<P> Silverheels excelled in athletics, most notably in lacrosse, before leaving home to travel around North America . In the 1930s, he played indoor lacrosse as Harry Smith with the "Iroquois" of Rochester, New York in the North American Amateur Lacrosse Association . He lived for a time in Buffalo, New York, and in 1938 placed second in the Middleweight class of the Golden Gloves tournament . Silverheels was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame as a veteran player in 1997 . </P> <P> While playing in Los Angeles on a touring box lacrosse team in 1937, Silverheels impressed Joe E. Brown, with his athleticism . Brown encouraged him to do a screen test, which led to his acting career . Silverheels began working in motion pictures as an extra and stunt man in 1937 . He was billed variously as Harold Smith and Harry Smith, and appeared in low - budget features, westerns, and serials . He adopted his screen name from the nickname he had as a lacrosse player . From the late 1940s, he played in major films, including Captain from Castile starring Tyrone Power, I Am an American (1944), Key Largo with Humphrey Bogart (1948), Lust for Gold with Glenn Ford (1949), Broken Arrow (1950) with James Stewart, War Arrow (1953) with Maureen O'Hara, Jeff Chandler and Noah Beery, Jr., The Black Dakotas (1954) as Black Buffalo, Drums Across the River (1954), Walk the Proud Land (1956) with Audie Murphy and Anne Bancroft, Alias Jesse James (1959) with Bob Hope, and Indian Paint (1964) with Johnny Crawford . He made a brief appearance in True Grit (1969) as a condemned criminal about to be executed . He played a substantial role as John Crow in Santee (1973), starring Glenn Ford . One of his last roles was a wise white - haired chief in The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973). </P> <P> Jay Silverheels achieved his greatest fame as Tonto on The Lone Ranger . The fictional story line maintains that a small group of Texas Rangers were massacred, with only a "lone" survivor . The Lone Ranger and Tonto then ride throughout the West to assist those challenged by the lawless element . Their expenses and bullets are provided through a silver mine owned by 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). </P> <P> 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 . </P>

Who played tonto in the original lone ranger