The History of The Green Hornet!

Since The Green Hornet first appeared on radio in 1936, he's made the transition to motion pictures, comics and television.
Very little has been written about the masked marvel and what has been recorded in magazine articles and encyclopedias prior to this publication never explored the character as deeply... or accurately.

A complete history of the radio series from the creation to conception sketches, reprints from production files to the untold adventures, biographic details of the cast and the characters they played (including Mike Axford, Kato, Gunnigan, Lenore Case, Linda Travis, Ed Lowry, Clicker Binney, Commissioner Higgins, etc.) and background information is all provided under one cover.
Also included are details of the two cliffhanger serials produced by Universal in the early forties, the unaired 1952 television pilot, the long-running popularity of the comic books and the William Dozier television series (1966-67) starring Van Williams and Bruce Lee including a complete episode guide documenting every episode including unproduced scripts and plot ideas.
I highly recommend it.

Happy (Belated) Anniversary, Batman!

With all the hubbub about the new Green Hornet film, it totally slipped my mind that January 12th marked the 45th anniversary of the debut of the pop-art oriented Batman tv series, without which, there wouldn't have been a Green Hornet series to "inspire" Seth Rogan's flick!
Here's a special treat for the pop art graphics aficionados among you...

The iconic LIFE magazine cover featuring Adam West...

...and the pic it was flopped and cropped from!

The Night They Kept Britt Reid from Seeing THE GREEN HORNET

Last night, I went to see The Green Hornet.
Last night, I didn't see The Green Hornet!
I was coming directly from a meeting with a client, so I had my laptop with me.
When time came to go in, the audience was told that we would have to check our cellphones, BlackBerrys, laptops, etc.
Now, my cellphone doesn't even have a camera. (I'm waiting for Verizon's iPhone.)
My laptop does have a camera, but it's on the inside lid, above the screen. The only way I could photograph the movie is if I turned the laptop around and pointed the keyboard and screen at the movie screen!
So, taking them from me was roughly the same as frisking a toddler at an airport security gate. It's stupid and useless, but you do it to maintain the appearance of political correctness.
(In addition, the film is already on several filesharing sites!)
Nonetheless, I was still prepared to surrender the items for the duration of the film.
While checking the items, I asked the guard about liability, specifically what happened if the items were lost or stolen while in his custody.
His response was a casual "Don't worry about it."
I pressed the matter, as both the phone and laptop contained proprietary material.
"Look, it's a free screening. Do you want to go in or not?"
To avoid holding up the line, I asked to speak to his supervisor, who also could offer no warranty on loss or damage.
Quite frankly, I had seen enough situations where, without such assurances, things had happened, and the responsible party wasn't held liable.
To safeguard my material, I had no choice but to not enter the screening.

NOTE: both the guard and his boss were cordial. VERY professional. NO raised voices, NO angry words exchanged.
And, in the future, I'll avoid bringing my laptop to screenings.
I'll hit a matinee this weekend, and let you know what I think on Monday.

YouTube Wednesday--THE GREEN HORNET "The Green Hornet" (1974)

This week, the NEW Green Hornet movie starring Seth Rogan and Jay Chou opens!
To celebrate (and contrast), we're offering a special treat...the FIRST Green Hornet feature film, complete and uncut!
Actually, it's a compilation of four tv series episodes, with additional fight footage tossed in, released shortly after the death of Bruce Lee, as you can tell by the promo posters!

The adapted episodes are "Hunters and the Hunted", "Preying Mantis", and the two-part "Invasion from Outer Space", all of which we've covered in previous YouTube Wednesday installments.
There was also a second compilation film, called Fury of the Dragon, but we were unable to find it online.
Enjoy this 90-minute slice of history, and if you go see the new flick, let us know what you think!

Fantastic Femmes--Wende Wagner

Navy brat Wendy Wagner was an expert scuba diver, swimmer, and surfer. She also looked incredible in a bikini.
So, naturally, she became both a professional model and underwater stunt-double for two tv series.
When producers realized she could also act, Wende began doing guest appearances on tv series and secondary characters in features, usually scantily-clad.
In 1966, Batman tv series producer William Dozier offered her a co-starring role in his new series Green Hornet as the hero's secretary/confidante. Though the show only ran one season, Wende made an indelible impression on fanboys then and since.
After the show's cancellation, she returned to doing guest appearances, until retiring from acting in the late 1970s.
Wende passed away in 1997 from cancer.

Genre appearances include...

Bait (Victim)

Rookies "Prayers Unanswered, Prayers Unheard"

Guns of the Magnificent Seven (Tina)

Rosemary's Baby (Rosemary's Girl Friend)

It Takes a Thief "Get Me to the Revolution on Time"

Mannix "Skid Marks on a Dry Run"

Green Hornet[1966] (Lenore "Casey" Case)

A Covenant with Death (Rafaela Montemayo)

Destination Inner Space (Sandra Welles)

Perry Mason "Case of the Feather Cloak"

Flipper [1965] "Flipper's Monster"

Sea Hunt (stunts)

Aquanauts (stunts)

Check out...

The Private Life and Times of Wende Wagner

Other actresses to play Lenore "Casey" Case include...
Cameron Diaz in The Green Hornet [2011]
Anne Nagel in The Green Hornet [1940] and The Green Hornet Strikes Again [1940]
Lenore Allman in The Green Hornet [1936-1952]

A special treat: Wende's appearance on What's My Line while she was doing underwater stuntwork for Sea Hunt and Aquanauts...