in 1949 he was chosen by abc television to play the lone ranger. in the series of the same name. his co-star was the actor jay silverheels. it was the biggest success of abc in the postwar period. from 1949 to 1956, 169 episodes were made of the lone ranger. his silver bullets, white hat and black mask were icons of the western u.s. in 1979, the company owning the rights to the lone ranger forced him to no longer use the character. judge vernon foster said moore could no longer use his black mask, or advertise as the lone ranger. moore obeyed the judge's decision. in 1987 a star was placed on sunset boulevard in los angeles.