This Day in Pop Culture for January 30

1933: ‘The Lone Ranger’ Debuts on Radio

On this day, January 30, 1933, The Lone Ranger made its’ debut on Detroit’s WXYZ radio station. It was a creation of the station-owner George Trendle and fellow writer, Fran Striker. With no knowledge about cowboys and Indians, the writers wanted to create an American version of Zorro. As one of the original good guys, The Lone Ranger never smoked, swore, or drank alcohol and he never shot to kill. Tonto was cursed with uttering phrases that never would have been spoken by any native American. The popular series went to the movies and TV, becoming ABC’s first hit show in the early 1950’s. Disney tried out a revival of the story with a new movie that came out in 2013, but it failed to capture an audience this time around.

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