Al Hodge as Britt Reid in a promotional photo.
Britt Reid is a character who appeared in the Green Hornet radio series, which originated the Green Hornet franchise, and first aired form 1936-1953. A prominent citizen, and the wealthy publisher of one of New York's most prominent newspapers, he is also secretly the masked vigilante known as the Green Hornet. His dual identity his initially only known to his trusted friend and crime-fighting partner, Kato, who also serves as his valet in his personal life. Over the course of the series, their vigilante identities come to be known by a small group of other trusted individuals: his father Dan Reid Jr. and his secretary Linda Travis, Britt's own secretary, Lenore Case, and police commissioner James Higgins. This iteration of Britt was played by four different actors during the show's run: Al Hodge (1936-44,45), Donovan Faust (1944), Bob Hall (1944-1945, 1945-1946), and Jack McCarthy (1947-52).
Role in the radio series[]
Jack McCarthy as The Green Hornet.
Britt Reid was the child of Dan Reid Jr., the nephew of John "The Lone Ranger" Reid and founder of the Daily Sentinel newspaper. At some point, Dan left Britt in charge of the Sentinel and retired somewhere in Texas. Also at an unknown point in time (presumably in the mid-1930s), Britt decided to try to put an end to the crime his newspaper reported on, and became The Green Hornet.
The only time that Britt's relationship to The Lone Ranger was mentioned was in the Green Hornet episode Too Hot To Handle, where Dan (never directly mentioning the name of his famous relative) said he rode with Britt's "pioneer ancestor" in the hills of Texas. While Dan tells Britt about him, The William Tell Overture can be heard in the background.