The actor who played Tonto to poker-faced perfection in "The Lone Ranger" TV series is being honored posthumously as an American Indian hero.
Jay Silverheels will be inducted into the First Americans in the Arts' Hall of Honor on Feb. 21.Silverheels was the TV sidekick to Clayton Moore, who as The Lone Ranger rode the frontier firing silver bullets at evildoers. The show ran on ABC from 1949 to 1957.
"Mr. Silverheels was not only a star in Hollywood, he was a hero to many in the Native American community," Bob Hicks, chairman of the nonprofit group, told Daily Variety. "He reached out to aspiring native performers by creating the Indian Actors Workshop. His contributions, generosity and humor have left an indelible stamp on our community," said Hicks, a Creek Indian.
Silverheels, a Mohawk Indian, died in 1980.