Lorne Greene

Lorne Greene (February 12, 1915 – September 11, 1987), was a Canadian actor and singer.
Career.
Greene was born on February 12, 1915 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. His first movie was "Churchill's Island" (1941), as narrator. He was in films such as "The Silver Chalice" (1954), "Autumn Leaves" (1956), with Joan Crawford, "Peyton Place" (1957), with Lana Turner, "The Buccaneer" (1958), with Yul Brynner, and "Earthquake" (1974), with Charlton Heston.
Greene also had roles in some low-budget westerns, including "The Last of the Fast Guns" (1958), "The Hangman" (1959), 
He also worked on the Japanese film "Nippon chinbotsu" (1974).
Bonanza.
Greene gained fame in 1959 starring in the NBC western "Bonanza". He played role of Ben Cartwright, the owner of the Ponderosa Ranch in Virginia City.
Also in the series were Pernell Roberts as Adam Cartwright, Michael Landon as Joseph 'Little Joe' Cartwright, and Dan Blocker as Eric 'Hoss' Cartwright. 
The series was a success and lasted for 14 seasons between 1959 and 1973.
Television.
In the early years of Greene's career, he made guest appearances on television shows including "Ford Television Theatre" (1953), "Producers' Showcase" (1955), "General Motors Presents" (1955), "The United States Steel Hour" (1956), "Kraft Television Theatre" (1957), "Shirley Temple's Storybook" (1958). 
In 1955, he starred in his first series "Sailor of Fortune", as Capt. Mitchell. The series was co-produced by Canada and Britain television, and lasted one season.
He was also a detective in "Griff" (1973-1974) created by Larry Cohen. Greene played Wade Griffin, a police officer with many years of service who leaves the force to become a private investigator
Another of his memorable roles was that of John Reynolds in the TV mini-series "Roots" (1977).
Greene continued to have success on television as the star of the science fiction series "Battlestar Galactica" (1978-1979), and "Galactica" (1980) where he played the role of Commander Adama. The series featured special effects never before seen on American television.