Glenn Klinton Spilsbury (born March 4, 1950) is an American former actor. His sole major acting credit is the film The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981), in which he played the title role.[2][3]
Klinton Spilsbury | |
|---|---|
| Born | Glenn Klinton Spilsbury[1] March 4, 1950 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1978–1981 |
Biography
editSpilsbury was descendent from Latter-Day Saint (LDS) settlers who relocated to Mexico. He spent much of his childhood in Arizona, where his father was a high school and college football coach.[4][5] The family eventually returned to Mexico, settling in Colonia Juárez.[6] Spilsbury briefly attended Brigham Young University before moving to Hollywood to attempt to break into acting,[1] and in 1979, using the name Max Keller, moved to New York City, where he landed minor parts on daytime soap operas.
Spilsbury had small roles on two episodes of 1978 prime-time television dramas:Suddenly Love and Lou Grant. Both appearances were under the Max Keller stage name.
The Legend of the Lone Ranger
editConsiderable controversy surrounded Spilsbury at the time of the film's release. He was selected for the role over several more experienced actors (including Stephen Collins, Nicholas Guest, Bruce Boxleitner and Kurt Russell), partly because producers felt he looked good in the character's domino mask. A minor scandal erupted because of the studio's treatment of Clayton Moore, star of the popular 1950s TV series, who was prevented through legal action from wearing his black mask during personal appearances.[1] Spilsbury's on-set behavior was described as egocentric.[7] Spilsbury's dialogue in The Legend of the Lone Ranger was dubbed by actor James Keach due to concerns Spilsbury's voice was not commanding enough.[1]
The Legend of the Lone Ranger was the only film Spilsbury made.[8] The film was savaged by critics and was a box office disappointment. For his performance in this film, Spilsbury received the 1981 Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor.
Andy Warhol interviewed Spilsbury during his promotion tour, later describing the interview as "nutty," because Spilsbury was "blowing his whole image" during their conversation. Spilsbury told Warhol that, before making the movie, he had been an art student married to a rich woman and that they had a baby together. He went on to state she had left him because he needed too much time with his own thoughts, a detail that Warhol found amusing. Spilsbury told Warhol that he was a friend of actor Dennis Christopher and had fallen in love with him, and that he also had later fallen in love with actor Bud Cort. Warhol described Spilsbury as "very drunk" toward the end of the interview, in which Spilsbury said that "he'd been picked up by Halston and woke up in bed with Halston."[9]
Post-Ranger career
editA 1989 article in the Los Angeles Times revealed that he had spent some time in Europe and was working as a model. He had hopes to revive his career as an actor, but admitted in the article that he was not having much luck.[10] He has intermittently coached acting workshops at the Herpolscheimer Academy in Vancouver.[11]
In 2013, when the reboot film The Lone Ranger starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer was released, Spilsbury was sought out by media sources but declined to comment.[1] According to Variety, Spilsbury was working as a photographer in Los Angeles at the time.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Labrecqueon, Jeff (July 2, 2013). "Who was that masked man? The Legend of Klinton Spilsbury". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ Goldstein, Richard (December 29, 1999). "Clayton Moore, Television's Lone Ranger And a Persistent Masked Man, Dies at 85". The New York Times. Retrieved January 14, 2010.
- ^ Kit, Borys (March 27, 2008). "Disney preps 'Lone Ranger' remake". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
- ^ Carifio, Edward (April 16, 2011). "Glory days: NAU players recall 1958 title game". Yuma Sun. Archived from the original on July 8, 2013. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
- ^ a b Johnson, Ted (June 25, 2013). "1981 'Lone Ranger' Pic Galloped Quickly Into Oblivion". Variety. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
- ^ Whetten, LaVon Brown (2010). Colonia Juarez: Commemorating 125 Years of the Mormon Colonies in Mexico. Bloomington, Indiana: AuthorHouse. p. 149. ISBN 9781449089337. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
- ^ Labrecque, Jeff (July 2, 2013). "The Lone Ranger legend of Klinton Spilsbury". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
- ^ Galbraith IV, Stuart (August 21, 2008). "The Legend of the Lone Ranger". DVD Talk. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
- ^ Warhol, Andy (1989). The Andy Warhol Diaries. Grand Central. ISBN 9780446571241.
- ^ "A Special Edition". The Los Angeles Times. December 24, 1989.
- ^ Arnold, Ben (March 22, 2012). "One hit wonders: the film stars with one credit". Yahoo!.