Lee Berrian Powell (May 15, 1908 – July 30, 1944) was an American film actor known for leading or other major roles in several serials and B-westerns. He was the first actor to portray

The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in a ...

on film. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and participated in combat on several Pacific Islands, on one of which he died., citing

Film career

Powell attended the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...

, where he studied dramatics, football, and track as his main interests. After various stock work he tried his luck in Hollywood. Making his first appearance uncredited in '' Under Two Flags'' (1936), Powell gained fame for playing the suspect who turned out to be ''

'' and one of ''

The Fighting Devil Dogs ''The Fighting Devil Dogs'' (1938) is a 12-chapter Republic Pictures, Republic Serial (film), movie serial starring Lee Powell (actor), Lee Powell and Herman Brix, the latter better known by his later stage name, Bruce Bennett. It was directed by ...

'' in 1938 serials. He was the first actor to portray the Lone Ranger on film. In addition to making films for

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures is currently an acquisition-only label owned by Paramount Pictures. Its history dates back to Republic Pictures Corporation, an American film studio that originally operated from 1935 to 1967, based in Los Angeles, California ...

, Powell also appeared in

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * The Flash, several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Barry Allen ** Wally West, the first Kid Flash and third adult Flas ...

'' serial, made one Western for the soon-to-be-defunct

Grand National Pictures Grand National Films, Inc (or Grand National Pictures, Grand National Productions and Grand National Film Distributing Co.) was an American independent motion picture production-distribution company in operation from 1936 to 1939. The company ha ...

and made the six Western programmer films of the ''Frontier Marshals'' series, in which each of the three leads (the others being Bill "Cowboy Rambler" Boyd and Art Davis) played a lawman bearing his own name, for

Producers Releasing Corporation Producers Releasing Corporation (generally known as PRC) was the smallest and least prestigious of the 11 Hollywood film companies of the 1940s. It was considered a prime example of what was called " Poverty Row": a low-rent stretch of Gower St ...

. Between films, Powell also appeared in Barnett Brothers

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

being billed as "The Lone Ranger" until litigation had him change his billing. Powell married Norma Rogers, a circus bareback rider and the circus owner's daughter.

Military service

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Powell enlisted in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

on August 17, 1942. He served in the Pacific Theater in the 2nd Pioneer Battalion, 18th Marine Regiment of the 2nd Marine Division. Powell took part in the battles of

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

, achieving the rank of

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

Death

Powell died from poisoning on

Tinian Tinian () is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguiguan, it forms Tinian Municipality, one of the four constituent municipalities of the Northern ...

in July 1944. Although it was widely reported in contemporary press reports that he had been

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

, he actually died from drinking an improvised alcoholic beverage that contained

Methanol Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical compound and the simplest aliphatic Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with the chemical formula (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often ab ...

celebrating the end of the

Battle of Tinian The Battle of Tinian was part of the Pacific War, Pacific campaign of World War II. It was fought between the United States and Japan on the island of Tinian in the Mariana Islands from 24 July until 1 August 1944. The battle saw napalm used f ...

. Known commonly as wood alcohol, the chemical is highly toxic if ingested; one other marine was temporarily blinded from drinking it. In another version,

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

correspondent Fred Goerner, who spoke to former marines who had fought in the battles of Saipan and

while conducting research for his best seller ''The Search for Amelia Earhart'' (1966), heard that Powell died after drinking poisoned sake. Lee Powell Muster Roll Entry for July 1944

Lee Powell Muster Roll Entry for July 1944

The monthly muster roll of the 2nd Battalion of the 18th Marines, notes that on July 30, 1944, Powell "died as a result of wood alcohol poisoning, not in line of duty, not result of own misconduct".U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798-1958 atabase on-line Provo, Utah, USA. Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. The reason that Powell's death was "officially" reported in newspapers at the time that he had been killed in action was so his young fans could believe the "Lone Ranger" had died heroically fighting the Japanese not from drinking alcohol. Initially buried on Tinian, Powell's remains were transferred to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Lee 1908 births 1944 deaths American male film actors United States Marine Corps personnel killed in World War II Male film serial actors Male Western (genre) film actors United States Marine Corps non-commissioned officers Male actors from Long Beach, California 20th-century American male actors Deaths by poisoning Burials at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific