
in which he appeared as a newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
, apparently as a tribute to his time as "The Ranger" years earlier. Another appearance was in the television series Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
as "The Lone Ranger" in the episode "Hi Yo, Fonzie Away" (Feb. 9, 1982), with Hart reprising his role as "The Lone Ranger". In this episode Fonzie
Fonzie
Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli is a fictional character played by Henry Winkler in the American sitcom Happy Days . He was originally a secondary character, but eventually became the lead...
, played by Henry Winkler
Henry Winkler
Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE is an American actor, director, producer, and author.Winkler is best known for his role as Fonzie on the 1970s American sitcom Happy Days...
meets his childhood hero, The Lone Ranger, for his birthday. The other major late appearance was in a The Greatest American Hero
The Greatest American Hero
The Greatest American Hero is an American comedy-drama television series that aired for three seasons from 1981 to 1983 on ABC. Created by producer Stephen J. Cannell, it premiered as a two-hour movie pilot on March 18, 1981...
episode, My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys, where Hart gives the title character an inspiring speech about heroism. John Hart also had numerous supporting roles in Highway Patrol
Highway Patrol (TV series)
Highway Patrol is a syndicated action crime drama series produced 1955-1959.-Overview:Highway Patrol stars Broderick Crawford as Dan Mathews, the gruff and dedicated head of a police force in an unidentified Western state...
.
On September 20, 2009 Hart died at his home in Playas de Rosarito, Baja California at the age of 91, survived by his wife Beryl and a daughter. His ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
.
Filmography
- 1937 : Daughter of ShanghaiDaughter of ShanghaiDaughter of Shanghai is a 1937 American motion picture directed by Robert Florey, written by Gladys Unger and Garnett Weston, and starring Anna May Wong and Philip Ahn. The film was unusual in that Asian American actors played the lead roles...
- 1938 : The BuccaneerThe Buccaneer (1938 film)The Buccaneer is a 1938 American adventure film made by Paramount Pictures based on Jean Lafitte and the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812. It was produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille from a screenplay by Harold Lamb, Edwin Justus Mayer and C. Gardner Sullivan adapted by Jeanie...
- 1940 : North West Mounted Police
- 1947 : Vacation Days
- 1949 : Batman and RobinBatman and Robin (serial)Batman and Robin is a 15-chapter serial released in 1949 by Columbia Pictures. Robert Lowery played Batman, while Johnny Duncan played Robin...
- 1950 : Atom Man vs. SupermanAtom Man vs. SupermanAtom Man vs. Superman , Columbia's 43rd serial, finds Lex Luthor , secretly the Atom Man, blackmailing the city of Metropolis by threatening to destroy the entire community...
- 1951 : Stagecoach Driver
- 1952 : Kansas TerritoryKansas TerritoryThe Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Kansas....
- 1953 : The Lone RangerThe Lone Ranger (TV Series)The Lone Ranger is an American western television series starring Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels as Tonto. The live-action series initially featured Gerald Mohr as the episode narrator...
- 1953 : The Great Adventures of Captain KiddThe Great Adventures of Captain KiddThe Great Adventures of Captain Kidd was the 52nd serial released by Columbia Pictures. It is based in the historical figure of Captain William Kidd.-Plot:...
- 1955 : Adventures of Captain Africa, Mighty Jungle Avenger! "serial"
- 1956 : The Ten Commandments
- 1957 : Hawkeye and the Last of the MohicansHawkeye and the Last of the MohicansHawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans is a 1957 Western television series made for syndication by ITC Entertainment and Normandie Productions. It ran for one season of 39 half-hour monochrome episodes...
"Tv series" - 1962 : The Horizontal LieutenantThe Horizontal LieutenantThe Horizontal Lieutenant is a 1962 American romantic comedy film directed by Richard Thorpe. It is a military comedy about an unfortunate army intelligence lieutenant who finds himself isolated on a remote Japanese island army outpost during World War II....
- 1965 : RawhideRawhide (TV series)Rawhide is an American Western series that aired for eight seasons on the CBS network on Friday nights, from January 9, 1959 to September 3, 1965, before moving to Tuesday nights from September 14, 1965 until January 4, 1966, with a total of 217 black-and-white episodes...
TV series - 1966 : Django spara per primo
- 1970 : The PhynxThe PhynxThe Phynx is a 1970 comedy film directed by Lee H. Katzin about a rock and roll band named The Phynx and their mission in foreign affairs. The group is sent to the country of Albania to locate hostages.-Cast:*The Phynx... Themselves...
- 1973 : SanteeSantee (film)----Santee 1973 is a Western movie, starring Glenn Ford and directed by Gary Nelson.- Plot :Jody Deakes joins up with his father after many years, just to discover that his dad is part of an outlaw gang on the run from a relentless bounty hunter named Santee...
- 1973 : BlackensteinBlackensteinBlackenstein, also known as Black Frankenstein, is a 1973 blaxploitation horror film loosely based on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. It was made in an attempt to cash in on the success of Blacula, released the previous year by American International Pictures...
- 1976 : Blood Voyage
- 1976 : The Astral FactorThe Astral FactorThe Astral Factor is the first full-length album by Swedish progressive rock band Waterclime. It was released on 20 June 2006.-Track listing:#"Mountains" – 5:41#"Floating" – 4:09#"The Astral Factor" – 5:38#"Diamond Moon" – 4:09...
- 1978 : Cheerleaders Beach PartyCheerleaders Beach PartyCheerleaders Beach Party is a 1978 comedy film by producer/director Alex E. Goitein and writer Chuck Vincent.It stars Elizabeth Loredan, Jamie Jenson, Lynn Hastings, and Gloria Upson as college cheerleaders out to save their team, the Rambling U...
- 1981 : The Greatest American HeroThe Greatest American HeroThe Greatest American Hero is an American comedy-drama television series that aired for three seasons from 1981 to 1983 on ABC. Created by producer Stephen J. Cannell, it premiered as a two-hour movie pilot on March 18, 1981...
- 1981 : The Legend of the Lone RangerThe Legend of the Lone RangerThe Legend of the Lone Ranger is a 1981 British-American western film directed by William A. Fraker and starring Klinton Spilsbury, Michael Horse and Christopher Lloyd....