How old do you think of the characters as?
Listening to the Green Hornet radio show (again) and am just curious how old everyone perceives the characters to be. I don’t think of them as aging more than a few years, since Britt is the “young publisher” in 1936 and in 1950.
Britt is the firmest to me - I feel like he’s very young. Part of this is from here where he says “ I’ve hunted big game in Africa, I’ve engaged in more or less dangerous collegiate sports, I’ve boxed, fenced, sparred and footballed, and I’ve learned to fly my own airplane. I think I can take care of myself. “ Just the mention of collegiate sports. Then later, when he tells his father he is the Green Hornet, we get this exchange:
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Britt: I sure did, dad. Things have been handed to me on a silver platter from the time I was a kid. When it was time for me to go to work, you gave me the Daily Sentinel and a competent staff to run it.
Dad: I hoped that the responsibility of managing a newspaper would be good for you.
Britt: I think it was. I've learned about things that I never existed. I saw political grafters and confidence men bend the law nearly double without actually breaking it. I had inside information on political bribes. I knew of crooks in our government and there wasn't a thing that could be done about them. We couldn't even publish their activities because the law couldn't get proof that would hold up in court. A lot of criminals went free because of tricky laws and red tape.
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Lowry tells Oliver Perry that Britt Reid is the youngest publisher in the business. Anyway, I feel like Britt was most likely straight out of college and certainly no more than 25 when his father gave him the Sentinel. And my perception is that he became the GH within a couple years. I really wish I could hear the early episodes to see if there are any more references there.
Anyway, having perceived Britt as in his twenties, many others sort of follow along. I set Lenore and Kato within 5 years of his age, in either direction. Lowry was of an age to serve in WWII, so he’s fairly young. I think of Binney as the same. Gale, too. Gunnigan and Axford are older. Don’t know about Jenks - haven’t listened to him.
I really haven’t paid enough attention to the cops to distinguish one from another or think about their ages.
EDIT: Just relistened - Dan Reid said he rode with The Commissioner in Texas “nearly 50 years ago.” I’d been thinking early 60s, but may have to add a few years. Though he did ride the range young.
EDIT AGAIN: And in an early episode it’s mentioned Britt has a sister in college. I mean, there could be a larger age gap, but I favor him as younger.
