Jay Silverheels was born on a reservation in Canada to a Mohawk chief 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 though the 1940s before he gained some notice as the Osceola brother in Humphrey Bogarts film Key Largo 1948 Most of his roles consisted of bit parts as Indian In 1949 he would work in a movie called The Cowboy and the Indians 1949 with another B movie actor named Clayton Moore It was later that same year that Jay would be hired to play the faithful Indian companion Tonto in the television series The Lone Ranger 1949 This role while still playing the Indian would bring Jay the fame that his motion picture career never did As Tonto on his horse Scout Jay could show up where the Ranger could not and some of the time he would be shot at or beat up for his trouble Jay would play Tonto in all the episodes except for those that he missed when he had his heart attack In those episodes he was replaced by the Rangers nephew Dan However Clayton Moore would miss the third season when he was replaced by John Hart Jay would reprise the role of Tonto in two bigscreen color movies with Moore The Lone Ranger 1956 and The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold 1958 After the series ended in 1957 Jay could not escape the typecasting of Tonto He would continue to appear in an occasional film and television show but he would become a spokesman to improve the portrayal of Indians on TV
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