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Working on Bonanza made Lorne Greene feel young again
Here’s how the Bonanza dad stayed youthful, even in his 50s.
Lorne Greene was truly a man of the West. He lived and breathed Bonanza both inside and outside of the series. He followed the code of the West, even from his home in Hollywood.
Greene was the patriarch in Bonanza, where he played the role of Ben Cartwright for a total of 14 seasons. He loved his Bonanza family, particularly his three onscreen sons: Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe.
But there was another reason this man of the West liked working on the Bonanza series. According to a 1966 interview with The Hamilton Spectator, Bonanza helped him feel young, and as a man in his 50s, that was important to him.
"I like to work at about 18 levels if I can," Greene said. "Recordings. Rodeos. Personal appearances. It's fun, and as a result I feel 20 years younger than I did 20 years ago."
Playing one of the best dads in show business on Bonanza helped Greene connect with young people, from children to teens and everything in between. He said he often received letters from kids who dreamed of having a father like him. According to Greene, these letters would say things like, "When I grow up, I'm going to become a father exactly like you."
Greene said that meeting so many people through his work on the series helped him stay in touch with his inner child, something many people lose as they age.
"I enjoy being with people, before an audience," Greene said. "It's fun."
So, besides the people he met along the way, what helped Greene feel young? The money he made on the series certainly didn’t hurt, but it was the onscreen family he created that kept him youthful. That’s where he found most of his youth, even as the father figure of the series.
"Anything becomes boring if you allow it to," Greene said. "But Mike Landon and Dan and I get along so well. Together we spark eachother. Like today, we had a scene where I was giving Little Joe hell for getting me involved in a bet. We started forgetting the script and suddenly it became alive and very funny. It was fun."
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