The Green Hornet
2005 · Movie
as Britt Reid / The Green Hornet
Van Williams
1934-02-27
•
Fort Worth, Texas, USA
You could shoehorn actor Van Williams right in there between the other tall, dark and drop-jaw gorgeous heartthrobs Tom Tryon and John Gavin of the late 1950s/early 1960s who conveyed a similar bland, heroic image. All three were too often given colorless heroes to play on film and/or TV -- roles that played off their charm but seldom tested their talent. Born on February 27, 1934 as Van Zandt Jarvis Williams, he was the son of a cattle rancher. He majored in animal husbandry and business at Texas Christian University but moved to Hawaii which changed the course of his life. While operating a salvage company and a skin-diving school during the mid-1950s, he was approached by Elizabeth Taylor and husband/producer Mike Todd, who were filming there. Encouraged by Todd to try his luck, Van arrived in Hollywood with no experience. Todd perished in a plane crash before he was able to help Van, but the young hopeful ventured on anyway, taking some acting/voice lessons, and was almost immediately cast in dramatic TV roles. Warner Brothers had a keen eye for this type of photogenic hunk and smartly signed Van. Fitting in perfectly, he was soon showing just how irresistible he was as a clean-cut private eye on the series "Bourbon Street Beat (1959)". Although the show lasted only one season, Warners carried his Kenny Madison character into the more popular adventure drama Surfside 6 (1960) opposite fellow pin-up / blond beefcake bookend Troy Donahue. Series-wise, Van tried comedy next opposite "Walter Brennan in The Tycoon (1964)". After his contract expired at Warners, 20th Century-Fox handed him his most vividly recalled role, that of the emerald-suited superhero "The Green Hornet (1966)" with the late Bruce Lee as his partner Kato. The show, inspired by the huge cult hit "Batman (1966)" enjoyed a fast start but, like its predecessor, met an equally untimely finish. Never a strong draw in films, Van revealed quite a bit of himself (literally) in his debut in "Tall Story (1960)" coming out of a shower. He was handed a typically staid second lead in "The Caretakers (1963)". Continuing well into the 1970s to guest sporadically on the TV scene in classics like "The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961)", "Love, American Style (1969)", "Mission: Impossible (1966)", "The Big Valley (1965)", "Nanny and the Professor (1970)", "Barnaby Jones (1973)", and "The Rockford Files (1974)". Another starring series attempt with "Westwind (1975)" failed to make the grade and he soon let his career go. Van went on quite successfully in business with telecommunications, real estate and law enforcement supplies among his ventures. With his glossy, pretty-boy years far behind him, he has not felt the need to look back except for an occasional autograph convention. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net
Filmography
The Unbeatable Bruce Lee
2001 · Movie
The GREATEST : Bruce Lee
1998 · Movie
as Comentador
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
1993 · Movie
as Green Hornet Director
The Night Rider
1979 · Movie
as Jim Hollister
Mrs. Columbo
1979 · TV Show
as Fielding
No image
Colorado C.I.
1978 · Movie
as Capt. Cochran
Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected
1977 · TV Show
How the West Was Won
1977 · TV Show
as Captain MacAllister
Fury of the Dragon
1976 · Movie
as Britt Reid
The Runaways
1975 · Movie
as Joe Ringer
No image
Westwind
1975 · TV Show
The Green Hornet
1974 · Movie
as Britt Reid / The Green Hornet
The Manhunter
1974 · TV Show
The Rockford Files
1974 · TV Show
as Dwayne Kefir
Barnaby Jones
1973 · TV Show
as Munson
The Streets of San Francisco
1972 · TV Show
as Officer Morton
Nanny and the Professor
1970 · TV Show
Love, American Style
1969 · TV Show
as Bill
Mannix
1967 · TV Show
Ironside
1967 · TV Show
Batman
1966 · Movie
as President Lyndon B. Johnson (voice) (uncredited)
Batman
1966 · TV Show
as The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet
1966 · TV Show
as Britt Reid / The Green Hornet
Mission: Impossible
1966 · TV Show
as Arnold Sanders
The Big Valley
1965 · TV Show
as Sheriff Dave Barrett
The Caretakers
1963 · Movie
as Dr. Larry Denning
Temple Houston
1963 · TV Show
as Joey Baker
Red Nightmare
1962 · Movie
as Air Force Sergeant
The Beverly Hillbillies
1962 · TV Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show
1961 · TV Show
Tall Story
1960 · Movie
as Young Man in Shower (uncredited)
Surfside 6
1960 · TV Show
as Ken Madison
Bourbon Street Beat
1959 · TV Show
as Kenny Madison
Hawaiian Eye
1959 · TV Show
77 Sunset Strip
1958 · TV Show
as Ken Madison
Lawman
1958 · TV Show
Gunsmoke
1955 · TV Show
as Quincy
Cheyenne
1955 · TV Show
as Ray Masters
General Electric Theater
1953 · TV Show
as Charlie
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951 · TV Show
as Exton's Servant
