Born the child of an immigrant
shoemaker in 1915, nurtured in Ottawa's small but literate
and theatre-loving Jewish community, Greene would begin his
public life as Canada's first celebrity anchorman, a radio
newscaster whose solemn bulletins during the darkest hours
of the Second World War earned him the awe of a nation - and
the title, "The Voice of Doom."
He would go on to play hundreds of roles on the Canadian
and New York stage, in radio and television dramas, on nature
programs and even in pet-food commercials, but he would truly
live the role of Pa Cartwright - the part he had seemingly
been born to play.
Greene's incomparable voice rings out in Who's Lorne
Green? - an extraordinary one-hour biography. Interviews
with Greene's real-life son and daughter, his wife, and colleagues
including Naked Gun star Leslie Nielsen and Monty Hall of
TV's Lets Make a Deal, reveal a man who relished the fame
he had worked so hard to achieve - a man whose private and
personal personas merged as his aura grew.
Rare archival footage and home movies reveal Greene in the
multifarious television roles that preceded Bonanza, on the
whirlwind tours and public appearances that would earn him
the nickname "Mister Rodeo," and at home with the baby daughter
who would change his life.
Cowboy, classical thespian, humanitarian, environmentalist,
radio newscaster, father, Canadian - the many roles of Lorne
Greene are revealed on Who's Lorne Greene?
Original Air Date - November 23, 1998
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