A complete history of THE GREEN HORNET summed up in 820 pages with index and episode guide.
The Green Hornet was one of radio's best-known and most distinctive adventure shows. Britt Reid, publisher of The Daily Sentinel, was in the position to learn facts about criminals that only the police had access. Armed with this knowledge, a gas gun that rendered foes momentarily unconscious, and a black speedster known as The Black Beauty, he donned the guise of The Green Hornet. Feared by the underworld and sought after by the police, the masked vigilante fought racketeers, gangsters and saboteurs. When the police were faced with red tape, The Green Hornet, with his sidekick Kato, his faithful valet, circumvented protocol and legal procedure in their determined battle to put away crooks. <P>Since The Green Hornet first appeared on radio in 1936, he has 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 has never explored the character as deeply... or accurately. For the first time, the complete story of this crime fighter is unmasked, as prolific TV and radio historians Martin Grams and Terry Salomonson usher you into the Black Beauty. <P>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. A complete episode guide documents every adventure including unproduced scripts and plot ideas. Whether you are a casual fan or a serious enthusiast of the series, here is everything you want to know about The Green Hornet!
Excerpt
The Green Hornet was one of radio's best-known and most distinctive adventure shows. Britt Reid, publisher of The Daily Sentinel, was in the position to learn facts about criminals that only the police had access. Armed with this knowledge, a gas gun that rendered foes momentarily unconscious, and a black speedster known as The Black Beauty, he donned the guise of The Green Hornet. Feared by the underworld and sought after by the police, the masked vigilante fought racketeers, gangsters and saboteurs. When the police were faced with red tape, The Green Hornet, with his sidekick Kato, his faithful valet, circumvented protocol and legal procedure in their determined battle to put away crooks.
Since The Green Hornet first appeared on radio in 1936, he has 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 has never explored the character as deeply... or accurately. For the first time, the complete story of this crime fighter is unmasked, as prolific TV and radio historians Martin Grams and Terry Salomonson usher you into the Black Beauty.
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. A complete episode guide documents every adventure including unproduced scripts and plot ideas. Whether you are a casual fan or a serious enthusiast of the series, here is everything you want to know about The Green Hornet!
Professional Reviews
Author Jo Bagwell
At long last here's the book Green Hornet fans have been waiting for. Martin Grams, Jr. and Terry Salomonson have written the definitive history of this fascinating character. With meticulous attention to detail, the authors reveal the whole story behind the Green Hornet from its beginning as a popular radio show through its many iterations as cliffhanger serials, a television series and comic books. This book covers the entire sixteen year run of the radio show, with in-depth discussions of how and why the character changed over the years, the struggle of George W. Trendle to transfer it to television and what happened when he did, and the rebirth of the character as a comic book hero in the 1990s.
The radio episode guide provides titles and original air dates along with a synopsis of each episode, including the first 300-plus which aired before the show was transcribed. The television episode guide provides a synopsis, cast list, music cues and production costs for each show. The appendices offer fun trivia such as a sample radio script submitted by a writer seeking employment at WXYZ, William Dozier's plea to ABC to give the television show another chance with an hour-long format, and a Green Hornet origin story created in hopes of interesting a potential sponsor.
The authors went directly to the source for their research, relying on original documents and recordings rather than previously published material, thus correcting a lot of erroneous information that has arisen over the years. Besides being an impressive scholarly work, this book is a darn good read. It's a must-have for any Green Hornet fan's library.
Ron Fortier, artist
This is by far the most exhaustive study done of the Green Hornet and all his various incarnation throughout the years. No Green Hornet fan should be without this book. A hearty bravo to the authors for a truly magnificent achievement.
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