Jay Silverheels Jay Silverheels Jay Silverheels (born Harold Preston Smith, May 26, 1912 – March 5, 1980) was a Mohawk Canadian actor and He was well known for his role as Tonto, the faithful Indian companion of the Lone Ranger in the long-running American western television series "The Lone Ranger". Silverheels was born Harold Preston Smith in Canada, on the Six Nations of the Grand River, near Hagersville, Ontario. He was a grandson of Mohawk Chief A.G. Smith and Mary Wedge, and one of the 11 children of Captain Alexander George Edwin Smith, MC, Cayuga, and his wife Mabel Phoebe Doxtater, also
Jay Silverheels The Lone Ranger, who also names his horse "Silver". Being irreplaceable in his role, Silverheels appeared in the film sequels: "The Lone Ranger" (1956) and "The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold" (1958). When "The Lone Ranger" television series ended, Silverheels found himself firmly typecast as a Native American. On January 6, 1960, he portrayed a Native American fireman trying to extinguish a forest fire in the episode "Leap of Life" in the syndicated series, "Rescue 8", starring Jim Davis and Lang Jeffries. Eventually, he went to work as a salesman to supplement his acting income. He also