LEE ALAN REFLECTS ON BOYHOOD RADIO HERO: ‘THE LONE RANGER’

The Detroit News: ‘Horn’ Trumpets Praise of Radio’s ‘Lone Ranger’

Tom Greenwood, Detroit News

On 1/28/2014, Lee Alan wrote to us here at Motor City Radio Flashbacks:

Lee Alan's book "Turn Your Radio On" is currently available in audio and print book forms, here. — Lee Alan’s **“Turn Your Radio On”** is available in audio book and print book form, **here**.

Thank you for your note regarding my boyhood hero, “The Lone Ranger.”

Over these many fortunate years I have been privileged to meet a number of those whose voices and genius brought the legendary masked rider of the plains to life for millions of us “kids.”

So I thought I would pass along an audio excerpt from my book (audio linked below) where I recall a very special story or two which you have my full permission to add to your growing collection.

The Tom Greenwood article appeared in The Detroit News a number of years ago and was included in the photo section of my book.

Kindest Regards. And keep up your most valued work.

LEE ALAN

TURN YOUR RADIO ON * Lee Alan Remembers * THE LONE RANGER

By Tom Greenwood

(News article below was provided by Lee Alan) —

R E C E N T L Y I P E N N E D A C O L U M N about some childhood heroes, including Clayton Moore (TV’s Lone Ranger) and former WXYZ Radio disk jockey Lee Alan. I said how I’d always had this secret dream that some day I’d grow up and be the Lone Ranger. I also said I’d spent many an evening cruising Woodward in the ’60s, listening to “Brother” Joel Sebastian and Lee “The Horn” Alan and his “fine toned ashtray.”

I must have stirred up a lot of memories, because readers wrote and called to say they admired the very same people. In the batch was a note from Lee Alan Reicheld, founder of the Reicheld Corp. ad agency. Drop the last name and you’ll know who wrote it:

Dear Tom: My childhood hero was also the Lone Ranger, but before Clayton Moore. As a boy growing up in Detroit I listened to The Lone Ranger as it was done live from WXYZ on the radio. My Lone Ranger in those days (actually the name was Brace) was Bruce Beemer. His deep, resonant voice created a vivid mental picture of my hero. In 1965, I shared an office at WXYZ with my dear and recently deceased friend, Joel Sebastian. I heard a voice from the hallway. And there he stood… 60 plus years of age — looking just like I always thought he would. I nervously introduced myself. He shook my hand, and with the other… he gave me a silver bullet. Five days later he died.

“Last year at the national convention of the ‘Friends Of Old-Time Radio,’ the Lone Ranger was recreated by the original cast. They asked me to go and play Brace Beemer’s part. For 30 minutes I was surrounded by all the thundering hoofbeats from out of the past and realized my boyhood dream. I was the Lone Ranger…”

Brace Beemer, the original Lone Ranger on the radio 'live' from the WXYZ studios in the 1940s — **Lee Alan’s childhood hero:** Brace Beemer, the original Lone Ranger on the radio ‘live’ from the WXYZ studios in the 1940s. Brace passed away at age 62, March 2, 1965, Oxford, MI.

Shortly thereafter, I received a call from “The Horn” himself, and let me tell you “Wixie Pixies” out there that the man sounds exactly the same. “I retired from radio and opened my ad agency about 16 years ago,” said Alan. “The horn and ashtray are locked up in a vault, along with photos and film clips of my radio days. But nothing means more to me than that silver bullet. That and the fact that I actually became the Lone Ranger… if only for a little while.”

Alan also added, “The cast members, when I had the wonderful opportunity to play Brace Beemer’s part as the Lone Ranger before a live audience of a thousand people, included Fred Foy who was the show’s announcer, Dick Osgood, Rube Weiss as Tonto and, the show’s actual director on WXYZ, Chuck Livingstone.

When it was over a small elderly lady approached me and said: “I closed my eyes and it was him… I heard his voice. It was him.”

The lady was Leta Beemer, widow of Brace Beemer. My “Lone Ranger.” She saw the “pictures” that only radio can produce. END

Addendum: Where can I buy Lee Alan’s book, “Turn Your Radio On!”? It is available at http://www.detroitradiolegends.com/ The article and audio excerpt linked above is used with expressed permission by the author. Thank you, Lee Alan, for sharing with us on Motor City Radio Flashbacks.

ALSO: NPR’s splendid take on ‘The Lone Ranger: Justice Outside The Law’ (with Lone Ranger audio in “All Things Considered”) dated January 14, 2008 (in commemorating 75 years), can be read, and heard here.

BUBBLING UNDER HOT 100

THIS DAY IN HISTORY JAN. 30: WXYZ RADIO RIDES W/ ‘THE LONE RANGER’ IN ’33

From History.com: This Day In History

January 30, 1933:

The Lone Ranger Debuts on Detroit’s WXYZ Radio

___

DETROIT (January 30) — With the stirring notes of the William Tell Overture and a shout of “Hi-yo, Silver! Away!” The Lone Ranger debuts on Detroit’s WXYZ radio station. The creation of station-owner George Trendle and writer Fran Striker, the “masked rider of the plains” became one of the most popular and enduring western heroes of the 20th century. Joined by his trusty steed, Silver, and loyal Indian scout, Tonto, the Lone Ranger sallied forth to do battle with evil western outlaws and Indians, generally arriving on the scene just in time to save an innocent golden-haired child or sun-bonneted farm wife.

Radio Row 'The Lone Ranger' Ad. May 14, 1945 (click image for larger view) — Radio Row ‘The Lone Ranger’ Ad. May 14, 1945 *(click image for larger view)*

Neither Trendle nor Striker had any connections to or experience with the cowboys, nor Indians, and pioneers of the real West, but that mattered little to them. The men simply wanted to create an American version of the masked swashbuckler made popular by the silent movie actor Douglas Fairbanks in The Mark of Zorro, arming their hero with a revolver rather than a sword. Historical authenticity was far less important to the men than fidelity to the strict code of conduct they established for their character. The Lone Ranger never smoked, swore, or drank alcohol; he used grammatically correct speech free of slang; and, most important, he never shot to kill. More offensive to modern historical and ethnic sensibilities was the Indian scout Tonto, who spoke in a comical Indian patois totally unrelated to any authentic Indian dialect, uttering ludicrous phrases like “You betchum!”

Historical accuracy notwithstanding, the radio program was an instant hit. Children liked the steady stream of action and parents approved of the good moral example offered by the upstanding masked man. Soon picked up for nationwide broadcast over the Mutual Radio Network, over 20 million Americans were tuning into The Lone Ranger three times a week by 1939. In an early example of the power of marketing tie-ins, the producers also licensed the manufacture of a vast array of related products, including Lone Ranger guns, costumes, books, and a popular comic strip.

The Lone Ranger made a seemingly effortless transition from radio to motion pictures and television. The televised version of The Lone Ranger, staring Clayton Moore as the masked man, became ABC’s first big hit in the early 1950s. Remaining on the air until 1957, the program helped define the golden age of the TV Western and inspired dozens of imitators like The Range Rider, The Roy Rogers Show, and The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok. Although the Lone Ranger disappeared from American television and movie screens by the 1960s, he lived on in a popular series of comic books well into the 1970s.

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HISTORY.COM

ON TELEVISION IN THE 1950S: The Lone Ranger with his sidekick Tonto — **ON TELEVISION IN THE 1950s:** The Lone Ranger *(Clayton Moore)* with his sidekick Tonto *(Jay Silverheels)* pose with their trusty steeds

Addendum: For more on the history of ‘The Lone Ranger’ on WXYZ radio go here. For a recent on-site tour of the old WXYZ radio studios at the Maccabees Building (2012), read it and see it here, at the Baggy Paragraphs blog. In commemorating ‘The Lone Ranger’ 81st, special thanks to former WXYZ personality Jim Hampton for providing Motor City Radio Flashbacks with this WXYZ-related link!

WXYZ RADIO 1933: HOW THE LONE RANGER EVOLVED

The Lone Ranger on the Silver Screen. Warner Bros., 1956 — **“The Lone Ranger” on the silver screen. Warner Bros., 1956**

A VIEWING TIP: To enlarge this image FULL SCREEN -- click image and open to second window. Click image again for EXPANDED, LARGEST VIEW. Click image anytime to return to NORMAL image size. (Click your server's back button to return to MCRFB main home page). — **A VIEWING TIP:** To enlarge this image FULL SCREEN — click image and open to second window. Click image again for EXPANDED, LARGEST VIEW. Click image anytime to return to NORMAL image size. *(Click your server’s back button to return to MCRFB main home page).*

The Lone Ranger: A birthday card by Marita Cakes circa 1964 — **The Lone Ranger:** A birthday card ad by Merita Cakes (Lone Ranger sponsor) circa 1964

FLASHBACK MOTOR CITY HAPPENINGS ’63 . . . JANUARY 12, 1963

From the MCRFB news archive: 1963

Music Happenings In and Around Detroit Town, 1967

Jazz trumpeteer Maynard Ferguson circa 1962 — **Jazz trumpeter *Maynard Ferguson* circa 1962**

DETROIT — Hot record acts Vaughn Meader and Allan Sherman were booked for upcoming Motor City concert appearances. Meader is slated for the Masonic Temple on January 27, with Sherman and his troupe due at the Ford Auditorium the evening of February 16 . . . Maynard Ferguson, in for his third session at the Minor Key Club within 15 months, spent off-hours shopping for a new car in the Detroit area . . . The Three Suns, usually Roostertail regulars, have crossed the river for a one-week stint at the Elmwood Casino in Windsor, Canada . . . looking ahead, Liberace has just been signed for a two-week engagement at the same Canadian supper club in March.

Following the New Year’s Eve bow-out of Jerry Murad and the Harmonicats, the Roostertail will be shuttered through mid-March for extensive alterations involving an addition which will house basement dressing rooms and an elevator to whisk the acts backstage. END

Addendum: Below, “My Son The Nut.” Allan Sherman’s third comedy LP from 1963.

(Information and news source: Billboard; January 12, 1963).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN_9a0LPFhY

Allan Sherman's "My Son The Nut," No. 1 on the Billboard L.P. Chart August 31, 1963 — Allan Sherman’s *‘My Son The Nut,’* shot straight to the top on the *Billboard LP* chart, August, 1963. Note just three weeks on the charts — No. 1! *(Click image for larger view)*

TWO YEARS AGO THIS DAY: AND WE ARE COUNTING!

A S P E C I A L T H A N K Y O U T O A L L F R O M M C R F B !

From the staff at Motor City Radio Flashbacks

You know its been a couple of years since we found our place here on the world-wide web. Motor City Radio Flashbacks. Two years ago today. Wow . . . .

We were pretty excited then just having signed on. And since that time we’ve expanded vastly as never imagined. But with a single mission. As of this date on mcrfb.com, we’ve accumulated, authored and posted well over 1,300-plus exhibits for the site. We’ve received, and enjoyed, reading over 360 of your comments you shared with us. If you turned the website pages from back to front, we’ve accumulated over 30 pages of Detroit radio exhibits. Some about Detroit radio going as far back as five decades ago. And you’ll find many of our exhibits we’ve featured here, about the artists and the music we love. Like we first heard them on the radio. Yeah. Classic stuff.

Just the same, you will find many radio-related featured articles from the Billboard archives. And check this out — we’ve amassed 187 different categories you can browse through. Go there. You will find everything we’ve posted to date. All on our website and, yes. You can say we’ve kept pretty busy during the past two years right here on Motor City Radio Flashbacks.

One of our primary features on our website is the airchecks library. Bulging at 40 gigabytes, Motor City Radio Flashbacks holds the largest collection of Detroit radio airchecks you’ll find on the web — anywhere — today. Here you will find many exhibits we’ve posted about your favorite Detroit radio station. They’re archived here. All in one place. And more additions is planned for this year moving forward.

This Detroit radio web site — first and foremost — is dedicated to all those great radio deejays and voices who covered the radio dial here in the Motor City. This is our tribute site to each and every single one of you. Thank you. Classic Detroit radio as it was. As we remember it. The “memories… from the soundtrack of our lives.”

To our good friend, Scott Westerman, thank you again for making this website the reality it is today. Your contributions to our website in the beginning was the drive and inspiration to push this site moving forward. It was you who made this possible. Two years ago… thank you friend.

And so how did we evolve on the web? You can read the back- story here. And oh, by the way. We signed on Facebook on April 24, 2013. Now you can also follow us over there as well.

And finally. To everyone of you who has contributed to this website in the last two years. You know who you are. To those names too numerous to mention here, thank you. And to everyone else, thank you for your comments, compliments, your encouragements and your continuous show of support. We appreciated hearing from everyone of you.

Two years ago, and, we’re counting. So here’s to you. Cheers. From George Griggs. Jim Feliciano. Randy Bumbalough. Scott Westerman. Scott MacKinnon. Today. Our second birthday here at mcrfb.com. Call this a labor of love? You ‘betcha.

M O T O R C I T Y R A D I O F L A S H B A C K S