Celebrity Nooz: Van Williams

Van Williams (Actor) - The Green Hornet

Updated: 1/08/15

Name: Van Williams

Birth Name: Van Zandt Jarvis Williams

Born: February 27, 1934, Fort Worth, Texas

Claim To Fame: He is best known for his world-famous television role as Britt Reid (aka The Green Hornet) on the ABC television series during the 1966-67 season.

Family Life: He has been married to Vicki Flaxman since 1959 and they have three children. He also has twin daughters from a prior marriage.

Info: It was at the persuasion of producer Mike Todd that Williams became an actor. Williams was working as a diving instructor in Hawaii in 1956 when he was discovered by Todd, who urged him to try his hand at acting in Hollywood.

After taking vocal and acting lessons, Williams was signed to a contract by Warner Brothers in 1959. His first role was on the ABC television series Bourbon Street Beat, which aired during the 1959-1960 season.

He went on to work with Ronald W. Reagan in a General Electric production, and starred in a television pilot called The Leathernecks. He appeared in the films Tall Story and The Caretakers, and as Pat Burns on the ABC series The Tycoon with Walter Brennan.

In 1966, Williams won the role that would make him famous - playing the title character and his alter ego, newspaper editor Britt Reid, on the ABC series The Green Hornet. Although popular, the show was so costly to produce that it wrapped after only 26 episodes.

Trivia: Supposedly turned down a recurring role on Falcon Crest in the 1970s in order to focus on his business interests.

Is the only cast member of The Green Hornet (1966) still alive.

His neighbor in Ketchum, Idaho, is Batman star Adam West.

Provided the voice of the president in the 1967 Batman movie.

Where Are They Now: After The Green Hornet, Williams retired from acting to concentrate on his successful communications company. He also served for many years as a part-time sheriff's deputy in California. Today, Williams lives in the resort community of Ketchum, Idaho.

In 2010, the filmmakers of the 2011 Green Hornet film adaptation had wanted him to make a cameo appearance as a cemetery guard, but Williams was unavailable.

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