John Hart (actor)
| John Hart | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 13, 1917 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | September 20, 2009 (aged 91) Playas de Rosarito, Baja California, Mexico |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1937-1982 |
| Spouse(s) | Beryl Braithwaite Hart (1957-2009) |
| Children |
Buddy Hart Robyn Hart |
John Hart (December 13, 1917 – September 20, 2009) was an American motion picture and television actor, born in Los Angeles, California. In his early career, he appeared mostly in Westerns. Although he played mostly minor roles in some fairly well known films, he was probably best known for having replaced Clayton Moore in 1952 for one season of the television series, The Lone Ranger.
Hart's mother was named Enid. He had a sister, Shari.
Hart began his screen career in 1937 with a bit part in Daughter of Shanghai. He continued in a variety of B pictures such as Prison Farm and King of Alcatraz before appearing in two of Cecil B. DeMille's films The Buccaneer (1938) and North West Mounted Police (1940).
His acting career was interrupted when he was drafted into the United States Army in 1941. He rose to the rank of first sergeant in the Coast Artillery, eventually serving in the Philippines. Following military service, he worked frequently for Sam Katzman and was given the lead in the Jack Armstrong (1947) film serial. Hart did stunt work and acted in numerous Westerns and was eventually offered the opportunity to replace Clayton Moore on The Lone Ranger television series. Based on the assumption that the masked character, rather than the actor, was the true star of The Lone Ranger, the program's producers fired Moore (presumably over salary differences) and replaced him with Hart, who was of a similar build and had a comparable background in Westerns. However, the public never truly accepted Hart as the Lone Ranger, and by 1954 the producers returned Moore to the role. According to Clayton Moore's autobiography I Was That Masked Man, Moore never knew why he was replaced by Hart, and also stated that he had not sought a pay increase. Hart acted in minor roles in two episodes of The Lone Ranger before being asked to replace Clayton Moore for the entire third season. The episodes were "Rifles and Renegades" (#34) and "Sheriff at Gunstock" (#46).
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