Lorne Greene was born Lyon Himan "Chaim" Green on February 12, 1915, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He began acting while attending Canada's Queen's University, and after graduation got a job in radio broadcasting. His rich, deep, authoritarian voice quickly propelled him to prominence as Canada's top newscaster. He left Canada in the early 1950s for a film career in Hollywood, and soon began appearing regularly in television, films and on radio. His greatest successes came in two television series, the long-running Western _"Bonanza" . In 1969 he was awarded Officer of the Order of Canada for his services to the performing arts and community. Lorne Greene died at age 72 of pneumonia following heart surgery on September 11, 1987, in Santa Monica, CA.
Attended and graduated from Lisgar Collegiate Institute in Ottawa, Ontario.
Received his Bachelors degree from Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, in 1937. He later received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the university in 1971.
When he was an announcer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in the early years of World War II, he was nicknamed "The Voice of Doom" for the combination of his deep voice and the usually gloomy news reports about the war he had to read.
Just before his death he had signed on to reprise the role of Ben Cartwright in a television-movie revival of "Bonanza" .
Founded Torontos Academy of Radio Arts.
Invited to play Ben Cartwright after a well-received performance as Big Brother in a CBS production of George Orwell s "1984" on "Studio One" .
Served, along with Betty White , as co-host of the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC-TV for almost a decade, 1963-1972.
Ben Cartwright, Greenes character on "Bonanza" , was ranked #2 by TV Guide in its list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" [June 20, 2004 issue].
His daughter Gillian Greene (born 1968), is married to director Sam Raimi. One of the Raimis sons is named Lorne, after him.
Died the same day as Peter Tosh.
Had two children from his first marriage (to Rita Hands): Linda Susan Bennett (ne Greene, 1944 - 2004) and Charles Greene.
Pictured (as Ben Cartwright, his character on "Bonanza" ) on one of four 51 Canadian commemorative postage stamps honoring "Canadians in Hollywood", issued 22 May 2006. Others honored in this set are John Candy , Fay Wray and Mary Pickford.
Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives." Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 355-356. New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1999.
He was awarded the OC (Officer of the Order of Canada) by the Governor General of Canada on June 27, 1969 for his services to the performing arts and community.
Best remembered by the public for his starring role as father Ben Cartwright on "Bonanza" .
He was scheduled to appear in a flashback scene using archival footage on the new "Battlestar Galactica" television series, but the plan fell through.
Once played George Washington in a short film produced for the National Park Service.
He was the only actor to appear in every episode of both "Battlestar Galactica" and "Galactica 1980" .
He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1559 North Vine Street on February 12, 1985 (his 70th birthday).
He was the original inventor of the count-down clock that allowed a show, in filming, to know how much time was remaining in each segment of filming and in the total length of the show. This allowed the directors and actors to know how much time they had in which to complete a program or segment. His patent was the source of some wealth in the pre-computer era of filming.
He was interred at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, CA.
[on playing the role of a father to his sons on,"Bonanza" (1959) ]: It takes discipline not to retreat to the,same reactions every time. After all, how many ways can you give a boy,advice?,[on-air mistake during his radio days newscasts]: Western farmers are,expecting their biggest crap in years. .
