I was recently looking for a copy of The Green Hornet tv series because Bruce Lee played the character Kato. This show only lasted for one season but many praised Bruce Lee as the breakout star. Unfortunately, there is no good way to get a legitimate copy of the Green Hornet.
In preparation for the show, 20th Century Fox paid for Bruce Lee to take acting lessons from Jeff Corey who was a drama coach in Hollywood. Corey would normally charge $70 per hour for acting lessons. This show was a crossover from the tv series Batman and was sold without a pilot and script. The lessons with Corey were three times a week and Bruce Lee felt they made him more “fluid with non-acting acting.” His character Kato used Gung Fu instead weapons and was the assistant to the Green Hornet (Letters, page 68-70).
During the tv series, Bruce Lee gained valuable acting experience. Although Kato was a “house boy,” he was still an “active partner of the Green Hornet and not a mute follower.” Bruce Lee presented two Green Hornet scripts and wanted a more “active partnership” with the producer (Letters, Page 77).
In the episode “The Hunter & The Hunted,” Bruce Lee played Kato without the mask. However, ratings were bad and producers considered changing it to an hour show (Letters, page 80). Unfortunately, the show was cancelled.
Amazon has copies of the show but reviews say that the quality is poor and they are missing parts. Some reviewers say this is a non-authorized version.
Ebay lists the “Complete 1940-1966-67 GREEN HORNET BRUCE LEE TV,” which includes all the episodes, the four batman crossover episodes, and episodes from the 1940’s series of the same name. One reviewer says the quality for this is also poor.
In 1974, a movie was made from multiple episodes of the Green Hornet tv series and was released after Bruce Lee’s passing.
In an interview Bruce Lee reflected on his time playing Kato and said he felt like he was acting like a robot because he wasn’t himself and was trying to use “external techniques” on how to move. He said he should have asked himself how would Bruce Lee have moved when playing Kato (In His Own Words, 9:12).
This would be a great time to officially restore and release The Green Hornet tv series. It would make it much easier for the public to see more Bruce Lee in action. Maybe it can be rebranded as Kato and the Green Hornet?
Resources:
The Green Hornet Season 1, Episode 1-Episode 26, aired September 9, 1966 – March 24, 1967. A series where Bruce Lee plays a newspaper publisher’s valet and crime fighting sidekick. Bruce Lee gained much attention with his realistic martial arts (IMDB).
Letters of the Dragon: The Original 1958-1973 Correspondence, John Little, Editor, Tuttle Publishing, 1998, 2016. Volume 5 of the Bruce Lee Library, commissioned by the Bruce Lee Estate. Letters to friends, family, and business associates. Put together by John Little, Bruce Lee historian.
Bruce Lee: In His Own Words. Documentary by John Little, Bruce Lee historian. A special feature on the two disc and special edition Enter the Dragon dvd. Includes clips of Bruce Lee interview. Done by John Little Bruce Lee historian. 20m (IMDB).
Bruce Lee as Kato Image, Wikimedia image.
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Green Hornet DVD image, Amazon.com.
Green Hornet DVD Photo 2, Amazon.com.
AI Narration provided by elevenlabs.io. Bruce Lee quotes read by AI voice over.
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