The Hollywood community is in mourning once again, as another beloved actor hasdied.Van Williams, who portrayed the title character in the 1960s TV seriesThe Green Hornet,passed awaylast Monday, November 28, at the age of 82. The actor’s death was due to kidney failure. Here’s what his wife of 57 years,Vicki Williams, had to say in a statement about her husband’s passing.
“He had a wonderful, caring, and kind heart. He was a wonderful husband, he was a fabulous father, and a devoted grandfather.”
Varietyfirst reported on the actor’sdeathearlier today.Van Williamswas born on August 04, 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas, the son of a cattle rancher. He studied both animal husbandry and business at Texas Christian University, but he ended up moving to Hawaii, where he was working for a salvage company and as a dive instructor, when he was discovered in 1957 by producerMike Todd, a producer who was then married toElizabeth Taylor. The producer encouraged him to come out to Hollywood and pursue acting, and althoughMike Todddied in a plane crash before he could help startVan Williams' career, he continued on anyway, and quickly started landing TV roles.
After landing small roles onGeneral Electric Theater,LawmanandColt .45in 1959, he was cast as privte eye Kenny Madison onBourbon Street Beat, which only lasted for one season. However, Warner Bros. decided to transfer his character over to their more popular TV seriesSurfside 6, where he starred in 69 episodes alongsideTroy Donahue. He next starred inThe Tycoon, a comedy series where he starred alongsideWalter Brennan. When his contract at Warner Bros. expired, he moved over to 20th Century Fox, where he landed the role he’s most well-known for, Britt Reid, a.k.a.The Green Hornet.
Van Williamsstarred inThe Green Hornetalongside his friend and martial arts instructor,Bruce Lee, who played Britt Reid’s sidekick, Kato. The show only ran for one season between 1966 and 1967, but bothVan WilliamsandBruce Leeappeared in three episodes of the originalBatmanTV series, alongsideAdam WestandBurt Ward’s Batman and Robin. AfterThe Green Hornetwas taken off the air,Van Williamsappeared in a number of guest starring spots on TV shows likeThe Big Valley,Mannix,Love, American Style,Nanny and the Professor,Ironside,Mission: Impossible,Apple’s WayandGunsmoke.
His last shot at a hit TV show was the 1975 showWestwind, although that only lasted one 13-episode season. He would go on to guest star in episodes ofThe Manhunter,The Runaways,Bert D’Angelo/Superstar,The Streets of San Francisco,Barnaby Jones,The Red Hand Gang,How the West Was Won,Mrs. ColomboandThe Rockford Files. He returned to acting briefly to play aGreen Hornetdirector in the 1993 movieDragon: The Bruce Lee Story, but that was his last acting appearance. He would go on to be quite successful in other business ventures, and he also served as a reserve deputy sheriff and a volunteer fire fighter at the Malibu station of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. ProducerKen Burns, who worked with the actor on a re-launch campaign forBatmanandGreen Hornetin 1989, said thatVan Williamstold him he had singed his lungs while working as a volunteer fire fighter, and he alsosufferedfrom bronchial problems and back injuries.Van Williams issurvivedby his wife; three children, Nina, Tia, and Britt; and five grandchildren.
