At age 11, Bochner began his acting career on Ontario radio programs. He went on to garner two Liberty Awards, the highest acting honour in Canada, for his work in Canadian film and theatre. In 1951 he moved to New York City and appeared in early television series such as One Man's Family and Kraft Television Theatre. In 1960, ABC called with a starring role in the series Hong Kong with co-star Rod Taylor. A few years later, Bochner appeared in one of his most famous roles, that of the scientist attempting to decipher an alien text in the classic 1962 Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man," a part he himself spoofed years later in the comedy The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear. In 1965, he guest starred on ABC's western series The Legend of Jesse James starring Christopher Jones in the title role. Two years later, he appeared on the ABC military-western Custer starring Wayne Maunder in the title role.

Over the years, Bochner continued to portray a variety of roles in television and film, from a warlock on Bewitched to a homosexual doctor coming out at middle age in the 1977 TV-movie Terraces, to Pia Zadora's abusive screenwriter husband in the camp classic film The Lonely Lady. In 1960, he starred in an adaptation of A. J. Cronin's The Citadel along with Ann Blyth. His son Paul said he "almost always played a suave, handsome, wealthy villain."
[edit] Famous roles

A typical and very famous Bochner role was that of the scheming Cecil Colby on Dynasty, in part due to his notorious death scene (the character suffered a heart attack while having sex with Alexis Carrington (Joan Collins), and later died in his hospital bed seconds after marrying her). A few years later, Bochner planned to star as C.C. Capwell on the daytime drama Santa Barbara, but a heart attack caused his departure from the series. Bochner continued to appear in television series for the next few decades, doing frequent voiceover work for the animated cartoon version of Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures. In 1998 Bochner co-founded the Committee to End Violence, a panel designed to study the impact violent images had on culture. He was also active in Association of Canadian Radio and Television Artists and was a licensed amateur radio operator. He joined the Stratford Festival of Canada in its first season in 1953 and spent six years there, playing Horatio in Hamlet, Orsino in Twelfth Night, and Duke Vincentio in Measure for Measure opposite James Mason.