357:. The target audience included children, so Trendle insisted on a wholesome hero with high moral standards. Violence and romance were to be minimized. Trendle worked out the basic concept of a masked vigilante, a lone Texas ranger with a big white horse, in staff meetings with Jim Jewell and studio manager Harold True. Then it was turned over to Fran Striker to flesh out the details and provide the scripts. His contributions included silver bullets and an Indian companion. The result was
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469:. Bob Barclay was an undercover agent for the U.S. Government with a cover identity as a news correspondent. Trendle received complaints from the U.S. Government because the stories sounded too much like actual cases. The American press also complained that the series was hurting the real-life situation of
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on the serial's soundtrack and acquired the right to use it on The Lone Ranger. In 1939, when The Lone Ranger moved from Mutual to NBC (Blue), new arrangements were recorded by The NBC Symphony and used for the rest of the run of the radio series and on the TV series episodes produced by
Trendle's company.
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Trendle recognized the value of the Lone Ranger and forced
Striker and Jewell to sign over all rights. Along with the legal rights, Trendle claimed credit as the creator of the Lone Ranger. Trendle and his partners kept most of the profits from radio syndication, movie rights, and merchandising while
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in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The two stations merged facilities, including studios and transmitters, but retained both station licenses. WASH was on the air from 8 a.m. to noon, and WOOD from noon to midnight. WOOD-WASH became an NBC Red affiliate in 1935. King and
Trendle decided to drop the WASH
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but became an independent station within a year. Trendle's partner, Kunsky, legally changed his name to King in 1936, and the Kunsky-Trendle
Broadcasting Company became the King-Trendle Broadcasting Company. WXYZ improved its technical facilities through the 1930s, expanding its studios, raising its
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As part of the deal, Trendle and Kunsky were prohibited from reentering the movie business in
Detroit. However, Zukor apparently recognized Trendle's talents and hired him to manage the Paramount theaters in Detroit. Trendle is credited as having built the historic Alger Theater, which opened August
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In 1937, Trendle licensed
Republic Pictures to produce a movie version of The Lone Ranger. Trendle was not happy with changes that were made in the movie adaptations and hired attorney Raymond Meurer to oversee licensing of the franchise. However, Trendle did like the incidental music Republic used
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Campbell reportedly kept a set of books to show employees that the company was losing money and could not afford to pay higher salaries. Trendle and
Campbell often responded to employee requests for salary increases by downplaying their value to the company and threatening to fire them. This threat
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was added to the roster of WXYZ programs. The Green Hornet was a modern-day masked crime fighter named Britt Reid and was descended from the Lone Ranger's nephew Dan Reid. He was assisted by his
Japanese (later changed to Filipino when American involvement in World War II grew more likely) valet
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whom
Trendle hired to find sponsors for his radio programs. Campbell is credited with signing Silvercup Bread (of the Gordon Baking Company) as the first sponsor for the Lone Ranger series. This was a big account and helped to bring the show to nationwide syndication. Apparently, Campbell's
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In order to service a nationwide audience, the live broadcast was performed three times, once for each time zone. Beginning in
February 1938, the third performance was also recorded on a transcription disk for later broadcast on stations that did not have a live connection to the network.
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The Lone Ranger was an almost immediate hit. In May, a free popgun was offered to the first 300 listeners to send a written request; the station received nearly 25,000 replies. In July, the Lone Ranger made a public appearance at a park and a crowd estimated at 70,000 gathered.
266:, with studios in the Waldron Hotel in downtown Pontiac. Trendle and Campbell were reportedly still in charge of station operations in the late 1960s. In 1987, WPON's transmitter was moved from Pontiac to Walled Lake. The station is currently owned by Southfield-based
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in 1997. The station is currently owned by The Christian Broadcasting System. Three of the four towers were demolished in 2003 to make room for redevelopment of the site. The fourth tower was removed in 2004 after new transmitting facilities were completed in
226:(channel 7) but did not include ownership of Trendle's radio programs. The FCC approved ABC's purchase on July 18, 1946. In 1952, Paramount Theaters (owners of Kunsky and Trendle's former chain of Detroit area theaters) acquired ABC, including WXYZ.
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In June 1932, Trendle decided to drop the network affiliation to operate WXYZ as an independent station. His station would produce its own radio drama series and broadcast locally produced music programs rather than pay for syndicated programs.
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In July 1954, Trendle sold the rights to the Lone Ranger to the Wrather Corporation for $ 3 million. The radio series ceased at that time, but the television series continued until 1957 with Jack Wrather as the new executive producer.
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beginning in 1905. In 1911, he built the first movie theater in Detroit. It was the second movie theater in the nation. By 1928, he owned twenty movie theaters, including four of the largest first-run theaters in Detroit.
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lawyer who had established a reputation as a tough negotiator specializing in movie contracts and leases. Trendle became involved in the Detroit-area entertainment business in 1928 when local motion picture theater owner
246:. The TV station went out of business less than a year later because too few TVs at the time were equipped to receive UHF channels. The radio station has changed owners several times and its call sign was changed to
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The Kunsky-Trendle business venture began at the start of the Great Depression, and Trendle took many cost-cutting moves that earned him a reputation as a penny-pincher. According to Dick Osgood in his book
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Trendle entered into a new partnership with long-term business associates H. Allen Campbell and Raymond Meurer. The Trendle-Campbell Broadcasting Company was formed in 1946 and started radio station WTCB in
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234:. The new radio station went on the air April 26, 1946, with a four-tower 1000-watt broadcast array. The call letters were later changed to WTAC. In 1953, they added UHF television station
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daytime power from 1,000 to 5,000 watts in the late 1930s, and increasing nighttime power to 5,000 watts in time for its mandated 1941 move from 1240 to 1270 kHz under the
402:. It then switched to the NBC Blue Network, which became ABC in 1943. The popularity of the series rapidly grew and it was eventually heard on 249 radio stations nationwide.
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Late in 1932, Trendle began discussing ideas to create a new radio series with a cowboy as the hero. He wanted a mysterious hero who would have the same type of appeal as
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Trendle and Kunsky formed the Kunsky-Trendle Broadcasting Company in 1929 after purchasing Detroit radio station WGHP. The radio station's call letters were changed to
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Trendle was the president and Kunsky was the vice president of the company. Trendle was active as the station manager. Kunsky is rarely mentioned except as co-owner.
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contributions to the business were significant. He continued working for Trendle for the next twenty years and eventually became one of Trendle's business partners.
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purchased the King-Trendle Broadcasting Company and its radio stations for $ 3.65 million. This sale was for the broadcast facilities (including WOOD, WXYZ, and the
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was created in 1934, WXYZ became a charter member and the Lone Ranger program was featured on the Mutual Network. Although WXYZ dropped out to join
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was hired as the station's dramatic director and supplied the actors from his own repertory company, the "Jewell Players." Freelance radio writer
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acquired the Detroit area film exchange known as the Cooperative Booking Office and began pressuring local theater owners to sell out to
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548:"A look inside Hollywood and the movies. : BEYOND BATMAN : The Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz: Eddie Murphy as the Green Hornet"
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473:. Oatis was a reporter being held on espionage charges in Czechoslovakia. The series was cancelled at the end of its first season.
386:, Newark. Other stations soon followed. The live broadcasts were transmitted over telephone lines to the other stations. When the
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In 1938, Trendle asked his writing staff to create an adventure series featuring a dog as the hero. Writer Tom Dougall created
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22, 1935, on Detroit's east side. Trendle was fired from the United Detroit Theatres for "negligence" in 1937.
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114:(July 4, 1884 – May 10, 1972) was an American lawyer and businessman, best known as the producer of the
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Bisco, Jim (2005). “Buffalo's Lone Ranger: The Prolific Fran Striker Wrote the Book on Early Radio.“
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was hired to write many of these programs. The earliest dramatic radio series included
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Kato, who used martial arts. Fran Striker wrote most of the scripts for the series.
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offered Trendle 25 percent ownership in exchange for his services.
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Wyxie Wonderland: An Unauthorized 50-Year Diary of WXYZ Detroit.
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so that the music was royalty-free. This is the reason that the
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television series. Trendle was credited as executive producer.
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Striker and Jewell were given little more than their salaries.
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Wyxie Wonderland: An Unauthorized 50-Year Diary of WXYZ Detroit
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574:"George W. Trendle Dies at 87; Creator of 'The Lone Ranger'"
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Kunsky was being driven out of the theater business when
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Trendle specified the music on WXYZ shows should be
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596:On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio.
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1080:The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
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502:at the age of 87. He is buried in Detroit's
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140:During the 1920s, George W. Trendle was a
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311:was adopted as the Lone Ranger theme and
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258:Another Trendle-Campbell radio station (
194:WXYZ was initially affiliated with the
1194:Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Detroit)
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662:The Miser of Motown: George W. Trendle
980:The Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure Hour
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612:Ohio: Bowling Green University Press.
480:From 1955 to 1958, the radio program
152:Kunsky had been an early investor in
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598:New York: Oxford University Press.
498:On May 10, 1972, Trendle died of a
85:Writer, editor, publisher, producer
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974:First animated TV series (1966–69)
667:History of United Detroit Theaters
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808:The Green Hornet Strikes Again!
619:, Vol 7, Number 4, Winter 2005.
16:American lawyer and businessman
1169:Television producers from Ohio
672:Michigan Radio Station History
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336:Thrills of the Secret Service
216:American Broadcasting Company
180:Radio and television stations
129:Sergeant Preston of the Yukon
622:J Brian III. ”HI-YO SILVER“
467:Bob Barclay - American Agent
314:The Flight of the Bumble Bee
196:Columbia Broadcasting System
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1017:The Lone Ranger Rides Again
524:"A Gathering of Kemo Sabes"
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445:Ned Jordan Secret Agent
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482:Challenge of the Yukon
426:Challenge of the Yukon
255:, southwest of Flint.
1113:William Tell Overture
608:Osgood, Dick (1981).
553:The Los Angeles Times
528:The Los Angeles Times
308:William Tell Overture
1126:Lego The Lone Ranger
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957:TV series (1949–57)
288:Hearst organization
268:Birach Broadcasting
626:. October 14, 1939
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510:References
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1134:" (2007)
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781:episodes
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589:Sources
242:TV and
236:WTAC-TV
224:WXYZ-TV
142:Detroit
1090:(1971)
1082:(1993)
1051:(2013)
1043:(1981)
1035:(1958)
1027:(1956)
862:comics
856:Batman
825:(2011)
817:(2006)
802:(1940)
602:
342:, and
244:DuMont
68:, U.S.
49:, U.S.
1067:Other
941:Tonto
792:Films
749:Radio
742:Media
494:Death
351:Zorro
1001:Film
845:Kato
657:IMDb
600:ISBN
400:CKLW
260:WPON
248:WSNL
208:WOOD
186:WXYZ
126:and
55:Died
29:Born
679:at
655:at
452:MGM
384:WOR
380:WGN
353:or
240:ABC
1150::
576:.
550:.
526:.
506:.
440:.
367:.
338:,
203:.
188:.
132:.
1130:"
1115:"
1111:"
1103:"
1099:"
896:e
889:t
882:v
709:e
702:t
695:v
562:.
536:.
41:)
37:(
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