Jay Silverheels

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Jay Silverheels (May 26, 1912 – March 5, 1980) was a Canadian Mohawk Indian actor.

Born Harold J. Smith on the Six Nations Indian Reserve, in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, Silverheels excelled in athletics and lacrosse as a boy before leaving home to travel around North America, appearing in boxing and wrestling tournaments. In 1938 Silverheels placed second in the middleweight section of the Golden Gloves tournament.

Following World War II, Silverheels moved to Hollywood and made his film debut in 1947's Captain from Castille, starring Tyrone Power. He followed this with roles in Key Largo (1948), Broken Arrow (1950) with Jimmy Stewart, War Arrow (1953) with Maureen O'Hara, Jeff Chandler and Noah Beery, Jr., 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.

However, Silverheels was best known for his appearances as the Lone Ranger's friend Tonto. In addition to starring in the Lone Ranger television series from 1949 to 1957, Silverheels appeared in the films The Lone Ranger (1956) and The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold (1958).

Following the end of the Lone Ranger television series, Silverheels found himself typecast as Tonto and had trouble finding further acting work. Silverheels was also hindered by a changing attitude, as some felt that the Tonto character was equivalent to a Native American Uncle Tom. Subsequently, Silverheels was forced to work as a salesman to supplement his acting income. He also began to concentrate on writing poetry influenced by his youth on the Six Nations Indian Reserve and appeared on television reciting his poetry.

In the early 1960s he helped to establish the Indian Actors Workshop in Echo Park, California as a place where Native American actors could develop their acting skills. It is still active.

Married in 1945, Silverheels was the father of two boys and a girl. He died in Woodland Hills, California and was cremated. His ashes were returned home and scattered in Canada. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6538 Hollywood Boulevard.

In 1993, Silverheels was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.