<Tr> <Th> Television </Th> <Td> Tonto in The Lone Ranger (TV series) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Spouse (s) </Th> <Td> Bobbi (first wife) 1 child, Mary Diroma (1945 - 1980; his death) 4 children </Td> </Tr> <P> Jay Silverheels (born Harold Preston Smith, May 26, 1912--March 5, 1980) was a Mohawk Canadian actor and athlete . 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 . </P> <P> Jay Silverheels was born Harold Preston Smith on the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation, near Hagersville, Ontario, Canada . 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 a Mohawk . His father was wounded and decorated for service at The Somme and Ypres during World War I, and later was an adjutant training Polish - American recruits for the Blue Army (Poland) for service in France, at Niagara - on - the - Lake, Ontario . </P>

Who played tonto in the lone ranger tv series