''The Brown Hornet'' is a

show-within-a-show A story within a story, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a literary device in which a character within a story becomes the narrator of a second story (within the first one). Multiple layers of stories within stories are sometimes ...

(or more accurately, a cartoon-within-a-cartoon) which is a spin-off on the

Filmation Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live-action programming for television from 1963 until 1989. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1962. Filmation's founders and ...

animated series ''

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids ''Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids'' is an American animated television series created, produced, and hosted (in live action bookends) by comedian Bill Cosby, who also lent his voice to a number of characters, including Fat Albert and himself. Film ...

'' from 1979 to approximately 1984. The Brown Hornet was a show that Fat Albert's gang watched on a barely working

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

in their

clubhouse Clubhouse may refer to: Locations * The meetinghouse of: ** A club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal ** In the United States, a country club ** In the United Kingdom, a gentlemen's club * A ...

. Originally the Brown Hornet was presented on a

radio program A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio networ ...

by Cosby as an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

version of the Green Hornet. During the cartoon the character was

re-imagined A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

as a caped and masked space hero. The Brown Hornet was a golden-garbed black

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

who traveled the universe and always seemed to thwart the evil-doers and teach viewers a valuable lesson in the process. In each opening, the mighty Hornet and his two trusty masked sidekicks, his big and bumbling pink-clad pal Stinger and their squeaky little white

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be c ...

Tweeterbell, were facing certain doom aboard their

hornet Hornets (insects in the genus ''Vespa'') are the largest of the eusocial wasps, and are similar in appearance to their close relatives yellowjackets. Some species can reach up to in length. They are distinguished from other vespine wasps by th ...

-shaped spaceship until the fearless hero used one of his many amazing superpowers to save them all, usually with a simple snap of his white-gloved fingers. Their victory would be fleeting, however, as the episode would often end with a new threat emerging. In the ''Fat Albert'' episode entitled "Video Mania", Weird Harold is seen playing a Brown Hornet arcade cabinet at a

video arcade An amusement arcade (often referred to as a video arcade, amusements or simply arcade) is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers (such as c ...

. In another episode, Fat Albert and his friends make their own Brown Hornet movie to submit to a film festival. The Brown Hornet also features prominently in ''The Fat Albert Easter Special'' (1982) where the Brown Hornet teaches Fat Albert and his friends the spirit of giving and rejuvenation.

Inspiration

The Brown Hornet's name is a play on the name of the old time radio hero

The Green Hornet The Green Hornet is a superhero created in 1936 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell. Since his 1930s radio debut, the character has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of media ...

. In fact,

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...

had done a syndicated radio ''Brown Hornet'' series around 1970 that directly parodied the old program and serials and the

hardboiled detective Hardboiled (or hard-boiled) fiction is a literary genre that shares some of its characters and settings with crime fiction (especially detective fiction and noir fiction). The genre's typical protagonist is a detective who battles the violence ...

genre in general as the hapless hero drove around in his "very fast car" the White Beauty having myriad misadventures with his hoarse-whispering sidekick Leroy and his pet dog Weaver.

Fictional theatrical film

The fictional film ''The Brown Hornet: The Great Galaxy World Adventure Movie'' was featured in the 2004 film ''

Fat Albert ''Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids'' is an American animated television series created, produced, and hosted (in live action bookends) by comedian Bill Cosby, who also lent his voice to a number of characters, including Fat Albert and himself. Film ...

''.

Voice cast

The Brown Hornet -

Stinger -

Lou Scheimer Louis Scheimer (October 19, 1928 – October 17, 2013) was an American producer and voice actor who was one of the original founders of Filmation. He was also credited as an executive producer of many of its cartoons. Early life and education ...

Tweeterbell -

Erika Scheimer Erika C. Scheimer (born March 28, 1960) is an American voice actress in cartoons of defunct animation studio Filmation. She is the daughter of Lou Scheimer, who was an integral member of Filmation and a voice actor in his own right. She is best ...

Announcer -

Norm Prescott Norman Prescott (January 31, 1927 – July 2, 2005) was co-founder and executive producer at Filmation Associates, an animation studio he created with veteran animator Lou Scheimer. Life and career Born in the Dorchester neighborhood of Bosto ...

Other media

The Brown Hornet appeared in the ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...

'' episode " Imaginationland." Black Thought of the hip hop band

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

mentions the Brown Hornet in the lyrics to ''Thought @ Work''. Appeared as Bill Cosby's Henchman in the ''

Black Dynamite ''Black Dynamite'' is a 2009 American blaxploitation action comedy film starring Michael Jai White, Tommy Davidson, and Salli Richardson. The film was directed by Scott Sanders and co-written by White, Sanders, and Byron Minns, who also co-star ...

'' episode "Sweet Bill's Badass Singalong Song or Bill Cosby Ain't Himself"

References

External links

The Museum of Black Superheroes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown Hornet African-American superheroes Fictional television shows American animated television spin-offs American black cartoons American children's animated space adventure television series American children's animated comic science fiction television series American children's animated superhero television series Animated television series about insects Parody superheroes American black superhero television shows