BACKGROUND STORY OF THE GREEN HORNET
Although the Green Hornet helped to bring criminals to justice, the police were constantly trying to capture him. They never did, though. The Hornet used a gas gun to subdue his enemies, but they were only temporarily immobilized – just long enough for him to leave his Green Hornet seal and escape before the police arrived.
“Axford”. the reporter, was an Irishman with a thick brogue who was always kidding “Miss Case”, the secretary, and using the expression, “Holy Crow!” They worked at the newspaper that “Britt Reid” published, “The Daily Sentinel.” One of the good stories of radio’s Golden Age is that the faithful valet, “Kato”. was Japanese until December 7, 1941, when he suddenly was referred to as “Reid’s faithful Filipino valet, Kato.” Our research, however, uncovered no evidence of such an abrupt change.
Both the GREEN HORNET and LONE RANGER were created by Fran Striker and George W. Trendle and were broadcast from Detroit, where a stock of solid actors appeared on both programs. There were some interesting parallels between the two programs. THE GREEN HORNET’S name was Britt Reid and THE LONE RANGER’S name was John Reid. Britt Reid was referred to as “The Lone Ranger’s grand-nephew.” Each had a “faithful sidekick” – Kato and Tonto, respectively. Each had a superior means of transportation. The Black Beauty and Silver. And each one fought crime, but not as part of a formal law enforcement agency. Rather, they carried out their adventures as semi-fugitives from the law, always disappearing just before the law took over.
The GREEN HORNET was broadcast over Mutual beginning in 1938.
