TV's Lone Ranger Dies

11/18/1998 at 12:00 AM EST

Clayton Moore, who rose to fame playing the Lone Ranger on the popular TV series in the 1950s, died on Tuesday of a heart attack. He was 85. The actor was born Jack Carlton Moore but changed his name when he arrived in Hollywood in the '30s and began work as a stuntman and extra. Following his portrayal of another masked man in 1949's "The Ghost of Zorro," Moore joined the TV series, which debuted in 1949 and continued through 1957. The actor, who named his autobiography "I Was That Masked Man," also appeared in two movie versions of the serie and numerous westerns and made public appearances as the former Texas Ranger.