Jay Silverheels
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2009) |
| Jay Silverheels | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | Harold J. Smith May 26, 1912[1] Six Nations Indian Reserve, Brantford, Ontario, Canada[2] |
| Died | March 5, 1980 (aged 67) Calabasas, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1937–1979 |
| Spouse | Mary Diroma (m. 1946–1980) |
Jay Silverheels (May 26, 1912 – March 5, 1980)[1] was a Canadian Mohawk First Nations actor. He was well known for his role as Tonto, the faithful American Indian companion of the Lone Ranger[3] in a long-running American television series. [4]
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Silverheels was born Harold J. Smith on the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation, near Brantford, Ontario, Canada, the son of a Canadian Mohawk Chief and military officer[5], A. G. E. Smith.[6][7] Silverheels excelled in athletics and lacrosse as a boy before leaving home to travel around North America, competing in boxing and wrestling tournaments. In the 1930s he played indoor lacrosse under the name of Harry Smith with the Rochester, NY "Iroquois" of the North American Amateur Lacrosse Association.[8] He lived for a time in Buffalo, New York. In 1938 Silverheels placed second in the middleweight section of the Golden Gloves tournament.[9]
[edit] Film career
Silverheels began working in motion pictures as an extra and stunt man[10] [11] in 1937. [6] During the early years of his screen career, he was billed variously as Harold Smith or Harry Smith, and appeared in low-budget features, westerns, and serials.[12] He adopted his screen name from the nickname[13] he had had as a speedy[14] lacrosse player.[15] From the late 1940s he played in more prestigious pictures, including Captain from Castile starring Tyrone Power, Key Largo with Humphrey Bogart, (1948), Lust for Gold with Glenn Ford (1949), Broken Arrow (1950) with James Stewart, War Arrow (1953) with Maureen O'Hara, Jeff Chandler and Noah Beery, Jr., Drums Across the River (1954), Walk the Proud Land (1956) with Audie Murphy and Anne Bancroft, Alias Jesse James (1959) with Bob Hope, and Indian Paint (1964) with Johnny Crawford. He made a brief appearance in True Grit (1969) as a condemned criminal about to be executed. He played a substantial role as John Crow in Santee (1973), starring Glenn Ford. One of his last roles was a wise white-haired chief in The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973).
[edit] TV career
Silverheels achieved his greatest fame as the Lone Ranger's friend Tonto. Being irreplaceable as the Lone Ranger's best friend he subsequently also appeared in The Lone Ranger (1956) as well as in The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold (1958).[16]
Following the end of the Lone Ranger television series, Silverheels found himself firmly typecast as an American Indian hero. Eventually Silverheels had to work as a salesman to supplement his acting income.[17] Simultaneously he began to publish poetry inspired by his youth on the Six Nations Indian Reserve and appeared on television reciting his works. In 1966, he guest-starred as John Tallgrass in the short-lived ABC comedy/western series The Rounders, with Ron Hayes, Patrick Wayne, and Chill Wills.
Despite the typecasting, Silverheels often poked fun at his character in later years. In 1969, he appeared as Tonto in a comedy sketch on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, seeking new employment away from the Lone Ranger.[18] The sketch was featured on the 1973 record album Here's Johnny: Magic Moments From The Tonight Show. "My name is Tonto. I hail from Toronto and I speak Esperanto." In 1970 he appeared in a commercial for Chevrolet as an Indian chief who rescues two lost hunters who ignored his advice in that model years Chevy Blazer with the William Tell Overture playing in the background.
Silverheels also spoofed his Tonto character in a famous Stan Freberg Jeno's Pizza Rolls TV commercial opposite Clayton Moore, as well as in The Phynx, opposite John Hart, both actors having played The Lone Ranger in the original TV series.
He appeared in three episodes of Daniel Boone starring Fess Parker as the titular historical frontiersman.
Among his later appearances were an episode of The Brady Bunch, as an Indian chief who befriends the Bradys in the Grand Canyon, and an episode of the short-lived Dusty's Trail, starring Bob Denver of Gilligan's Island fame. (In the Brady Bunch episode, Alice makes a joke about meeting Tonto, before the Bradys meet Silverheels's character.)
In the early 1960s, Silverheels supported the Indian Actors Workshop [19] as an institution where American Indian actors refine their acting skills.[20] in Echo Park, California. [21]Today the workshop is firmly established.[22]
[edit] Personal life
Silverheels raised, bred and raced horses in his spare time. Once, when asked about possibly running Tonto's famous Pinto horse Scout in a race, Jay laughed off the idea: "Heck, I can outrun Scout!"[23]
Married in 1945, Silverheels was the father of two boys and a girl. [24]
[edit] Death
Jay Silverheels died from complications of a stroke in 1980, at age 67, in Calabasas, California.[25] He was cremated at Chapel of the Pines Crematory. His ashes were returned home to Six Nations Indian Reserve.[26] He had had his final great appearance when he was awarded a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame[27]
[edit] Legacy
In 1993, Silverheels was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was named to the Western New York Entertainment Hall of Fame, and his portrait hangs in Buffalo, New York's Shea's Buffalo Theatre. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6538 Hollywood Boulevard.
[edit] See also
- Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood
- Lamparski, Richard (1970). Whatever Became Of...? Vol. 3, Ace Books, New York. OCLC 8977472
[edit] References
- ^ a b Official website, Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Canadian First Nations League of Nations http://www.haudenosauneeconfederacy.ca/jsilverheels.html
- ^ "Birthplace: Six Nations Reservation, Brantford, Ontario, Canada". http://www.nndb.com/people/131/000109801/. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "His job in Hollywood was to help his partner, “The Lone Ranger” stop the devious plots of hardened outlaws.". http://www.heroinyou.ca/Images/Aboriginal%20Sport/Lacrosse/Lacrosse.pdf. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "Silverheels played the role during the entire period from 1949 to 1957, even when Clayton Moore was replaced one season by John Hart". http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=4407. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "His father, Major George Smith, was the most decorated Native Canadian soldier in World War I.". http://www.lonerangerfanclub.com/jaysilverheels.html. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ a b Quinlan, David (1985), Quinlan's Illustrated Directory of Film Character Actors (1995 revised ed.), Great Britain: The Bath Press, p. 319, ISBN 0-87000-412-3
- ^ http://www.filmreference.com/film/77/Jay-Silverheels.html
- ^ "In the 1930's he played lacrosse with the Rochester, NY "Iroquois" of the North American Amateur Lacrosse Association". http://brantsportshall.com/Inductees/JaySilverheels/. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "He finished second in the Eastern Square finals of the Golden Gloves boxing championshipin Madison Square Garden.". http://nimst.tripod.com/cgi-bin/UC9.html. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "Silverheels, an accomplished boxer, wrestler and lacrosse player, capitalized on this athletic prowess to break into the movie business, starting as a stuntman and extra". http://www.ammsa.com/content/jay-silverheels-footprints. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "He worked as a stuntman and extra before landing some bit parts in the early 1940s, almost always credited as simply "Indian" or "Indian Brave".". http://www.canadaka.net/modules.php?name=Famous_Canadians&action=viewperson&person=250. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "he was in four serials at Republic when he was still going by Harry Smith, before he changed his name". http://www.b-westerns.com/native5.htm. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "Changing his name to Jay Smith Silverheels, partly a nickname from his uncle due to his superb running style". http://www.haudenosauneeconfederacy.ca/jsilverheels.html. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "he became noted for the white running shoes he wore. He was so swift that his feet were streaks". http://www.lonerangerfanclub.com/jaysilverheels.html. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ The Rise and Fall of Jay Silverheels @WFMU
- ^ "In addition to starring in the Lone Ranger television series from 1949 to 1957, Silverheels appeared in the films The Lone Ranger and The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold .". http://www.walkoffame.com/jay-silverheels. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "with his career no longer sufficient to support his family, he began working as a salesman.". http://www.amoeba.com/blog/2010/11/eric-s-blog/jay-silverheels-happy-american-indian-heritage-month.html. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "Silverheels as "Tonto" in Jimmy Carson's Late Night Show (film)". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I6_x4ZjPvY. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "Silverheels was a spokesperson for Indian actors and in 1963 founded the Indian Actors Workshop.". http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0884988.html. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "He founded the Indian Actors' Workshop in 1966 with Will Sampson and offered free classes for Native Americans". http://www.famouscanadians.net/name/s/silverheelsjay.php. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "He formed the Indian Actors Workshop in Echo Park in the late 1960's". http://www.celebhost.net/claytonmoore/jay.html. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "He later went on to found the Indian Actors Workshop, a project to which he devoted enormous amounts of time and resources. It still operates today.". http://www.jessicacrabtree.com/journal1/tag/jay-silverheels. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "In the 70's he became a harness racing driver and bred horses.". http://www.tv.com/people/jay-silverheels/. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "married, wife's name: Mary; children: Marilyn, Pamela, Karen, Jay Anthony". http://www.filmreference.com/film/77/Jay-Silverheels.html. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "Jay Silverheels suffered a stroke in 1974 and passed away on March 5 1980 after several years of ill health". http://www.theloneranger.tv/tonto. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "Jay Silverheels". http://www.ammsa.com/buffalospirit/2004/footprints-JSilverheels.html. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
- ^ "Silverheels made his last public appearance when a star bearing his name was embedded in the sidewalk in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.". http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/jay-silverheels/. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
