- Born
- Died
- Birth nameLyon Chaim Green
- Nicknames
- The Voice of Doom
- The Voice of Canada
- Height1.83 m
- 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, authoritative 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 (1959), in which he played the patriarch of a wealthy frontier family, and the science-fiction series Galactica (1978). 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.- IMDb mini biography by: frankfob2@yahoo.com
- SpousesNancy Deale(December 17, 1961 - September 11, 1987) (his death, 1 child)Rita Merle Hands(September 3, 1940 - March 22, 1961) (divorced, 2 children)
- ChildrenBelinda Susan Greene
- ParentsDaniel GreeneDora Slavin
- RelativesEmma Raimi(Grandchild)Oliver Raimi(Grandchild)Lorne Raimi(Grandchild)Henry Raimi(Grandchild)Dashiell Raimi(Grandchild)
- Deep smooth commanding voice
- Typecast as a commanding father figure both literally and professionally for younger characters.
- Premature grey hair
- His daughter Gillian Greene (born 1968), is married to director Sam Raimi. One of the Raimis' sons is named Lorne, after him.
- He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television at 1559 North Vine Street in Hollywood, California 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.
- Just before his death, he had signed on to reprise the role of Ben Cartwright in a television-movie revival of Bonanza (1959).
- Ben Cartwright, Greene's character on Bonanza (1959), was ranked #2 by TV Guide in its list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" [June 20, 2004 issue].
- [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.
- Bonanza (1965) - $11,000 /week (1966)
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