| First appearance | 1970 |
|---|---|
The Green Cross Man (sometimes known simply as "Green Cross") is a costumed superhero character created in 1970 as an aid to teaching young children the Green Cross Code, and for promoting general road safety. British actor David Prowse MBE, a bodybuilder and former Mr. Universe (and the actor best known for his portrayal of Darth Vader in the Star Wars films) is famous for his realisation of the character in a well-known series of Public Information Films (PIFs) sponsored by the Central Office of Information for the UK Department of the Environment. The light-hearted spots ran on UK television from 1975 to 1990. In the films, Green Cross Man character has the power to teleport from his monitoring station at Green Cross Control to any location where youths are in need of pedestrian safety instruction. He accomplishes this by use of a wristwatch-like "Dematerialiser" device. On these missions he is sometimes accompanied by a whimsical robot companion. His signature exclamation of surprise or disbelief is "Green Crosses!" and his slogan is "I won't be there when you cross the road / So always use the Green Cross Code." Green Cross Man, played by Prowse, was later to guest in an episode of BBC2's Fantasy Football League – a Phoenix From the Flames recreation of a goal by Gerry Francis in a Home International against Scotland (the main premise being that Francis tended to look from side to side during interviews – as was advised by Green Cross Man in his adverts).
Read more about this topic: Green Cross Code
Famous quotes containing the words green, cross and/or man:
“Like the water, the Walden ice, seen near at hand, has a green tint, but at a distance is beautifully blue, and you can easily tell it from the white ice of the river, or the merely greenish ice of some ponds, a quarter of a mile off.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“But soft, behold! lo where it comes again!
I’ll cross it though it blast me. Stay, illusion!”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Most people aren’t appreciated enough, and the bravest things we do in our lives are usually known only to ourselves. No one throws ticker tape on the man who chose to be faithful to his wife, on the lawyer who didn’t take the drug money, or the daughter who held her tongue again and again. All this anonymous heroism.”
—Peggy Noonan (b. 1950)