Stung by the superhero duo, Green Hornet and Kato

On this date in 1936 The Green Hornet first aired on American radio. The series was about the adventures of Britt Reid, a newspaper publisher by day and a masked crime-fighting hero at night. He was declared as an outlaw himself due to his vigilante nature, but that allowed him to mix with the criminals without being suspect while confidentially working with the law enforcement community. He was accompanied by his chauffeur, Kato. The Green Hornet series was brought to television by ABC in 1966-67, starring Van Williams as the Green Hornet and introducing Bruce Lee to the American audiences as Kato. It was cancelled after only one season. Like the Batman series, the Green Hornet series also had a tripped-out car, Black Beauty. It had 'infra-green' headlights. It could fire rockets with explosive warheads, which were actually explosive charges from tubes at its bumpers. It could launch a small flying video/audio surveillance device through the trunk lid. It was also rigged for 'silent running' in the series. It had a built-in video camera to see ahead for four miles. Its rear jets could shoot ice onto the road. Brushes near the wheels could also sweep away its car tracks.

You may have seen the Green Hornet and Kato make a cameo appearance on the Batman series during the famous wall-climb. Also, there was a second visit by the Green Hornet and Kato to Gotham City in a full episode on the Batman series where the dynamic duos battled against each other until they realized they were on the same side and then teamed to save the day. You didn't think Bruce Lee (a martial arts expert) as Kato was going to let little Burt Ward as Robin beat him up, did you?

There have been several rumors about efforts to bring The Green Hornet to the big screen for the current audiences, even rumors about something in development for the summer of 2009. I'll be looking for who's cast as Kato, reminded of the great Bruce Lee. It would have been fun to see Jet Li as Kato, as rumored in years past. However, we'll see if it's produced and the fans are stung by the Green Hornet and his enforcer, Kato. Until then, you can hear and download the familiar theme song, read episode guides, and enjoy a 10-minute short film, which you can see here:

As posted on YouTube by frenchmanofsteel

Image credits:
Tim's TV Showcase
Dial B for Blog - Batman and The Green Hornet

Reference:

Tim's TV Showcase - Green Hornet and Kato
Wikipedia