CBS Sunday Morning Bruce Lee Tribute

[GMartin58]

Hope everyone caught the Bruce Lee segment on CBS Sunday Morning...if not:
https://youtu.be/SXkonJ3nz2Y

[striker]

Once again the 1966 Green Hornet TV series is portrayed as an example of Hollywood's perceived problems in casting. That is really unfortunate.

They have looked at the glass and they see it half empty. In my humble opinion, the role of Kato in the 1966 TV series gave the character of Kato a lot more screen exposure and it was a vast improvement over what the first screen Kato, the late Keye Luke did in the Universal movie serials.

[BiffPow]

Once again the 1966 Green Hornet TV series is portrayed as an example of Hollywood's perceived problems in casting. That is really unfortunate.

It’s easy to judge the past by the standards of the present. And it’s wrong.

Those judging history from today’s “understanding” may one day in the future find themselves the object of similar scrutiny.

[AndyFish]

Once again the 1966 Green Hornet TV series is portrayed as an example of Hollywood's perceived problems in casting. That is really unfortunate.

It’s easy to judge the past by the standards of the present. And it’s wrong.

Those judging history from today’s “understanding” may one day in the future find themselves the object of similar scrutiny.

Could not agree more Biff!
And from some accounts Lee was very full of himself and difficult to work with. That might have hurt his casting too.

[GMartin58]

Once again the 1966 Green Hornet TV series is portrayed as an example of Hollywood's perceived problems in casting. That is really unfortunate.

It’s easy to judge the past by the standards of the present. And it’s wrong.

Those judging history from today’s “understanding” may one day in the future find themselves the object of similar scrutiny.

And from some accounts Lee was very full of himself and difficult to work with. That might have hurt his casting too.

Van Williams told me himself about how Bruce was a bit hard to take sometimes and would often kick Van's earlobe just to practice!

[gerryd54]

Well the old screen test was for Number One Son in 1965. A proposed idea where Bruce would play the son of Charlie Chan. Also, there is no actual , hard, concrete evidence that Bruce came up with the idea for Kung Fu. Read Matthew Polley's book. The old racism charges crop up when in fact it was the evil , white people who always gave Bruce a shot.

[Lounge lizard]

According to Martin Grams and Terry Salmonson's superb book 'History Of ... The Green Hornet', Bruce Lee wrote to producer William Dozier early on in the series asking for more dialogue. Dozier replied that he didn't need to convince him, it was George Trendle who insisted Kato remain in the background as that was how he perceived the characters. Dozier promised Lee he would ask his writers to involve Kato more. With good reason, Kato was receiving more fan mail than anybody else on the show.
Probably the most famous episode of the series, 'The Preying Mantis', nearly wasn't made at all as Trendle initially formally disapproved the script. The Batman crossover episode received one suggestion from Trendle. Keep Kato out of sight except when Reid was under the guise of the Green Hornet.

[gerryd54]

Well, again the fan mail angle has been repeated ad nauseum but where is the proof of that. I certainly think it's possible but I haven't read any articles from the period that confirm it.
Trendle was a real pain in the ***Censored on this rated G site*** for Dozier but I think he was right in this one instance regarding the Kato character. At the time Bruce also said he thought the Britt and Kato characters should have a relationship like Culp and Cosby in I-Spy: you know, hip and jokey. A lot of what's said about the Green Hornet series reeks of revisionist history because Bruce Lee later became a superstar. I actually thought they did a great job with what they had.

[gerryd54]

Well, again the fan mail angle has been repeated ad nauseum but where is the proof of that. I certainly think it's possible but I haven't read any articles from the period that confirm it.
Trendle was a real pain in the ***Censored on this rated G site*** for Dozier but I think he was right in this one instance regarding the Kato character. At the time Bruce also said he thought the Britt and Kato characters should have a relationship like Culp and Cosby in I-Spy: you know, hip and jokey. A lot of what's said about the Green Hornet series reeks of revisionist history because Bruce Lee later became a superstar. I actually thought they did a great job with what they had.

[gerryd54]

sorry it posted twice but the page screwed up

[BATWINGED HORNET]

Once again the 1966 Green Hornet TV series is portrayed as an example of Hollywood's perceived problems in casting. That is really unfortunate.

They have looked at the glass and they see it half empty. In my humble opinion, the role of Kato in the 1966 TV series gave the character of Kato a lot more screen exposure and it was a vast improvement over what the first screen Kato, the late Keye Luke did in the Universal movie serials.

Agreed; by 1966, Asian actors on American TV programs were few and far between, usually cast in a recurring role at best--which includes Takei as Sulu on the original Star Trek. That said, I will never give the entertainment business praise for simply doing what should have been the standard practice: casting people of different races because America was not then or now an all-white country. Further, Kato was a breakthrough of sorts for TV, but hownumerous Asian actors were cast on U.S. TV series was revealing, as they were often playing a stereotype in one way or another (even with the historic, all-important sociopolitical changes happening across 1960s America), so being cast is one thing, but playing stereotypes was not doing anyone a favor.