Let’s roll, Kato!

"Let’s roll, Kato," commanded the Green Hornet as once again he and his sidekick set off in hot pursuit of a wanted criminal.

Forced by ill fate to use two identities, the crime fighter lived and worked as Daily Sentinel publisher Britt Reid, then, when duty called, he became the man behind the mask of the Green Hornet. Wanted by police on a charge of dealing with the underworld, Reid’s only confidants were his secretary and the city’s district attorney. Both new the identities of the man whose real mission was to protect the rights and lives of decent citizens.

So began the 1960s drama "The Green Hornet," starring Van Williams as the Hornet and Bruce Lee as Kato for 26 episodes from 1966 to 1967. The show, based on the popular radio dramas of the same name, has gained a cult following in recent years.

"You know, I filmed the series, and then I didn’t think much about the show again until 1993," said Williams, who at that time appeared at a memorabilia show with Batman’s Adam West. "That’s when I realized that the Green Hornet has quite a following."

Williams now makes his home-- without his alter ego the Hornet-- in the Wood River Valley, where he enjoys the mountain life with its clean air and hunting.

Although most recognized for his role as the Green Hornet, Williams filmed four series and had guest roles in many popular television shows including "Batman," "Gunsmoke," and "Mission Impossible."

"That [The Green Hornet] was the toughest show I ever filmed. We worked our little butts off on that show," he said of the 13-hour days he put in each week.

Williams has always had a taste hard work.

Before he stumbled into acting, Williams worked as a demolition and salvage scuba diver in Hawaii. While diving there, he met Elizabeth Taylor and her then-husband Mike Todd. Todd told Williams to contact him if he ever became interested in movies.

It was a diving injury, however, that landed him in a Los Angeles, Calif., hospital where he met some of the big players in Hollywood. Soon after he signed a contract with Warner Bros.

"There was no test, no nothin’, because that’s how it was done in those days," said Williams.

He spent a year each on several series before he was asked to do the role of the Hornet. Williams, at first, was hesitant about joining the cast.

"I was afraid they were going to hokey it up like Batman," he said. "And I didn’t want to play a character in costume, because then you get stuck with that stereotyped role."

So, Williams demanded five times the salary he thought he would be offered, asked for 5 percent of the merchandising rights, asked for 100 percent residual rights and, "I met Bruce and I really liked him, but I couldn’t understand a word he said!"

He got the job.

Williams pinpoints a good rapport between the actors as the best part of working amidst a demanding schedule and tough Hollywood politics.

If Williams had had his way, the show would’ve been an hour instead of a half-hour long to develop more complicated and intriguing plots. The few one-hour episodes that were aired in two parts successfully drew audiences for both segments.

"It was the basic good guys versus the bad guys. With only half an hour the crime was done, reported and then I changed rolls to find the criminal," Williams said.

One plot that became a bit complicated was a guest spot on "Batman" for the Hornet and his sidekick in which Kato was scripted to lose a fight to Robin.

"Bruce went into his dressing room to read over the script, and we hear this bangin’ and yellin’ and screamin’, and then he got into his Porsche and drove away. Bruce didn’t want to lose to Burt Ward (Robin)," Williams said, then added as an afterthought, "It ended up being a draw, which is ridiculous because Kato was going up against some pip-squeak little kid!"

Simple plots called for complicated props including Black Beauty, a souped-up 1966 Chrysler, which had lights that transformed from clear to green and a license plate that flipped to a different number when it was used undercover.

"Man that was a car! Everything worked-- well about 20 percent of the time, otherwise there would be a big pile of black smoke," he said with a laugh. "Nothing ever worked in the Batmobile though, and to this day that car still works."

The Black Beauty boasted a gyroscope that raised out of the trunk, and gadgets that threw tacks in the road to thwart pursuers. And with a push of a button flames would shoot out of the front of the car.

The Green Hornet was also known for his non-lethal gas gun. The secret was that Williams wore a compressed air bottle under his arm. He had to hold the gun very steady because it concealed a box of green talcum powder. Bang. Poof. Powder everywhere!

"We’d have to stop filming and wipe that powder off everything!" Williams said.

Williams said he views acting as a hobby, but is glad he proved to himself that he could accomplish that dream.

"I never really got used to the idea of play acting-doing stuff that wasn’t real," he said.

Williams stepped out of the movie spotlight in 1975, but took the ideals of the Green Hornet with him when he became a deputy for the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department.

Williams never saw himself as much of a celebrity.