Although Bruce Lee had appeared in films as a child, this was his first try out as an adult. It was 1964, and Lee was just 24 years old, although he carried himself with remarkable assurance.
The audition was for the role of Charlie Chan’s #1 son, but when that fell through, he was cast as Kato in The Green Hornet television series. Lee nails the tryout, and landed the role, although it lasted only one season. However, The Green Hornet has gone on to be a cult classic, and was Lee’s entre to television.
Lee went on to play a martial arts instructor on an number of television shows, as well are recreating the Kato role on several other series:
Marlowe – Winslow Wong
Here Come the Bride – Lin
Blondie – Karate Instructor
Ironside – Leon Soo
Batman – Kato
The Milton Berle Show – Kato
Longstreet – Li Tsung
From there Lee moved to the movies, and stardom.
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The fictional character Kato has appeared with the Green Hornet in film, television, book, and comic book versions. On radio, Kato played by Raymond Hayashi, Roland Parker, Mickey Tolan, and Paul Carnegie. Keye Luke played the role in the movie serials; Luke went on to play Master Po in the television series Kung Fu. In the 2011 Green Hornet film, Kato was played by Jay Chou.
The Kato character debuted in 1936, in a radio program. He was described as being Japanese. In 1939 Japan invaded China, and a Japanese hero was no longer acceptable. The character then appeared in movie serials, and was referred to as Korean. By 1941, Kato was Filipino.
In the 2011 film, Kato tells Britt Reid that he was born in the Shanghai (China). Reid replies by saying “I love Japan.”
Bruce’s father, Lee Hoi-chuen, was Han Chinese. His mother, Grace Ho was half-Chinese and half-German Catholic. Lee was born in Chinatown, San Francisco on November 27, 1940. The family then moved back to Hong Kong when he was 3. He then returned to the US at 18 to attend college.
He of course stayed achieving success in American television. That fame in turn brought him to the attention of Hong Kong cinema, and superstardom.
