Play set:Lone Ranger and Tonto

The Lone Ranger and his Native American companion Tonto rode into popular culture in a radio series that debuted in the 1930s. The title character got his name for having been the only one of six Texas Rangers to have survived an ambush by a notorious gang of outlaws. Injured in the attack, the Ranger was saved and coaxed back to health by Tonto, who called him kemo sabe, or "trusted scout." The Lone Ranger always wore a mask to hide his identity from the gang, and with Tonto he dedicated his life to making the West a decent place to live. The radio stories, and beginning in 1949, TV episodes, presented the duo as upstanding, noble crime fighters in a lawless West. The Lone Ranger TV series aired from 1949 to 1957 and continued in syndication for many years. The story also appeared in feature-length movies and comic books, and animated TV series too.