JOHN HART - CONTRACT SIGNED - HFSID 277371

JOHN HART
TV narration contract for Life Goes On signed by the Lone Rangers
Contract signed "John Hart". 2 pages, 8x11½, Aug. 22, 1991, with signature on second page in blue ink. Also included: Letter to Hart from Lisa Hill of Warner Brothers Television; letter from Automobile Club of Southern California with envelope; and catalog Pyramid Film & Video Supplement Sept. 1978. Baby Boomers probably remember Hart (1917-2009) best as the Lone Ranger. But his career didn't end with The Lone Ranger. Hart also did narrations for the TV series Life Goes On. He also produced at least two movies: Animals Can Bite, a 1976 children's movie distributed through Pyramid Media; and Gasoline and How to Stretch It, for which the Automobile Club of Southern California thanked Hart in 1978. All of these items belonged to Hart. Hart was a cowboy before becoming an actor and had numerous roles in westerns, including small parts on TV's The Lone Ranger (1950-1953), before being offered the role in 1952. He replaced Clayton Moore, the series' original Lone Ranger, for 52 episodes when Moore was fired for demanding a higher salary. In one interview, Hart claimed that all 52 episodes were shot in a matter of weeks, with each episode taking only two days to shoot. Hart forged a close relationship with Jay Silverheels, who played Tonto, and his cowboy training helped him to ride the Lone Ranger's horse Silver, whom he said was jumpy and difficult to ride. Hart went on to other roles, including parts on Bat Masterson, Rawhide and Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans. He played another masked hero in The Adventures of Captain Africa, a Columbia serial intended to be a sequel to The Phantom but which had its name and hero changed after Columbia lost the rights to the character. He also played the Lone Ranger for one episode of Happy Days and was cast as a reporter in The Legend of the Lone Ranger, the movie adaptation of the Lone Ranger story. Lightly toned. Contract is lightly creased and has staple marks in upper left corner. Envelope is neatly torn open and letter is folded in threes inside. Catalog has lightly creased edges, especially along binding, and is lightly scuffed. Otherwise in fine condition.