21. Everyone knows that the Batman's secret identity is Bruce Wayne, and it was mentioned frequently on the TV show, in the films, and the comic books. Rarely mentioned on the TV and radio programs, what is the secret identity of the Lone Ranger?
From Quiz Won't You Guess My Name?
Answer:
John Reid
In the original radio series which began in on WXYZ in Detroit in 1933, the Lone Ranger's last name was revealed as Reid, but a first name was never given. The program ran nationally on the Mutual Broadcasting System, then in 1942 by NBC Blue (which became ABC) until 1956, during which time Brace Beemer was the Lone Ranger and John Todd played Tonto. In 1938, the first film serial appeared in U.S. cinemas; a second in 1939. On TV (1949-57), Clayton Moore famously played the masked hero and Jay Silverheels the sidekick. Not until 1981, however, in the movie "The Legend of Lone Ranger", do we learn his first name is John. Subsequent comic-book and film adaptations have used that name.
Interestingly, the Lone Ranger's nephew, another sidekick in the radio series, was named Dan Reid, Jr. (son of Dan Reid, Sr., John' brother). The creators of the Lone Ranger, George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, created the Green Hornet franchise, they made Britt Reid, the secret identity of the hero, the son of Dan Reid, and hence the grand-nephew of the Lone Ranger!