The Return of the Masked Rider

Most everyone knows the Masked Rider is a thinly veiled reference to the Lone Ranger. The character Morton Clay is an old washed up actor who played the Masked Rider. His name is a play on words with Clayton Moore who played the Lone Ranger.

Here's an interesting bit of trivia. The Return of the Masked Rider was the 4th episode of the 1st season of Highway to Heaven. The 4th episode of the 1st season of the Lone Ranger was The Legion of Old Timers. In it the Lone Ranger and Tonto gather of group of over the hill ranch hands to fight a crooked ranch foreman. A similar plot to The Return of the Masked Rider.