Autograph letter, with signature and lower edge cut off and not present, one page, 8.25 x 10. on colorful Jeet Kune Do letterhead, no date, but September 1966. Lee writes to his prized student Taky Kimura. In full: “Thank you very much for letter plus dues. The first national rating of 'Green Hornet' was indeed not good; however, ABC and the Greenway Production are not too worry about it. The main reason of such low rating is due to the fact that Friday nites audiences are like half of the rest of the other days. Tuesday has the highest rate of viewers. When the national rating was set up, our low percentage of viewers was not considered.
However, one thing is lousy; Tarzan beat us. Well, let's hope the 2nd rating will shape up. By the way, the show you should be sure to watch is the 'Preying Mantis' which will be on Nov. 18, an all out Gung Fu show. The one follow that 'The Hunter and the Hunted' is also pretty good. Well, back to Gung Fu. I believe that I should really start organizing the Jun Fan as the series is still on. This is one opportunity I should make use of. I'm glad to hear that the class really shapes up. Put your mind to it as I have high hopes for Seattle.”
Accompanying the letter is an unissued membership card for Lee’s Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute, 3.75 x 2.5, signed in black ink “Bruce Lee,” and also signed in blue ballpoint by Taky Kimura. In fine condition, with aforementioned trimming to letter; the membership card is pristine. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Kimura.
On September 9, 1966, The Green Hornet debuted on ABC introducing Bruce Lee to American audiences as Kato, the martial arts sidekick to media mogul Britt Reid's alter ego masked vigilante. After 26 episodes the program was canceled due to poor ratings against its competition, NBC's Tarzan, and CBS's The Wild Wild West. Bill Dozier, producer of the series developed by Greenway Productions, which also produced Batman, explained the show's failure in a March 19, 1967 Los Angeles Times article, "It may be because we turned Batman into a camp character that people refuse to buy Green Hornet or anyone else in a mask, who isn't treated that way." Content letters concerning The Green Hornet are extremely desirable. Pre-certified PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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