Like Brad Pitt in 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood', The Lone Ranger actually visited George at Spahn Ranch.
Yes, Clayton Moore was the real Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) from ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’. Three weeks before the infamous Manson attack, August 1969, Clayton was taking his 11-year-old daughter around to locations where he had filmed ‘The Lone Ranger’ TV show. Since he was close to the Spahn movie ranch, he decided to visit his friend George Spahn. He hadn’t seen him for eight years.
Clayton’s daughter said: “The ranch was dusty, dirty, falling-down with half-dead horses, and mangy dogs running around. When we pulled up, a bunch of hippies came out. Dad is super-nice to everybody, and says, ‘Hi. I’m a friend of George’s and I haven’t seen him in a while. Is he here?’ One hippie says, ‘Yeah, he’s here, so what do you want?’ ‘I’d just like to say hi.’ ‘Well, he’s not available right now.’ ‘Yeah, but if he’s here, I’d really like to see him.’ Dad got some more pushback, but if dad wants to do something, he’s gonna do it.”
Clayton said: “One of the guys pointed to a dilapidated trailer and said, ‘Over there.’ My daughter and I walked into the trailer which was totally dark. I said, ‘Hi, George. It’s Clayton.’ I quickly realized that he was blind as he said, ‘Clayton, is that you?’ and started to cry.
“We talked for about an hour. Then a young woman brought him a plate of food and said brightly, ‘Hey, George. It’s lunchtime.’ She dropped the tray on the table, push it roughly toward George, and left without acknowledging us. It must have been ‘Squeaky’ Fromme. She was hoping that George would will his ranch to her. He never did, which was probably all that kept him alive.
“As we left, I asked, ‘Is there anything I can do for you, George?’ He answered, “Just come back to see me.’ I said, ‘I promise that I will'."
Three weeks later, the Manson murders happened.
Clayton said: “When I read about the murders, I couldn’t help but think; Those murderers had once been innocent kids who may have been fans of The Lone Ranger. How did they take such a wrong turn in their lives? It made me more determined to stand for decency, honesty, and compassion. If kid’s minds are shaped by outside forces, then I was determined that my influence, however small, would be for good … always.
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I'm glad that you posted it. Gives all of us a lesson today about how we should behave. It is really sad that John Wayne, an admitted racist, is so hooked up to by so many, merely because of his movies and on his real life persona.
Do you have any good stories about John Wayne?
Ron