May 18, 2017
In September 1966, William Dozier’s Greenway
Productions debuted its new series The Green
Hornet. Originally a radio series beginning in 1936, the
Green Hornet has also appeared in movie serials and comic books,
and a 2011 movie.
In this episode, we look at the character’s history, how the TV
series came to be and the mark it left on the property
(particularly on how the Hornet’s assistant Kato
is portrayed), and the two principals, Van
Williams and Bruce Lee. How did the show
affect the trajectory of the Batman series? Why
did the show only last one season?
Also, the history of the theme music and Billy
May’s jazzy score, and guest commentator Ken
Holtzhouser tells us about the time he interviewed Van
Williams!
1966 Batman movie cast interviews
Green Hornet test episode