JAY "TONTO" SILVERHEELS - AUTOGRAPH NOTE SIGNED - HFSID 279711

JAY SILVERHEELS
He signs an autograph note on the blank portion of a membership card for the Jay Silverheels Fan Club.
Autograph Note signed: "Jay Silverheels", 3¾x4. Circa 1960. Signed in ink above the fold on the blank portion of a partly printed membership card for the Jay Silverheels Fan Club. In full: "I cannot begin to express my appreciation to you John. It's really a great pleasure to have a guy like you as a fan. I shall always remember this week." Card is folded, with fan's membership information filled out on the lower half. Actor Jay Silverheels (1912-1980), born on the Six Nations Reservation in Ontario, Canada to a Mohawk chief, is best known for playing Tonto, the Lone Ranger's "faithful Indian companion," on one of television's most popular westerns (1949-1957). A former star athlete, Silverheels went to Hollywood as a stuntman in 1938, usually playing stereotypical roles as an Indian in a number of feature films before first teaming up with Clayton Moore in 1949 in the feature film, The Cowboy and the Indians. Later that year, he was cast as Moore's sidekick in the TV series, and he would appear as Tonto in two feature films: The Lone Ranger (1955) and The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold (1958). Following the series, Silverheels appeared in several feature films, including Alias Jesse James (1959), True Grit (1969) and The Man Who Love Cat Dancing (1973), and he made numerous appearances on the small screen, appearing primarily in Westerns, but also guest starring on such series as Love, American Style (1972) and Cannon (1973). Silverheels' health began to fail in the late 1970s, and he died of a stroke in 1980. Signature crosses fold in card. Lightly worn at corners and edges. Member information light but legible. (Silverheels' ALS is bold and clear.) Mounting remnants on verso (no show-through). Otherwise, fine condition.