Biography
Jay Silverheels was born on a reservation in Canada to a Mohawk chief. He was a star lacrosse player and a boxer before he entered films as a stuntman in 1938. He worked in a number of films though the 1940s before he gained some notice as the Osceola brother in Humphrey Bogart's film Key Largo (1948). Most of his roles consisted of bit parts as "Indian." In 1949, he would work in a movie called The Cowboy and the Indians (1949) with another "B movie" actor named Clayton Moore. It was later that same year that Jay would be hired to play the faithful Indian companion, Tonto, in the television series "The Lone Ranger" (1949). This role, while still playing the "Indian," would bring Jay the fame that his motion picture career never did. As Tonto, on his horse Scout, Jay could show up where the Ranger could not and some of the time he would be shot at or beat up for his trouble. Jay would play Tonto in all the episodes except for those that he missed when he had his heart attack. In those episodes, he was replaced by the Ranger's nephew, Dan. However, Clayton Moore would miss the third season when he was replaced by John Hart. Jay would reprise the role of Tonto in two big-screen color movies with Moore, The Lone Ranger (1956) and The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold (1958). After the series ended in 1957, Jay could not escape the typecasting of Tonto. He would continue to appear in an occasional film and television show, but he would become a spokesman to improve the portrayal of Indians on TV.
Filmography
all 78
Movies 69
TV Shows 9
![Santee](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/69975-santee.jpg)
Santee (1973)
![One Little Indian](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/55596-one-little-indian.jpg)
One Little Indian (1973)
![Cat Ballou](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/513269-cat-ballou.jpg)
Cat Ballou (1971)
![True Grit](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/7485-true-grit.jpg)
True Grit (1969)
![Smith!](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/7145-smith.jpg)
Smith! (1969)
![The Movie Orgy](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/110559-the-movie-orgy.jpg)
The Movie Orgy (1968)
![Pistols 'n' Petticoats](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/939597-pistols-n-petticoats.jpg)
Pistols 'n' Petticoats (1967)
![Indian Paint](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/140568-indian-paint.jpg)
Indian Paint (1965)
![Daniel Boone](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/87898-daniel-boone.jpg)
Daniel Boone (1964)
![The Virginian](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/71511-the-virginian.jpg)
The Virginian (1962)
![Alias Jesse James](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/67335-alias-jesse-james.jpg)
Alias Jesse James (1959)
![Rawhide](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/11518-rawhide.jpg)
Rawhide (1959)
![Wanted: Dead or Alive](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/62723-wanted-dead-or-alive.jpg)
Wanted: Dead or Alive (1958)
![Return to Warbow](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/97271-return-to-warbow.jpg)
Return to Warbow (1958)
![Walk the Proud Land](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/98059-walk-the-proud-land.jpg)
Walk the Proud Land (1956)
![Masterson of Kansas](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/99090-masterson-of-kansas.jpg)
Masterson of Kansas (1954)
![The Black Dakotas](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/85573-the-black-dakotas.jpg)
The Black Dakotas (1954)
![War Arrow](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/65089-war-arrow.jpg)
War Arrow (1953)
![The Nebraskan](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/38654-the-nebraskan.jpg)
The Nebraskan (1953)
![Jack McCall, Desperado](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/99088-jack-mccall-desperado.jpg)
Jack McCall, Desperado (1953)
![Last of the Comanches](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/87293-last-of-the-comanches.jpg)
Last of the Comanches (1953)
![The Pathfinder](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/99098-the-pathfinder.jpg)
The Pathfinder (1952)
![Yankee Buccaneer](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/61385-yankee-buccaneer.jpg)
Yankee Buccaneer (1952)
![Brave Warrior](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/61415-brave-warrior.jpg)
Brave Warrior (1952)
![The Half-Breed](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/84142-the-half-breed.jpg)
The Half-Breed (1952)
![Red Mountain](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/44018-red-mountain.jpg)
Red Mountain (1951)
![Broken Arrow](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/49842-broken-arrow.jpg)
Broken Arrow (1950)
![Sand](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/83873-sand.jpg)
Sand (1949)
![Laramie](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/137425-laramie.jpg)
Laramie (1949)
![Tulsa](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/48422-tulsa.jpg)
Tulsa (1949)
![Yellow Sky](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/55126-yellow-sky.jpg)
Yellow Sky (1948)
![The Feathered Serpent](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/4253-the-feathered-serpent.jpg)
The Feathered Serpent (1948)
![Family Honeymoon](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/69328-family-honeymoon.jpg)
Family Honeymoon (1948)
![Key Largo](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/8641-key-largo.jpg)
Key Largo (1948)
![Fury at Furnace Creek](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/93370-fury-at-furnace-creek.jpg)
Fury at Furnace Creek (1948)
![The Treasure of the Sierra Madre](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/6305-the-treasure-of-the-sierra-madre.jpg)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
![Captain from Castile](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/71475-captain-from-castile.jpg)
Captain from Castile (1947)
![The Prairie](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/97410-the-prairie.jpg)
The Prairie (1947)
![Gas House Kids Go West](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/49091-gas-house-kids-go-west.jpg)
Gas House Kids Go West (1947)
![Tahiti Nights](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/261018-tahiti-nights.jpg)
Tahiti Nights (1944)
![I Am an American](https://images.moviefit.me/default-images/t/o.jpg)
I Am an American (1944)
![Lost in a Harem](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/24905-lost-in-a-harem.jpg)
Lost in a Harem (1944)
![The Phantom](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/136330-the-phantom.jpg)
The Phantom (1943)
![Northern Pursuit](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/86350-northern-pursuit.jpg)
Northern Pursuit (1943)
![The Girl from Monterrey](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/136267-the-girl-from-monterrey.jpg)
The Girl from Monterrey (1943)
![This Woman Is Mine](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/93015-this-woman-is-mine.jpg)
This Woman Is Mine (1941)
![Kit Carson](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/89945-kit-carson.jpg)
Kit Carson (1940)
![The Sea Hawk](https://images.moviefit.me/t/o/54517-the-sea-hawk.jpg)
The Sea Hawk (1940)
Ratings
Gallery
![Jay Silverheels](https://images.moviefit.me/p/o/41687-jay-silverheels.jpg)
![Jay Silverheels](https://images.moviefit.me/p/o/41687-jay-silverheels.jpg)
Information
Known ForActing
GenderMale
Birthday1912-05-26
Deathday1980-03-05 (67 years old)
Birth PlaceBrantford, Canada
CitizenshipsCanada
Also Known AsHarold J. Smith, Harry Silversmith, Harry Smith
AwardsCanadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame, star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
This article uses material from Wikipedia.
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