If you are a fan of science-fiction and a fellow thirty-something, then you will remember growing up with Battlestar Galactica (1978-1979).  For me it was a staple of TV viewing, along with Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Kung-Fu, and WGN’s Family Classics.

Lorne Greene as Adama

What I didn’t know until recently is that Commandar Adama–the wise leader of a wayward band of people who lost their home world to war and search for the “lost” planet, Earth–had ties to credit unions.  Well, I guess Commander Adama may not have…I don’t have any evidence of that.

But Lorne Greene, the actor who played Commander Adama, did have ties to the credit union movement.  One might even say, the credit union movement helped launch the American career of Lorne Greene.

In 1954, Lorne Greene was tapped to record advertising for credit unions in Canada.  The special Credit Union Show—a 5-minute advertising program was broadcast across Canada and into the United States.

The February 1954 edition of the publication The Credit Union Bridge noted these advertisements as being Lorne Greene’s U.S. radio debut, as “many listeners in the United States are hearing Lorne Greene for the first time” (p. 15).

After debuting in the U.S., Lorne Greene would go on to play Ben Cartwright in the television western Bonanza, Commander Adama in the aforementioned series Battlestar Galactica, and would have a distinguished career in television and film.

Lorne Greene