Wyoming museum acquires Lone Ranger's Colt .45 pistol

UNDATED: This photo provided by the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyo., shows the Colt .45 single-action revolver used by actor John Hart in the original "The Lone Ranger" television series, which ran from 1952-1954. (AP)

CODY, Wyo. – A museum in Wyoming has acquired an old pistol made famous by a masked hero of television from more than 60 years ago.

The Lone Ranger's Colt .45 is now on display at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, in Cody.

The single-action revolver belonged to actor John Hart. He portrayed the Lone Ranger in the original TV series that ran from 1952 to 1954, about a masked Texas Ranger who battled injustice in the Old West. His sidekick Tonto was one of the most well-known American Indian stereotypes of all time.

Hart used several firearms over his acting career, but this gun is special. It features ivory grips and intricate engraving.

The Powell Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/1k4pTpi) the museum also has acquired autographed photos of Hart in costume and a cookbook he wrote in the 1990s. Hart died in 2009 at age 91.