History of the
Green Hornet Franchise
“With his faithful valet Kato, Britt Reid, daring young publisher, matches wits with the Underworld, risking his life so that criminals and racketeers within the law may feel its weight by the sting of the Green Hornet”
Origins
“Thrills, excitement, mile a minute drama, comedy and romance lie ahead for the Hornet.”
The Green Hornet was created in 1936 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker. He first appeared as that character on January 31, 1936 on an American radio show at WXYZ in Detroit, Michigan which aired from the top floor of the Maccabees Building. It was produced by Trendle – Campbell – Meurer, Inc. The main character was Britt Reid aka “The Green Hornet” who was portrayed as the owner and publisher of the fictional Daily Sentinel newspaper and used those resources to ferret out information on criminal activity. He then assumed the secret identity of The Green Hornet to bring criminals to justice.
The series was modeled after another Trendle / Striker radio show – The Lone Ranger, which also aired on WXYZ. The Green Hornet was envisioned by Mr. Trendle as a modern day Lone Ranger and was a relative of that character. The Green Hornet was considered a criminal by the police and often used this to his advantage when dealing with the underworld. He never killed anyone but instead used his wits, muscle and a gas gun to subdue his adversaries and ultimately bring them to justice. Instead of silver bullets, he would leave behind a card with the Green Hornet logo on it at the scene of his supposed crimes. Instead of a white horse, he had a fast black car.
The Green Hornet has appeared over the years in a multitude of products from radio shows, comics books, newspaper comics, movies, graphic novels and television
Characters
Britt Reid aka The Green Hornet
In the radio shows, Britt follows in his retired father’s footsteps as publisher of the Daily Sentinel newspaper. He often publishes articles speaking out against crime and corruption while also inferring that the Green Hornet is somehow responsible. He even offers a reward for the capture of the Green Hornet. His character was portrayed as being upscale wealthy playboy but with a serious side when it came to catching the bad guys.
Like the Lone Ranger, the Green Hornet wore a mask and sought justice for the average person. He also took on corrupt politicians, and never killed anyone. In at least one radio show, Britt Reid’s father, Dan Reid Jr. confronts him about the identity of the Hornet and when learning it is Britt, makes a reference to his uncle, John Reid aka The Lone Ranger while the theme from the Lone Ranger plays softly in the background.
He was portrayed pretty much the same way in the 1940s movie serials and for the 20th Century Fox 1966-67 TV series. In the 2011 Columbia Pictures movie, he is portrayed as a rich kid living a lifelong party who has to step up to the role of Green Hornet after his father is killed by criminals. The Green Hornet has been portrayed over the years similarly throughout the comics and other publications.
His costume originally consisted of a mask to cover his face, a hat and overcoat. In the serial movies, the Green Hornet logo was added to the mask which covers his entire face. During the TV series, which were in color, his mask was changed to cover only the top of his face. It was green along with his hat and overcoat.
Kato
Like the Native American Tonto who accompanied and backed up the Lone Ranger, Britt’s faithful Asian valet Kato accompanies the Green Hornet on his quest to catch criminals. Kato also wore a mask. In at least one radio show episode, Kato makes use of Jiu Jitsu to subdue an opponent. He and the Hornet often took turns driving the car, casing places they might break into for evidence, and generally watching each other’s back. Kato was also considered an electronics wiz and occasionally got credit for using those skills to capture villains. His character had more opportunity to demonstrate these talents in the 1940 – 41 Universal Pictures movie serials. In the first episode, he is seen working on the car in the garage while in a mechanic’s uniform. Kato is originally portrayed in his crime fighting costume consisting of goggles, a suit with a bow tie and a chauffeur’s hat. In the TV series, a black mask replaces the goggles along with a more modern chauffeur’s suit all in black.
Kato was originally envisioned as a Japanese national who came to America after meeting Britt in Japan. One story is that Britt saved his life when he fell off of a boat and felt indebted to him afterward. During World War II, his character was changed to be a Filipino national but he retained the name, which appears to be Japanese in origin. He was later portrayed as a Chinese immigrant in TV, movies and comics. In recent times, his role has evolved from faithful servant / valet to more of a confidant and assistant with a mutual cause and no distinct origin other than being Asian and a martial arts expert. His character has appeared in several solo spin-off stories, mostly in the comics.
Lenore “Casey” Case
Mike Axford
Frank Scanlon
The Black Beauty
“Ride with Britt Reid as he races toward another thrilling adventure! The Green Hornet strikes again!”
This is the car used by The Green Hornet and was originally introduced as such in the early radio shows. Some episodes would open with the sound of the engine revving up as the narrator introduced the show. It was depicted as a black sedan that could outrun the police. The sound of the car speeding off was accompanied by the buzzing sound of a hornet.
Originally, in the radio days, the car was driven by The Green Hornet and Kato would only drive it when trying to lure police away from the scene where the Hornet was working or be standing by with it to make a speedy getaway. This changed somewhat in the 1940s movie serials where Kato is both mechanic and driver. In the 1966 – 67 TV series Kato takes on the role of chauffeur. Kato was portrayed as the principal designer and driver of the car in the Columbia 2011 movie and has been throughout most of the published literature.
The Radio Days
“Special extra! Paper! Police smash smuggling racket! Foreign diplomat involved! Read all about it! Green Hornet still at large!”
The radio shows ran from 1936 until September 1950 over the Mutual Broadcasting System radio network as well as NBC Blue, the Blue Network and later ABC. It returned briefly to the air in 1952. Britt Reid was the publisher of the Daily Sentinel Newspaper and Kato his faithful valet. Other characters were introduced in the radio shows that include a former policeman turned reporter Mike Axford and Britt’s personal secretary Lenore “Casey” Case.
These characters have all remained part of the cast over time. The theme music was “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1899 and a variation of that music has been used in every live media production since. The Green Hornet was voiced by four different actors over this period. They were Al Hodge, Donovan Faust, Bob Hall and Jack McCarthy respectively. Leonore Louise Allman voiced Casey throughout the series. Mike Axford was originally played by Jim Irwin until 1938 and then by Gil Shea for the duration of shows.
Comics
The characters also appeared in a variety of comic books from 1940 to the present day. The first were written by Fran Striker, published by Helnit Comics and based on the radio shows in 1940. Harvey Comics ran a series in the 1940s as well and featured The Green Hornet in both crime fighting as well as public service comics promoting the war effort. Dell Comics ran some short series from 1938 – 1955 during the post radio show days. Gold Key Comics also published three issues in 1967 based on The Green Hornet TV series which was airing at the time. These also featured photos of the cast of the TV series in costume. NOW Comics picked up the series in 1989 and produced several comics that tried to span the generations from the Green Hornet of the 1930s to the present day. This would include several spin off comic books including one featuring Kato without the Green Hornet.
In 2009, Dynamite Entertainment picked up the series and continues with a variety of Green Hornet story lines today. Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman produced a crossover comic book in 2014 with DC Comics featuring the Green Hornet and Batman based on the crossover TV episodes from the 1967 shows. The Green Hornet, Kato and other characters from the series also appeared in the “Dick Tracy” newspaper comic strip in 2018 that was written by Mike Cutis and drawn by Joe Staten.
Other Publications
Television
The Green Hornet television series aired on ABC from the 1966 – 1967 and produced by 20th.Century Fox. The show featured Van Williams as Britt Reid and Bruce Lee as Kato. It ran for 26 episodes and introduced the audience to a new beefed up version of the Black Beauty loaded with gadgets and gizmos for crime fighting. Britt’s character was changed to be more of a millionaire playboy and less newspaper publisher but in reality had control of his entire operation. Bruce Lee as Kato was allowed to showcase his martial art talents. Kato’s ancestry becomes Chinese at this time. He is still portrayed as a valet and chauffeur but with more martial art talent. Fank Scanlon is portrayed as the District Attorney and is an ally of the Green Hornet. Lenore Case remains Britt Reid’s secretary and confidant. The two characters occasionally flirt with each other but that is about how far it goes.
The gas gun was used extensively by the Green Hornet in the series, emitting a green knockout gas and another device known as the Sting was introduced. It resembled a walking stick with handles which could produce ultra-sonic soundwaves. Kato also used darts to disarm or incapacitate his opponents. There were two crossover episodes made with the Batman TV series featuring Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin where they first take on the Green Hornet and Kato but later team up to fight a common foe.
In the Movies
“The Green Hornet” appeared as a movie serial produced by Universal Studios that aired in 1940 along with a sequel “The Green Hornet Strikes Again” in 1941. These shows played as short cliffhanger chapters weekly at local movie houses across the county. The original serial starred Gordon Jones as Britt Reid, and Keye Luke as Kato. Mike Axford was played by Wade Boteler and Lenore Case by Anne Nagel. The 1941 sequel featured Warren Hull as Britt Reid.
Britt, Kato and the Black Beauty are introduced in the first serial along with other principle characters in the first chapter. Each chapter ends as a “cliff hanger” which introduces the audience to the next chapter. There were 13 in the first and 15 in the second
A fictionalized movie by Raffaella De Laurentiis, Rick Nathanson and Dan York based on the life of Bruce Lee titled “Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story” was released in 1993 with Jason Scott Lee portraying Bruce Lee. There is a scene in the movie depicting the filming of the TV series with him in costume as Kato. Van Williams, who starred in the TV series did a cameo part as the director in that scene.
In 2011, Columbia Pictures produced a feature length movie titled “The Green Hornet” starring Seth Rogen as Britt Reid aka The Green Hornet and Jay Chou as Kato. Cameron Diaz played Lenore Case and Edward Olmos was Mike Axford.
The characters and the story line follow loosely along the same path as the TV series in that Britt is initially a rich playboy who inherits his father’s publishing empire while Kato serves as chauffer / mechanic and bodyguard adept at martial arts. When Britt’s father is murdered, he takes up the mantle of The Green Hornet to seek revenge. The movie was directed by Michel Gondry and includes a lot of action sequences and comedy. In the 2011 Columbia Pictures Movie Kato is played by Jay Chou. Kato becomes more of a partner to the Green Hornet while his skills embody all of the earlier Kato characters. He is Britt’s periodic chauffeur, a martial arts expert, as well as gadgets and gizmo expert who will create much of their crime fighting gadgets.
Lenore’s character also changes to become a love interest of both Britt Reid and Kato. She discovers that Britt is the Green Hornet and becomes a confidant as was her character in the television series. Frank Scanlon takes on the role of arch enemy since he is the one who killed Britt’s father and allied with their arch nemesis and criminal mastermind Chudnofsky, played by Christopher Waltz.
The 2019 movie “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” by Quentin Tarantino also makes a couple of references to The Green Hornet when Leonardo DiCaprio’s character says he played in a couple of TV episodes. There is also an indirect reference to Bruce Lee as Kato in one scene where he has a fight with Brad Pitt’s character. Mike Moh plays Bruce Lee and is dressed in a black chauffeur’s uniform in that scene which is supposed to be on the set of a TV show.
Amasia Entertainment and Universal Studios are currently working on a Green Hornet and Kato movie as of 2020.
Merchandising
Conclusion
The property is currently owned by The Green Hornet Inc. whose shareholders are all descendants of the Trendle, Campbell and Meurer families. The company continues to license the brand for product and entertainment use. George Trendle sold The Lone Ranger and Challenge of the Yukon to the Wrather Corporation in 1954 but retained the rights to The Green Hornet. Fran Striker passed away in 1962 as did George Trendle in 1972. Mr. Trendle’s partners H. Allen Campbell and Raymond Meurer are also deceased.
WXYZ radio is now WRIF in Detroit and owned by Beasley Media Group Licenses, LLC. The call letters for WXYZ are now WXYZ – TV and is an ABC affiliate in Detroit Michigan owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. The Maccabees Building in Detroit still has a radio tower located on the roof and the remains of the old WXYZ radio broadcasting station on the top floor.
“Let’s ROLL Kato”
Special thanks to the following for helping to keep The Green Hornet, Kato and associated characters alive:
Terry Salomonson for referential material from his book “The Green Hornet; a History of Radio, Motion Pictures, Comics and Television” by Martin Grams, Jr. and Terry Salomonson (2010)
Billie Rae Bates for information from her book “Let’s Roll Kato, a Guide to TVs Green Hornet” (2017) for historical background information on the television series.
Loeb & Loeb, LLC for reviewing website content and providing historical copyright information.
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