| Van Williams | |
|---|---|
Van Williams on the right |
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| Born | Van Zandt Jarvis Williams February 27, 1934 Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. |
| Occupation | actor |
| Years active | 1954–1993 |
| Spouse | Vicki Flaxman (1959–present) |
Van Zandt Williams (born February 27, 1934) is a former actor best known for his television role as Britt Reid/the Green Hornet. He teamed for one season with the late Bruce Lee as his partner Kato, in the television series The Green Hornet, broadcast on ABC during the 1966-67 season.[1]
Williams was also known for his earlier leading role as Kenny Madison in both Warner Bros. television detective series Bourbon Street Beat (1959) and its sequel Surfside Six (1960).
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A diving instructor in Hawaii in 1956, Williams was discovered there in 1957 by producer Mike Todd, who urged him to come to Hollywood to try his hand at acting. Todd, one of the husbands of Elizabeth Taylor, died in a plane crash, but Williams took vocal and acting lessons and was signed to a contract by Warner Bros. in 1959. His big break came as costar of the ABC television series Bourbon Street Beat, set in New Orleans. The program aired during the 1959-1960 season; his costars were Andrew Duggan and Richard Long. Williams later worked in a General Electric production with Ronald W. Reagan, and his Bourbon Street Beat character, Kenny Madison, was recycled into the Surfside 6 television series in exactly the same time slot, with Troy Donahue. Williams starred in a television pilot called The Leathernecks that was shown as an episode of The Gallant Men.
Williams also appeared in the films Tall Story (1960) and The Caretakers (1963) and as Pat Burns on the ABC series The Tycoon with Walter Brennan. After his Warner Brothers contract lapsed in 1964, Williams worked in TV commercials and guest appearances on various TV series.
In 1966, ABC-TV revived George W. Trendle's famous radio character in a new series, The Green Hornet. Van Williams signed with 20th Century-Fox to portray the mysterious masked hero and his alter ego, newspaper editor Britt Reid (son of Dan Reid the son of John Reid the brother of, The Lone Ranger).
Williams played the role straight, unlike the lampoon comedy approach of the same producer's Batman show. He and co-star Bruce Lee also made guest appearances, in character, on the Batman series for three episodes, a two part episode (vs. Colonel Gumm) and a "window" cameo in another episode.
Bruce Lee died of a cerebral edema in 1973. Williams' acting career faded around that time, though he made a few television guest appearances and starred in one more series, an NBC Saturday morning offering entitled Westwind.
By the time he starred in The Green Hornet, Williams had become successful investing in various commercial ventures; a TV Guide profile of 1966, titled "Banker with a Sting," characterized him as "your friendly neighborhood tycoon." He retired from acting in 1982 to open a Santa Monica, California communications company that leases time on six two-way radio repeater stations.[1]
In 1993, Williams made a cameo in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story as a director of The Green Hornet.[2]