Lorne Greene: The Voice of Canada

I didn’t know Lorne Greene had done so much with radio and broadcasting. He must have been an early adapter in his generation. These days where might he be in broadcasting? I bet he’d have a podcast and a web radio show, at the very least. But, no one lives forever. I remember his voice.

A man’s never wrong doing what he thinks is right. – Lorne Greene

Lorne Greene
Birthdate: 12 Feb 1915 Died: 9/11/1987

Venerable actor with large physique and distinctive deep voice who is best known for his role as Ben Cartwright on the series Bonanza (1959–73). Before working in television, he worked as a news reader for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and earned the moniker “The Voice of Canada.” After serving in the Canadian Army during the war, he founded the Academy of Radio Arts which trained young people in the fundamentals of radio broadcasting, eventually graduating some 400 students. A 1953 road trip to the U.S. to promote a backward-running watch he had invented for radio broadcasters led to his first television work, and eventually some film work, notably as a prosecutor in Peyton Place (1957). A 1959 appearance on televison’s Wagon Train led to the role on Bonanza where Greene was given leeway to enhance and expand the character. He later appeared in two other series, Battlestar Galactica (1978–80) and Code Red (1981–82).

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