Rita Johnson
Rita Johnson | |
---|---|
Born | Rita Ann Johnson August 13, 1913 Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Died | October 31, 1965 Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 52)
Resting place | Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1935–1957 |
Spouse(s) | Stanley Kahn
(m. 1940; div. 1943)Edwin Hutzler
(m. 1943; div. 1946) |
Rita Ann Johnson (August 13, 1913[1][2] – October 31, 1965) was an American actress.[3]
Early years[]
Johnson was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, the daughter of a single mother, Lillian Johnson.[4]
She worked as a waitress in her mother's lunchroom and sold hot dogs on the Boston-Worcester turnpike.[5] She later attended the New England Conservatory of Music.[citation needed]
Career[]
Early in her career, Johnson was busy in radio. "By 1936 she... was appearing in ten radio shows a week."[5] She played the leading role in Joyce Jordan, M.D..[6]
Johnson began acting on Broadway in 1935 and started her film career two years later. She played a murderer in Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) and a doomed wife in the RKO film noir They Won't Believe Me (1947).[7]
In an incident that was never fully explained, Johnson suffered a head trauma on September 6, 1948 that required brain surgery.[8] Unsubstantiated rumors promulgated by gossip columnists such as Walter Winchell suggested she might have been abused by a boyfriend, but the only explanation she offered was that a large, industrial-grade hair dryer at her apartment had fallen on her.[5] She was in a coma for two weeks and it was reported, "It took her a year to recover. Her left side was paralyzed temporarily, and for a while she couldn't walk."[9] It put a virtual halt to her film career. Her screen time in movies after that was limited due to her reduced mobility and powers of concentration.
Personal life[]
Johnson was married to businessman L. Stanley Kahn.[4] They were granted a divorce on June 29, 1943.[10] She married, secondly, to Edwin Hutzler from 1943 to 1946, but that marriage also ended in divorce.[7]
Johnson suffered from alcoholism from the time of her injuries until her death of a brain hemorrhage on October 31, 1965, at age 52.[7][11]
Partial filmography[]
- London by Night (1937) - Patricia Herrick
- My Dear Miss Aldrich (1937) - Ellen Warfield
- Man-Proof (1938) - Florence
- Letter of Introduction (1938) - Honey
- Smashing the Rackets (1938) - Letty Lane
- Rich Man, Poor Girl (1938) - Sally Harrison
- The Girl Downstairs (1938) - Rosalind Brown
- Honolulu (1939) - Cecelia Grayson
- Within the Law (1939) - Agnes
- Broadway Serenade (1939) - Judith Tyrrell
- 6,000 Enemies (1939) - Anne Barry
- Stronger Than Desire (1939) - Barbara Winter
- They All Come Out (1939) - Kitty Carson
- Nick Carter, Master Detective (1939) - Lou Farnsby
- Congo Maisie (1940) - Kay McWade
- The Golden Fleecing (1940) - Marian Edwards
- Edison, the Man (1940) - Mary Stilwell
- Forty Little Mothers (1940) - Mary Blake
- Maisie Was a Lady (1941) - Minor Role (scenes deleted)
- Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) - Julia Farnsworth
- Appointment for Love (1941) - Nancy Benson
- The Major and the Minor (1942) - Pamela Hill
- My Friend Flicka (1943) - Nell McLaughlin
- The Affairs of Susan (1945) - Mona Kent
- Thunderhead, Son of Flicka (1945) - Nelle McLaughlin
- The Naughty Nineties (1945) - Bonita Farrow
- Pardon My Past (1945) - Mary Pemberton
- The Perfect Marriage (1947) - Mabel Manning
- The Michigan Kid (1947) - Sue Dawson
- They Won't Believe Me (1947) - Greta Ballentine
- Sleep, My Love (1948) - Barby
- The Big Clock (1948) - Pauline York
- An Innocent Affair (1948) - Eve Lawrence
- Family Honeymoon (1948) - Minna Fenster
- The Second Face (1950) - Claire Elwood
- Susan Slept Here (1954) - Dr. Rawley, Harvey's Shrink
- Emergency Hospital (1956) - Head Nurse Norma Mullin
- All Mine to Give (1957) - Katie Tyler (final film role)
Radio appearances[]
Year | Program | Episode/source |
---|---|---|
1943 | Lux Radio Theatre | My Friend Flicka[12] |
1952 | Family Theater | The Crossroads of Christmas[13] |
References[]
- ^ Parish gives year of birth as 1912, but her grave marker says 1913.
- ^ Parish, James Robert; Bowers, Ronald L. (1974). The MGM Stock Company: The Golden Era'. Allan. p. 379. ISBN 0-7110-0501-X.
- ^ "Rita Johnson". BFI. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Rita Johnson Near Death From Hair Drier Blow". The Post-Standard. September 11, 1948. p. 1. Retrieved June 8, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Weinstock, Matt (August 13, 2013). "The Booby-Trapped Life of Rita Johnson". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ "What's New from Coast to Coast" (PDF). Radio and Television Mirror. 14 (1): 8–9, 80. May 1940. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Rita Johnson at IMDb
- ^ "Film Star Succumbing To Mystery Injuries". The Evening News. September 10, 1948. p. 1. Retrieved June 8, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Rita Johnson Battles for Comeback Movie Roles". The Times. June 11, 1952. p. 17. Retrieved June 8, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Divorce Granted to Rita Johnson". The Milwaukee Journal. June 29, 1943. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
- ^ "RITA JOHNSON, 52, ACTRESS IN FILMS; Mother in 'My Friend, Flicka' !s Dead in Hollywood". New York Times. November 3, 1965. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ "Lux Theatre Guest". Harrisburg Telegraph. Harrisburg Telegraph. June 5, 1943. p. 17. Retrieved December 23, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Kirby, Walter (December 21, 1952). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 44. Retrieved June 8, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
External links[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rita Johnson. |
- 1913 births
- 1965 deaths
- 20th-century American actresses
- Actresses from Worcester, Massachusetts
- American film actresses
- American stage actresses
- American radio actresses
- Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
- Disease-related deaths in California
- New England Conservatory alumni