Photo: Carl Byoir and Associates-publicity for Libby Owens Ford, the show sponsor / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Van Williams is a lovely deep cut from television's golden age. A Texan from Fort Worth, he led Bourbon Street Beat and Surfside 6 before taking the title role in The Green Hornet, sharing the screen with a young Bruce Lee as Kato. There is a quiet irony I enjoy here: Williams was the star, yet the show is now remembered as the springboard that introduced Lee to the world. That generosity of place, being the leading man whose series elevated a future legend, says something gracious about him. To me he is a warm relic of a more handsome, less frantic Hollywood worth remembering.
Overview
Van Zandt Jarvis Williams (February 27, 1934 – November 28, 2016) was an American actor best known for his leading role as Kenny Madison in both Warner Bros. television detective series Bourbon Street Beat (1959–1960) and its sequel, Surfside 6 (1960–1962). For one season, he starred as the title character in the television series The Green Hornet, with Bruce Lee as his partner Kato.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Van Williams
- Name (Japanese)
- ヴァン・ウィリアムズ
- Reading
- ゔぁん・うぃりあむず
- Born
- February 27, 1934 – November 28, 2016
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Pisces / Dog
- Origin
- Fort Worth, Texas, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- actor / television actor / film actor
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Arlington Heights High School
- University
- Texas Christian University
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Actor — see all → · Television actor — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.