[2][3] Moore's father, according to the federal census of 1930, was a native of New York and supported his family in Chicago by working as a real estate broker.

[2] That same census also documents that a full-time maid, Amelia Hirsch, lived with the Moore family, an indication of the household's relative prosperity at the time.

Highly athletic as a boy, "Jack" became a circus acrobat by age eight, and later, in 1934, he appeared at the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago with a trapeze act.

Moore, in his 1996 autobiography I Was That Masked Man, noted that Hollywood producer Edward Small persuaded him around 1940 to adopt the stage name "Clayton".

In 1949, Moore's work in the Ghost of Zorro serial drew the attention of George W. Trendle, co-creator and producer of a popular radio series titled The Lone Ranger.

With the "March of the Swiss Soldiers" finale from Rossini's William Tell overture as their theme music, Moore and co-star Jay Silverheels made history as the stars of the first Western written specifically for television.

[10] Moore appeared in other television series during his Lone Ranger run, including a 1952 episode of Bill Williams' syndicated Western The Adventures of Kit Carson.

[9]: 143–149 One of Moore’s personal appearances in character became the basis of a story that actor Jay Thomas told every year around Christmas beginning in 2000 on The Late Show with David Letterman.

Thomas was a radio disc jockey at the time in North Carolina and happened to be doing a show at a car dealership where Moore was appearing in character as The Lone Ranger.

[14] He obtained a Minnesota real estate license, established Ranger Realty, and helped to develop the area that is now north of Interstate 394 near the Louisiana Avenue exit.

"[16] Clayton Moore died on December 28, 1999, in a West Hills, California, hospital after suffering a heart attack at his home in nearby Calabasas.