who owns the rights to the lone ranger
Lone Ranger From its inception, George W. Trendle had legal ownership of the Lone Ranger and characters associated with the Lone Ranger through his company, The Lone Ranger, Inc. Trendle sold The Lone Ranger, Inc. to oil man and film producer Jack Wrather in 1954 for $3 million. After Wrather died in 1984, his widow, Bonita Granville, sold the Wrather Productions properties to Southbrook International Television Co. in 1985.[61][62] Broadway Video acquired the rights in 1994. Classic Media acquired the rights in 2000. DreamWorks Animation acquired Classic Media in 2012 and renamed the division DreamWorks Classics,[63] which was acquired by NBCUniversal in 2016 for $3.8 billion. Its Universal Pictures unit presently has the rights to the Lone Ranger.[64]
Bass Reeves Popular speculation that Reeves was an inspiration for the fictional Lone Ranger[19] may have originated from the 2006 Reeves biography. Burton wrote, "Bass Reeves is the closest real person to resemble the Lone Ranger". Reeves was never a Texas Ranger, however. Records of the creation of the Lone Ranger radio and television series show no evidence that Reeves was an influence.[20]