Career
He "was noted for his distinctive voice.. his rich resonant tones." A native of Lundar, Manitoba, Canada, Thor was a soldier, a construction worker, a farmer, and a rancher before he went into broadcasting. His first experience in radio came in 1937as an unpaid singer at CFAR in Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada. He soon became the writer for CFAR, a job he held for three years.
From there he went to CKGB in Timmins as an announcer.
Later, he moved to CKCL in Toronto as a newscaster. In 1946, he moved to the United States, joining the staff of KFAC in Los Los Angeles
Following that, Thor worked at KMPC, in Hollywood, California, as a newscaster and writer In 1948, he left KMPC and went to KNX in Hollywood as an announcer. Thor"s involvement with drama on radio began in Canada.
In addition to his work as an announcer (noted above), he began his own company, Peak Radio Limited., which produced radio dramas.
During Thor"s time on American network radio, he was an announcer for Green Lama Rocky Jordan, and Suspense He was perhaps best known for starring in Broadway Is My Beat, playing Detective Danny Clover. He also was the announcer on the syndicated radio program, The Clyde Beatty Show. Thor began teaching in the screenwriting program at the University of California, Los Angeles, in January 1968, offering "a special course for the advanced writers." He continued to teach there, enhancing his courses with "many professional actors, producers and writers who were brought into his class as guest lecturers" until he died in 1976.
While still in Canada, Thor married the former Leona Finnie of Winnipeg when he was 21.
They had four children. In 1956, Thor married Jean Howell, an actress and writer