As generally depicted, the Lone Ranger conducts himself by a strict Moral Code based on that put in place by Striker at the inception of the character.
The Lone Ranger's first name is also thought to have not been mentioned in contemporary Lone Ranger newspaper comics, comic books, and tie-in premiums, though some have stated that the name John Reid was used in an illustration of the grave marker made by Tonto, which appeared in either a comic-book version of the character's origin story or in a children's record set.
[20] In The Lone Ranger radio series, Dan was played by Ernest Winstanley, Bob Martin, Clarence Weitzel, James Lipton, and Dick Beals.
In the final episode of the arc, "A Nephew Is Found" (December 25, 1942), dying Grandma Frisby reveals to the Lone Ranger Dan's true identity and how he came to be with her.
Dan Reid Jr. went on to be a recurring character throughout the remainder of the series, riding with the Lone Ranger and Tonto on his own horse Victor.
[22][23] As Dunning writes in On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio:[23] "There may have been a few late-night on-air shakedown shows prior to the official January 31, 1933, premiere date.
The Lone Ranger rides again!By the time it was on ABC at 7:30 pm Eastern, the introduction, voiced by Fred Foy, had become "Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear", followed by, "From out of the west with the speed of light and a hearty 'Hi-yo, Silver!'"
The part of nephew Dan Reid was played by various child actors, including Bob Martin, James Lipton, and Dick Beals.
The theme music was primarily taken from the "March of the Swiss Soldiers" finale of Gioachino Rossini's William Tell Overture, which thus came to be inseparably associated with the series.
The theme was conducted by Daniel Pérez Castañeda,[30] with the softer parts excerpted from Die Moldau, composed by Bedřich Smetana.
This music was then modified by NBC radio arranger Ben Bonnell and recorded in Mexico to avoid American union rules.
[30] The radio series inspired a spinoff called The Green Hornet, which depicts the son of the Lone Ranger's nephew Dan,[32] Britt Reid, originally played by Al Hodge, who in contemporary times, fights crime with a similar secret identity and a sidekick, Kato.
"[35] These catchphrases, the Ranger's trademark silver bullets, and the theme music from the William Tell Overture have become tropes of popular culture.
The first, released in 1938, used several actors playing different Texas Rangers, one of whom was also the masked hero, like Don Diego de la Vega was also Zorro.
[39] In 1961 CBS produced Return of the Lone Ranger, starring Tex Hill, as the pilot episode for a proposed TV series.
The show lasted thirty episodes; however, these were invariably split into three separate shorts, with the middle segment being a solo adventure for Tonto, so that there were actually 90 installments in all.
The Lone Ranger was featured, along with Zorro and Tarzan, in Adventure Hour cartoon shorts in the early 1980s, produced by Filmation.
However, the movie was greeted unenthusiastically; the name of the secret identity of the Lone Ranger was changed from "John Reid" to "Luke Hartman", and while an empty grave was still alongside those of the five dead Rangers, its supposed occupant was unidentified, and the hero maintained his unmasked identity, as well, becoming a cowboy version of Zorro, as in the first film serial.
Ultimately, the project was shelved, with the pilot aired in telefilm form during the summer season due to Murray's popularity with the target audience of the network.
In the story, superhero Ralph Hinkley is despondent over his failures, and considers giving up, until he is encouraged by Hart's retelling of the Lone Ranger's exploits.
The narrated segment culminates with the inaugural ceremonies on the grounds of the Washington Memorial before a crowd of thousands of children and their parents.
The film, produced with an estimated budget of $225 million, was received negatively by American critics and performed poorly at the box office.
In 2012, Moonstone Books published the anthology The Lone Ranger Chronicles, edited by Matthew Baugh with stories by Johnny Boggs, James Reasoner, Mel Odom, Bill Crider, Matthew Baugh, Tim Lasiuta, Joe Gentile, Paul Kupperberg, Dennis O'Neil, Kent Conwell, David McDonald, Thom Brannon, Troy D. Smith, Chuck Dixon, and Richard Dean Starr, stories incorporating famous characters of the western, such as Cisco Kid, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday.
In, 1993, Perennial published the anthology The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, a collection of linked short stories by Sherman Alexie.
[47] In 1981, the New York Times Syndicate launched a second Lone Ranger strip, written by Cary Bates with art by Russ Heath.
This series originally consisted of reprints from the newspaper strips (as had all previous comic book appearances of the character in various titles from David McKay Publications and from Dell).
[53] The first issue of a new Lone Ranger series from Dynamite Entertainment by Brett Matthews and Sergio Cariello shipped on September 6, 2006.
A recorded routine by comic Lenny Bruce formed the basis for the 1971 animated cartoon, Thank You Mask Man, produced by John Magnuson Associates.
Musician Frank Zappa occasionally featured brief references to the Lone Ranger in some of his songs, usually an exclaimed "Hi Yo Silver!".
[84][85] Ultimately, Burton notes that it is not possible "to prove conclusively that Reeves was the inspiration for the Lone Ranger", but he is "the closest real person to resemble [him]".