INTO THE SUNSET; `LONE RANGER' CLAYTON MOORE, A HERO TO BABY BOOMERS, DIES.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer

Clayton Moore, famed as the masked Lone Ranger who reared up his horse with a hearty ``Hi-yo Silver, away

'' and delighted a generation of young fans in the early days of television, died Tuesday in West Hills of a heart attack. He was 85.

Moore, a longtime Calabasas resident, died at 9:19 a.m. in the emergency room of West Hills Hospital and Medical Center about 30 minutes after he was brought in from his home, said Rick Miller, vice president for business development.

``My hero passed away,'' said Terry Klepey, editor of the Silver Bullet newsletter and proprietor of Silver Bullet Antiques in Forks, Wash.

Klepey, who first shook hands with Moore at a fair when he was 12, probably was speaking for millions of baby boomers who have fond memories of Moore as the cowboy in the white suit and hat and the black mask who, with his loyal partner Tonto, nabbed bad guys, rescued the innocent, and never stuck around long enough to hear a ``thank you.''

Tonto, played by his longtime friend Jay Silverheels, died in 1980.

Moore played the hero in 169 episodes that aired on ABC-TV from September 1949 to September 1957, and on the big screen in two features, ``The Lone Ranger'' and ``The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold.''

The series was largely filmed at the old Joe Iverson ranch in Chatsworth, which served as the backdrop for the opening sequence in which the Lone Ranger galloped Silver between rocks with the ``William Tell Overture'' playing in the background.

Moore fought passionately to retain the right to appear as the Lone Ranger long after he retired from acting and he identified with the moral rectitude of the heroic figure.

``I believe, truly and always, in the Lone Ranger's creed: I believe that to have a friend, a man must be one,'' he told the Daily News in a 1996 interview.

News of his death stunned his friends and fans.

``I just talked to him a couple of days ago,'' Klepey said. ``He was fine. I was in the process of disproving another report that he had emphysema.

``It's really shocking to me. We knew that it was going to happen he was 85

but doggone it.''

Moore was born Jack Carlton Moore on Sept. 14, 1914, in Chicago. As a boy he dreamed of being a cowboy or a policeman, he wrote in his 1996 autobiography, ``I Was That Masked Man.'' He worked with a flying trapeze troupe at the World's Fair before moving to Hollywood to get into motion pictures.

He changed his name to Clayton Moore and began appearing in dozens of quickly produced, multipart cliffhangers about Zorro (his first masked hero part), the Green Hornet and other popular characters.

``The Lone Ranger'' had been a radio staple since 1933, and ABC decided to bring it to television in 1949. When Moore was offered the lead, he replied, ``I am the Lone Ranger.''

Moore appeared in more than 70 other features, including ``Son of Monte Cristo'' and ``Black Dragons'' with Bela Lugosi, but he derived a lifetime of pleasure in being identified with his most popular role. He made countless public appearances around the country in the black mask, cutting ribbons at supermarket openings, handing out silver bullets, posing cheerfully with fans young and old, and signing autographs with pleasure. Klepey said Moore always was gracious during their regular conversations to update the fan letter.

In 1979 his career was temporarily halted by a court battle with the Wrather Corp., which owned rights to the character and was preparing to release a new feature, ``The Legend of the Lone Ranger,'' which would not include Moore. They obtained a restraining order forbidding him from wearing the trademark mask in public and billing himself as the Lone Ranger. Moore fought the ruling, generating 400,000 letters of support, and in 1985 he was again allowed to use the image.

In 1998 he was honored with the Golden Boot Award in recognition of his contributions to the western genre.

Frank Thompson of Burbank, who co-wrote the autobiography, said he was too young in the early '50s to really enjoy ``The Lone Ranger.''

``I didn't go into the project with an incredible awe for the man,'' he said. ``Still, there was enough of that cultural backwash in it and sometimes I would find myself sitting there on the couch and looking over and thinking, `It's the Lone Ranger.' ''

Thompson said that since Moore stopped answering fan mail in the last few months, much of the correspondence has been sent to him instead.

``I don't think a day goes by that I don't get a letter or e-mail from fans of his,'' he said. ``They don't really want anything. They just want to say how much they love him.''

Thompson said Moore was a pleasant, helpful writing partner, ``devoid of ego.''

``He didn't give me any trouble at all. To have another experience like that I'm going to have to find another guy like that, and I don't know where any of those are.''

Moore is survived by his wife, Clarita, his daughter, Dawn Moore Gerrity, and son-in-law, Michael Gerrity. They are planning a private memorial service. They ask that in lieu of flowers, contributions be sent to the Motion Picture and Television Fund hospital in Woodland Hills.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo: (1) Clayton Moore played `The Lone Ranger' in 169 TV episodes and two movies.

(2) Clayton Moore, TV's `Lone Ranger' derived great pleasure in being identified with the heroic figure, and fought for the right to wear the mask long after he retired from acting.