Remembering John Hart
Submitted by adambehar on Fri, 03/05/2010 - 05:58.
By: Claudia Fuentes
In his career, John Hart performed in more than 300 roles in film, tv, and the stage
John Hart, who played the Lone Ranger on TV in the early ‘50s, along with Beryl, his actress-turned-wife of 50 years, became full-time residents of Rosarito Beach, B.C., in 2005. Sadly, in September John passed away at the age of 91. Following is a profile that first appeared in Baja Breeze in 2007.
They remain a movie-star-handsome couple, their silver hair still vibrant and the shine of their blue eyes not the least diminished by the passage of time. John is 90 and Beryl, well, I didn’t dare ask. Yes, in part because she’s a woman, but you see, Beryl was an actress trained at the Royal Academy in London; lively and with a sharp wit, she still retains that bearing. You don’t ask those kinds of women those kinds of questions - unless you’re up to the challenge.
John and Beryl were born on opposite coasts – he in L.A. and she in Toronto – but in spite of being 3,000 miles apart, they grew up sharing a passion for the dramatic arts. John’s mother was a drama critic, while Beryl’s parents were writers. Indeed, theirs is a love story that could have been lifted from a Hollywood script. Their first
encounter, in the late ‘50s, was on the set of Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans, based on James Fenimore Cooper’s courageous frontiersman. John starred in the serial while Beryl appeared in a supporting role in a few episodes. How handsome was he?
“I saw him in his leather suit in the snow and my heart suddenly dropped out. I told myself, ‘Beryl, you have to be very, very careful.”
So much for caution. John and Beryl had known each other ten days when they decided to get married. Beryl had her own radio series at the time, but put it all aside when she married John. They had a child along the way. And a marriage that has lasted nearly 51 years.
“And we’re still getting along,” she observes with a hearty laugh. “I think you’re kind of nice,” John replies with a twinkle in his eye, mustering the strength to deliver the line in spite of this not being one of his good days. This presents a dilemma of sorts. As a journalist, you want to retain your objectivity, aim for a little emotional distance. It can prove difficult. And in the case of John and Beryl, one can’t help but be moved by the enduring affection and gratitude that fills their modest Rosarito home.
John Hart is probably best known for replacing Clayton Moore in 1952 for two seasons of the television show The Lone Ranger when Moore demanded a higher salary. The program’s producers fired Moore and replaced him with Hart, who was of a similar build and even had a fairly similar background in Westerns. He played the Masked Man in 52 episodes of the Lone Ranger.
“I’ve been the ‘other’ Lone Ranger for over 50 years. There are worse things people could call me,” he says.
It was already three years into their marriage that Beryl learned that her husband had played the lead in Jack Armstrong, All American Boy in the 1947 movie serial. John played the ace science whiz Armstrong who was kidnapped by a villain who wanted the secrets of atom-powered motors.
“Talk about modest – it came out in a dinner party. On the way home I said, ‘John, over dinner you mentioned to Bill that you did the movie serial of Jack Armstrong.”
His response was factual, if lacking any semblance of drama: “Back in the ‘40s, that’s true,” he conceded. Instead of a Hollywood actor, you’d think John Hart were a KGB spy.
“I could handle being married to Hawkeye and the Lone Ranger, but I didn’t know how I felt about Jack Armstrong,” Beryl quips.
John retains his tall and athletic build which served him well during a two-decades-long acting career that began on the stage of the renowned Pasadena Playhouse. In 1938, he made his screen debut in a supporting role in director Cecil B. DeMille’s big-budget film The Buccaneer. Despite appearing in over 300 roles in TV and film, largely in Westerns, John Hart is not a bragger and “prefers to underplay everything he did,” says his wife. Indeed, summarizing his career in 25 words, John says: “”I had big parts in lousy movies and lousy parts in big movies. I never made a lot of money, but it sure was fun.”
Their Rosarito home takes one back to a bygone era, when the industry was old-school and arguably had more class. On a wall hang posters from the ’40s and ’50s promoting John’s films. There’s a photo showing an appealing couple, John and Beryl, at an elegant Hollywood function. He still receives mail from his legion of
fans and always responds with an autographed photo. Since they moved to Rosarito, Beryl has spent time sifting through chests of old photos. Feigning concern, she looks at her husband: “And John, I’m finding a lot of women, studio portraits,” she teases.
John Hart may not have reached the same career heights as Humphrey Bogart or James Cagney, both his good friends, but he did portray rugged, cartoon-like heroes who reflected a uniquely American, or western, identity and mythology. He was a working actor with a decades-long career. That’s not, as they say in Hollywood, chopped liver.
Once John retired from acting, he discovered that he liked working behind the scenes as much as, if not more than, acting. He formed his own production company, John Hart Films, and served as associate producer on the popular Quincy series starring Jack Klugman. He was a film editor in a pre-digital age, maintaining a huge manual editing studio in the garage of his Sherman Oaks home. He’s written a cookbook and was a gifted photographer. He was a pilot and World War II veteran. He was even a stunt man.
During John’s youth, Baja served as a playground. He and the actor Jackie Coogan would make the trek down to Baja for a surfing and fishing excursion. After serving in World War II, John wanted to take time off to collect his thoughts before re-entering the movie business, so he headed for Baja. And years later, after being part of the Hollywood establishment for decades, John and Beryl sought a change of scenery.
They spent a number of years living in the mountains of Julian, an hour’s drive east of San Diego, but they began to feel too isolated.
How did this Hollywood couple end up in Baja? “It was something of a fluke,” says Beryl. “We were visiting friends and just fell in love with Baja. We left signing a lease.”
Never have they regretted their decision.
“We have found people so helpful and friendly. What better way than to be on the ocean, close to medical care and shopping.”
Their key to happiness south of the border is assimilation, not isolation. “You have to be willing to get out and meet friends and be willing to adapt,” says Beryl.
Submitted by adambehar on Fri, 03/05/2010 - 05:58.
By: Claudia Fuentes
In his career, John Hart performed in more than 300 roles in film, tv, and the stage
John Hart, who played the Lone Ranger on TV in the early ‘50s, along with Beryl, his actress-turned-wife of 50 years, became full-time residents of Rosarito Beach, B.C., in 2005. Sadly, in September John passed away at the age of 91. Following is a profile that first appeared in Baja Breeze in 2007.
They remain a movie-star-handsome couple, their silver hair still vibrant and the shine of their blue eyes not the least diminished by the passage of time. John is 90 and Beryl, well, I didn’t dare ask. Yes, in part because she’s a woman, but you see, Beryl was an actress trained at the Royal Academy in London; lively and with a sharp wit, she still retains that bearing. You don’t ask those kinds of women those kinds of questions - unless you’re up to the challenge.
John and Beryl were born on opposite coasts – he in L.A. and she in Toronto – but in spite of being 3,000 miles apart, they grew up sharing a passion for the dramatic arts. John’s mother was a drama critic, while Beryl’s parents were writers. Indeed, theirs is a love story that could have been lifted from a Hollywood script. Their first
encounter, in the late ‘50s, was on the set of Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans, based on James Fenimore Cooper’s courageous frontiersman. John starred in the serial while Beryl appeared in a supporting role in a few episodes. How handsome was he?
“I saw him in his leather suit in the snow and my heart suddenly dropped out. I told myself, ‘Beryl, you have to be very, very careful.”
So much for caution. John and Beryl had known each other ten days when they decided to get married. Beryl had her own radio series at the time, but put it all aside when she married John. They had a child along the way. And a marriage that has lasted nearly 51 years.
“And we’re still getting along,” she observes with a hearty laugh. “I think you’re kind of nice,” John replies with a twinkle in his eye, mustering the strength to deliver the line in spite of this not being one of his good days. This presents a dilemma of sorts. As a journalist, you want to retain your objectivity, aim for a little emotional distance. It can prove difficult. And in the case of John and Beryl, one can’t help but be moved by the enduring affection and gratitude that fills their modest Rosarito home.
John Hart is probably best known for replacing Clayton Moore in 1952 for two seasons of the television show The Lone Ranger when Moore demanded a higher salary. The program’s producers fired Moore and replaced him with Hart, who was of a similar build and even had a fairly similar background in Westerns. He played the Masked Man in 52 episodes of the Lone Ranger.
“I’ve been the ‘other’ Lone Ranger for over 50 years. There are worse things people could call me,” he says.
It was already three years into their marriage that Beryl learned that her husband had played the lead in Jack Armstrong, All American Boy in the 1947 movie serial. John played the ace science whiz Armstrong who was kidnapped by a villain who wanted the secrets of atom-powered motors.
“Talk about modest – it came out in a dinner party. On the way home I said, ‘John, over dinner you mentioned to Bill that you did the movie serial of Jack Armstrong.”
His response was factual, if lacking any semblance of drama: “Back in the ‘40s, that’s true,” he conceded. Instead of a Hollywood actor, you’d think John Hart were a KGB spy.
“I could handle being married to Hawkeye and the Lone Ranger, but I didn’t know how I felt about Jack Armstrong,” Beryl quips.
John retains his tall and athletic build which served him well during a two-decades-long acting career that began on the stage of the renowned Pasadena Playhouse. In 1938, he made his screen debut in a supporting role in director Cecil B. DeMille’s big-budget film The Buccaneer. Despite appearing in over 300 roles in TV and film, largely in Westerns, John Hart is not a bragger and “prefers to underplay everything he did,” says his wife. Indeed, summarizing his career in 25 words, John says: “”I had big parts in lousy movies and lousy parts in big movies. I never made a lot of money, but it sure was fun.”
Their Rosarito home takes one back to a bygone era, when the industry was old-school and arguably had more class. On a wall hang posters from the ’40s and ’50s promoting John’s films. There’s a photo showing an appealing couple, John and Beryl, at an elegant Hollywood function. He still receives mail from his legion of
fans and always responds with an autographed photo. Since they moved to Rosarito, Beryl has spent time sifting through chests of old photos. Feigning concern, she looks at her husband: “And John, I’m finding a lot of women, studio portraits,” she teases.
John Hart may not have reached the same career heights as Humphrey Bogart or James Cagney, both his good friends, but he did portray rugged, cartoon-like heroes who reflected a uniquely American, or western, identity and mythology. He was a working actor with a decades-long career. That’s not, as they say in Hollywood, chopped liver.
Once John retired from acting, he discovered that he liked working behind the scenes as much as, if not more than, acting. He formed his own production company, John Hart Films, and served as associate producer on the popular Quincy series starring Jack Klugman. He was a film editor in a pre-digital age, maintaining a huge manual editing studio in the garage of his Sherman Oaks home. He’s written a cookbook and was a gifted photographer. He was a pilot and World War II veteran. He was even a stunt man.
During John’s youth, Baja served as a playground. He and the actor Jackie Coogan would make the trek down to Baja for a surfing and fishing excursion. After serving in World War II, John wanted to take time off to collect his thoughts before re-entering the movie business, so he headed for Baja. And years later, after being part of the Hollywood establishment for decades, John and Beryl sought a change of scenery.
They spent a number of years living in the mountains of Julian, an hour’s drive east of San Diego, but they began to feel too isolated.
How did this Hollywood couple end up in Baja? “It was something of a fluke,” says Beryl. “We were visiting friends and just fell in love with Baja. We left signing a lease.”
Never have they regretted their decision.
“We have found people so helpful and friendly. What better way than to be on the ocean, close to medical care and shopping.”
Their key to happiness south of the border is assimilation, not isolation. “You have to be willing to get out and meet friends and be willing to adapt,” says Beryl.