Press & broadcasting / Film & TV
Earle Graser
1909–1941 · radio actor
Detroit-raised Wayne University graduate who was the voice of the Lone Ranger on WXYZ from 1933 until his death in a Farmington car crash in 1941.
- Born
Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario- Died
Farmington, Michigan
aged 32- Birth name
- Earl Walter Grasser
- Detroit years
- 1918–1941
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Graser was born in Ontario and came to Detroit at nine, when his father took over as manager of the city's A&P grocery stores. He finished a Detroit high school and earned degrees in speech and drama and in law at Wayne University, working meanwhile as an usher and announcer at Kunsky's Michigan Theater. In 1932 WXYZ's drama director James Jewell hired him as a bit player, and on April 16, 1933, he took over the title role of The Lone Ranger. For eight years he played it three times a night for different time zones, never missing a show, while his identity was kept secret and the taller Brace Beemer made the public appearances. On April 8, 1941, driving home to Farmington after the evening broadcasts, he crashed into a parked trailer on Grand River Avenue and was killed. His Farmington Hills home, the Botsford-Graser House, is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Highlights
- Voice of the Lone Ranger from April 16, 1933, to April 1941, roughly 1,300 broadcasts
- Graduate of Wayne University (now Wayne State) in speech and drama, with a law degree
- Worked as an usher and announcer at the Michigan Theater in 1928
- Killed on Grand River Avenue in Farmington on April 8, 1941
- His home, the Botsford-Graser House, was listed on the National Register in 2002
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 4
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Performed here · 1932–1941
Maccabees Building (former WXYZ studios)
WXYZ's studios, where Graser performed The Lone Ranger live; he was driving home from here on the night he died.
Worked here · 1928
Michigan Palace
Closed · 1926–1976
As a student he ushered here and announced the organ selections; the auditorium is now a parking deck.
Lived here · 1930s–1941
Botsford-Graser House
Historic farmhouse known as the Lone Ranger's House, where Graser lived with his wife; listed on the National Register in 2002. Private home, view from the street.
Buried here · 1941
Grand Lawn Cemetery
Graser is buried in this west-side Detroit cemetery.