Lorne Greene Biography

Lorne Greene

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).