Jay Silverheels
Acting
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.
Known for
Acting83
movieSantee
1973
John Crow
movieOne Little Indian
1973
Jimmy Wolf
movieCat Ballou
1971
Indian Chief
movieThe Phynx
1970
Tonto
tvThe Brady Bunch
1969
Chief Eagle Cloud
movieTrue Grit
1969
Condemned Man at Hanging (uncredited)
movieSmith!
1969
McDonald Lasheway
movieThe Movie Orgy
1968
Tonto (archive footage)
moviePistols 'n' Petticoats
1967
Great Bear
movieIndian Paint
1965
Chief Hevatanu
tvDaniel Boone
1964
Sashona / Chenrogan / Latawa
tvThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
tvThe Virginian
1962
Den'Gwatzi / Spotted Hand
tvGunslinger
1961
Hopi Indian
movieAlias Jesse James
1959
Tonto (uncredited)
tvRawhide
1959
Pawnee Joe
tvWanted: Dead or Alive
1958
Charley Red Cloud
movieReturn to Warbow
1958
Indian Joe
movieWalk the Proud Land
1956
Geronimo
movieMasterson of Kansas
1954
Yellow Hawk
movieThe Black Dakotas
1954
Black Buffalo
movieWar Arrow
1953
Satanta
movieThe Nebraskan
1953
Spotted Bear
movieJack McCall, Desperado
1953
Red Cloud
movieLast of the Comanches
1953
Indian (uncredited)
movieThe Pathfinder
1952
Chingachgook
movieYankee Buccaneer
1952
Lead Warrior
movieBrave Warrior
1952
Chief Tecumseh
movieThe Half-Breed
1952
Apache (uncredited)
movieRed Mountain
1951
Little Crow
movieBroken Arrow
1950
Geronimo (uncredited)
movieSand
1949
Indian (uncredited)
movieLust for Gold
1949
Walter
movieLaramie
1949
Running Wolf (uncredited)
movieTulsa
1949
Creek Indian (uncredited)
movieYellow Sky
1948
Indian (uncredited)
movieThe Feathered Serpent
1948
Diego (uncredited)
movieFamily Honeymoon
1948
Elevator Boy (uncredited)
movieKey Largo
1948
Tom Osceola (uncredited)
movieFury at Furnace Creek
1948
Little Dog (uncredited)
movieThe Treasure of the Sierra Madre
1948
Indian Guide at Pier (uncredited)
movieCaptain from Castile
1947
Coatl (uncredited)
movieThe Prairie
1947
Running Deer
movieGas House Kids Go West
1947
Kingsley's Henchman (uncredited)
I Am an American
1944
Indian (uncredited)
movieLost in a Harem
1944
Guard at Execution (uncredited)
movieThe Phantom
1943
Astari Warrior (uncredited)
movieNorthern Pursuit
1943
Indian (uncredited)
movieThe Girl from Monterrey
1943
Fighter Tito Flores
moviePerils of Nyoka
1942
Tuareg
movieValley of the Sun
1942
Indian (uncredited)
movieThis Woman Is Mine
1941
Indian Marauder
movieWestern Union
1941
Indian
movieHudson's Bay
1940
Indian (uncredited)
movieToo Many Girls
1940
Indian (uncredited)
movieKit Carson
1940
Indian
movieThe Sea Hawk
1940
Native Lookout
movieA Different Drum
Jim Swift Hands