Jay Silverheels

'Jay Silverheels' (qv) was born on Canada's Six Nation's Reserve and was one of 10 children. He was a star lacrosse player and a boxer before he entered films as a stuntman in 1938. He worked in a number of films through the 1940s before gaining notice as the Osceola brother in a 'Humphrey Bogart' (qv) film _Key Largo (1948)_ (qv). Most of Silverheels' roles consisted of bit parts as an Indian character. In 1949, he worked in the movie _The Cowboy and the Indians (1949)_ (qv) with another "B movie" actor 'Clayton Moore' (qv). Later that year, Silverheels was hired to play the faithful Indian companion, Tonto, in the TV series _The Lone Ranger (1949)_ (qv) series, which brought him the fame that his motion picture career never did.Silverheels recreated the role of Tonto in two big-screen color movies with Moore,_The Lone Ranger (1956)_ (qv) and _The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold (1958)_ (qv). After the TV series ended in 1957, Silverheels could not escape the typecasting of Tonto. He would continue to appear in an occasional film and television show but became a spokesperson to improve the portrayal of Indians in the media.::Tony Fontana <tony.fontana@spacebbs.com>