Brace Beemer
Brace Beemer | |
---|---|
Born |
Brace Beemer December 9, 1902 Mount Carmel, Illinois |
Died |
March 1, 1965 (age 62) Oxford Township, Michigan |
Occupation | Actor |
Known for | The voice of the Lone Ranger on radio |
Spouse(s) |
Evelyn (Couvert) Beemer, [1] Leta (Wales) Beemer[2][3][4][5] |
Children | Robert Beemer, J.D. Beemer, Richard Beemer, Barbara B. Daniel[6][7][8] |
Brace Beemer (December 9, 1902 – March 1, 1965) was an American radio actor and announcer at radio station WXYZ (AM), Detroit, Michigan.
He is best known as the radio voice of the Lone Ranger.
The Lone Ranger
Brace Beemer became the third radio voice of the Lone Ranger on April 18, 1941,[9][10] and remained so until the series' last new episode on September 3, 1954. During the 13 years that Beemer played the title character, he was required by contract to restrict his radio acting to that one role until the program left the air.
The experienced and popular Western film actor, Clayton Moore, was chosen to take over the role for the television series. Although Beemer had the right voice and had made many public appearances as the Ranger, he had no experience as a film actor, as he preferred live action to television. However, Beemer's voice as the character was so familiar that Moore imitated his sound in the earliest TV episodes.
Other roles
Beemer also portrayed "Sergeant William Preston" of the Yukon on Challenge of the Yukon, for a brief time after the Lone Ranger series ended.
Beemer's last TV appearance, was an interview with former film actor, Bill Kennedy on his "At the Movies" show on CKLW TV9 from Windsor, Ont., Canada. Brace Beemer died the very next day.
Early years
Brace Bell Beemer was born at his home on Cherry Street in Mount Carmel, Illinois on December 9, 1902, the son of Joseph D. Beemer and Bertina (Bell) Beemer.[11]
He attended high school in Vincennes, Indiana, leaving school to enlist in the military.[12]
When Beemer was 14,[13] he misrepresented his age to participate in World War I. He served with "Battery E, 150th field artillery, and was wounded in action in France May 27," 1918.[12] He was said to be the youngest sergeant in that war.[14]
Later years
Beemer resided in Oxford Township, Michigan. He raised thoroughbred horses on his 300-acre ranch, Paint Creek Acres.[15] The barn where the great white stallion Silver used to stay still stands, and it’s rumored that the horse was buried in the woods on the property. [16]
Death
Brace Beemer died of a heart attack March 1, 1965.[14] He is buried in White Chapel Cemetery in Troy, Michigan.[17] At the time of his death, he was using his famous "Lone Ranger" voice in automobile commercials running on radio stations.
References
- ↑ http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theleafchronicle/obituary.aspx?n=barbara-b-daniel&pid=150445577
- ↑ http://www.ancestry.com/1940-census/usa/Michigan/Leta-Beemer_2yg0yd
- ↑ http://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A145950
- ↑ http://www.theoaklandpress.com/social-affairs/20140529/oxford-middle-school-students-re-enact-lone-ranger
- ↑ http://www.sourcenewspapers.com/articles/2013/06/26/news/doc51cb50ded023a313507023.txt
- ↑ http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theleafchronicle/obituary.aspx?n=barbara-b-daniel&pid=150445577
- ↑ http://www.themorningsun.com/article/MS/20130706/life01/130709728
- ↑ http://detroitkidshow.com/Justice_Colt.htm
- ↑ http://www.otrwesterns.com/westerns/the-lone-ranger/
- ↑ ""Lone Ranger" Crash Victim". The Vidette-Messenger. Indiana, Valparaiso. April 8, 1941. p. 1. Retrieved November 15, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ http://bracebeemer.homestead.com/birthplace.html
- 1 2 "Three Vincennes Men In List". The Indianapolis News. Indiana, Indianapolis. June 3, 1918. p. 8. Retrieved November 15, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Mother Overcome With Joy When She Sees Returning Soldier Son". The Indianapolis News. Indiana, Indianapolis. May 7, 1919. p. 1. Retrieved November 15, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 "Brace Beemer, Lone Ranger, Died Today". Santa Cruz Sentinel. March 1, 1964. p. 4. Retrieved April 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Radio's Lone Ranger Dies". Standard-Speaker. March 2, 1965. p. 2. Retrieved April 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ http://www.theoaklandpress.com/social-affairs/20140529/oxford-middle-school-students-re-enact-lone-ranger
- ↑ "Last Rites". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. March 4, 1965. p. 1. Retrieved April 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
- A Collector's Dream: The Brace Beemer Lone Ranger Pistols
- Lone Ranger on the Radio
- The Last Radio Ranger
- Brace Beemer at Find a Grave
- RADIO Memorial tribute to Brace Beemer