Ben "Son" Johnson, Jr. was an American
motion pictureA film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
actor who was mainly cast in
WesternsThe Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
. He was also a
rodeoRodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
cowboyA cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
,
stuntmanA stuntman, or daredevil is someone who performs dangerous stunts, often as a career.These stunts are sometimes rigged so that they look dangerous while still having safety mechanisms, but often they are as dangerous as they appear to be...
, and rancher.
Personal life
Johnson was born in
ForakerForaker is a town in Osage County, Oklahoma, United States. It was named for Ohio Senator James B. Foraker. The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve is southeast of town. The official population peaked at 415 in 1910 and has declined steadily since 1930...
,
OklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, on the
Osage Indian ReservationThe Osage Nation is a Native American Siouan-language tribe in the United States that originated in the Ohio River valley in present-day Kentucky. After years of war with invading Iroquois, the Osage migrated west of the Mississippi River to their historic lands in present-day Arkansas, Missouri,...
, of
IrishIrish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
and
CherokeeThe Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
ancestry, to Ben Sr. and Ollie Susan (Workmon) Johnson. His father was a rancher in
Osage CountyOsage County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Coterminous with the Osage Indian Reservation, it is the home of the federally recognized Osage Nation. As of the 2010 census, the population was 47,472 a 6.8 percent increase from 2000, when the population was 44,437...
and also a rodeo champion. As a young man, Johnson was a ranch hand and travelled with his father on the rodeo circuit. He was a star in rodeo before becoming involved in the movies. He was the
Professional Rodeo Cowboys AssociationThe Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association is an organization whose members compete in rodeos throughout North America, primarily in the United States. The PRCA sanctions rodeo venues and events through the PRCA Circuit System. Its championship event is the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo...
's Team Roping World Champion in 1953. After winning the title, he discovered that, after travel and expenses, he broke even for the year. Johnson was inducted into the
Professional Rodeo Cowboys AssociationThe Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association is an organization whose members compete in rodeos throughout North America, primarily in the United States. The PRCA sanctions rodeo venues and events through the PRCA Circuit System. Its championship event is the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo...
's
ProRodeo Hall of FameThe ProRodeo Hall of Fame is dedicated to the preservation of rodeo artifacts and continued interest in the sport. It is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and run by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's board. It claims to be the "only museum in the world devoted exclusively to the...
in 1973.
Johnson married Carol Elaine Jones in 1941, and they were married for 53 years until her death on March 27, 1994. The couple had no children. Carol Jones was the daughter of noted Hollywood horse wrangler Clarence "Fat" Jones.
Career
Johnson's film career began with the
Howard HughesHoward Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
film
The OutlawThe Outlaw is a 1943 American Western film, directed by Howard Hughes and starring Jane Russell. The supporting cast includes Jack Buetel, Thomas Mitchell, and Walter Huston. Hughes also produced the film, while Howard Hawks served as an uncredited co-director...
. Before filming began, Hughes bought some horses at the Oklahoma ranch that Johnson's father managed, and hired Johnson to get the horses to northern Arizona (for The Outlaw's location shooting), and then to take them on to Hollywood.
Johnson liked to say later that he got to Hollywood in a carload of horses. With his experience wrangling for Hughes during The Outlaws location shooting, once in Hollywood he did stunt work for the 1939 movie
The Fighting GringoThe Fighting Gringo is a 1939 Western film directed by David Howard and featuring William Royle, George O'Brien and Lupita Tovar. It was produced under the RKO Pictures banner. Ben Johnson had a small uncredited early role as a Mexican barfly and did some work as a stuntman.-Cast:*George O'Brien...
, and throughout the 1940s he found work
wrangling horsesIn North America, a wrangler is someone employed to handle animals professionally, especially horses, but also other types of animals. Wranglers also handle the horses and other animals during the making of motion pictures...
and doing stunt work involving horses.
His work as a stunt man caught the eye of
directorA film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
John FordJohn Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
. Ford hired Johnson for stunt work in the 1948 film
Fort ApacheFort Apache is a 1948 Western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda. The film was the first of the director's "cavalry trilogy" and was followed by She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and Rio Grande , both also starring Wayne...
, and as the riding double for
Henry FondaHenry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
. During shooting, the horses pulling a wagon with three men in it stampeded. Johnson, who "happened to be settin' on a horse", stopped the runaway wagon, and saved the men. When Ford promised that he would be rewarded, Johnson hoped it would be with another doubling job, or maybe a small speaking role. Instead he received a seven-year acting contract from Ford. Ford called Johnson into his office, handed him an envelope with the contract in it. Johnson started reading it and when he got to the fifth line and it said "
$The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
5,000 a week," he stopped reading, grabbed a pen and signed it, and gave it back to Ford.
His first credited role was in Ford's 3 Godfathers, and Ford then suggested him for a starring role in the 1949 film Mighty Joe Young; he played 'Gregg', opposite
Terry MooreHelen Luella Koford , better known as Terry Moore, is an American actress. Terry Moore made her film debut at age 11 and grew up with all the icons of the Hollywood era that made Hollywood what it is today, also known as "The Golden Age of Hollywood". Moore is an Academy Award nominated actress...
. Ford cast him in two of the three films that have come to be known as Ford's cavalry trilogy, all starring
John WayneMarion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
:
She Wore a Yellow RibbonShe Wore a Yellow Ribbon is a 1949 Western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne. The film was the second of Ford's trilogy of films focusing on the US Cavalry ; the other two films were Fort Apache and Rio Grande...
(1949), and
Rio GrandeThe Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
(1950); both roles showcased Johnson's riding ability. In 1950, Ford also cast Johnson as the lead in
Wagon MasterWagon Master is a 1950 Western film directed by John Ford and starring Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr., Joanne Dru, and Ward Bond.-Plot:Learning of their ability as experienced horsemen, Mormon Elder Wiggs , hires Travis Blue and Sandy Owens to guide a small group of Mormons across the West to the...
(1950), a small film that was one of Ford's favorites.
Johnson played in supporting roles in Shane (1953) starring
Alan Ladd-Early life:Ladd was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was the only child of Ina Raleigh Ladd and Alan Ladd, Sr. He was of English ancestry. His father died when he was four, and his mother relocated to Oklahoma City where she married Jim Beavers, a housepainter...
, and
One-Eyed JacksOne-Eyed Jacks, a 1961 Western, is the only film directed by actor Marlon Brando, who also played its lead character, Rio.The film was originally to be directed by Stanley Kubrick and Sam Peckinpah...
(1961) starring
Marlon BrandoMarlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
. In 1964 he worked with Ford again in
Cheyenne AutumnCheyenne Autumn is a 1964 western starring Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, James Stewart, and Edward G. Robinson. Regarded as an epic film it tells the story of a factual event, the Northern Cheyenne Exodus of 1878-9, although it is told in 'Hollywood style' using a great degree of artistic license...
. He also appeared in four
Sam PeckinpahDavid Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch...
directed films:
Major DundeeMajor Dundee is a 1965 Western film written by Harry Julian Fink and directed by Sam Peckinpah. It starred Charlton Heston and Richard Harris as officers from opposing sides in the American Civil War who band together to hunt down a band of Apaches....
(1965; with
Charlton HestonCharlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
),
The Wild BunchThe Wild Bunch is a 1969 American Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah about an aging outlaw gang on the Texas-Mexico border, trying to exist in the changing "modern" world of 1913...
(1969; with
William HoldenWilliam Holden was an American actor. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974...
&
Robert RyanRobert Bushnell Ryan was an American actor who often played hardened cops and ruthless villains.-Early life and career:...
), and two back-to-back Steve McQueen movies,
The GetawayThe Getaway is a 1972 American action-crime film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw.The film is based on a novel by Jim Thompson, with the screenplay written by Walter Hill...
and the rodeo film
Junior BonnerJunior Bonner is a film released in 1972 directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Steve McQueen, Joe Don Baker, Robert Preston and Ida Lupino. The film focuses on a veteran rodeo rider as he returns to his hometown of Prescott, Arizona to participate in an annual rodeo competition and reunite with...
(both 1972). In 1973 he co-starred as
Melvin PurvisMelvin Horace Purvis, Jr. was an American law enforcement official and Federal Bureau of Investigation agent. He was given the nickname "Little Mel" because of his short stature...
in
John MiliusJohn Frederick Milius is an American screenwriter, director, and producer of motion pictures.-Early life:Milius was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Elizabeth and William Styx Milius, who was a shoe manufacturer. Milius attempted to join the Marine Corps in the late 1960s, but was rejected...
's
DillingerDillinger is a 1973 gangster film about the life and criminal exploits of notorious bank robber John Dillinger.It stars Warren Oates as Dillinger and Ben Johnson as his pursuer, FBI Agent Melvin Purvis. The film, narrated by Purvis, chronicles the last few years of Dillinger's life as the FBI and...
with
Warren OatesWarren Mercer Oates was an American actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah including The Wild Bunch and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia...
; he would also appear in Milius's 1984 film
Red DawnRed Dawn is a 1984 American war film directed by John Milius and co-written by Milius and Kevin Reynolds. It stars Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Charlie Sheen and Jennifer Grey....
. In 1975, he played the character Mister in Bite the Bullet, starring Gene Hackman and James Coburn. He also appeared together with
Charles BronsonCharles Bronson , born Charles Dennis Buchinsky was an American actor, best-known for such films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, Rider on the Rain, The Mechanic, and the popular Death Wish series...
in 1975's
Breakheart PassBreakheart Pass is an American 1975 western adventure film that stars Charles Bronson, Ben Johnson, Richard Crenna, and Jill Ireland. The movie was based on the novel by Alistair MacLean of the same title, and was filmed in north central Idaho.-Plot:...
. In 1980, he was cast as Sheriff Isum Gorch in Soggy Bottom U. S. A.
Johnson played the part of "Bartlett" in the 1962-1963 season of Have Gun Will Travel which featured a short scene of his riding skills. In the 1966-1967 television season, Johnson appeared as the character "Sleeve" in all twenty-six episodes of the
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
family Western
The MonroesThe Monroes is a 26-segment Western television series which ran on ABC during the 1966-1967 season – the story of five orphans trying to survive as a family on the frontier in the area about what is now Grand Teton National Park near Jackson in northwestern Wyoming.Michael Anderson, Jr., then 24,...
with costars
Michael Anderson, Jr.Michael Joseph Anderson, Jr. is an English actor.He was born in Hillingdon, Middlesex, into a theatrical family. His grandparents and great-great-aunt were acclaimed actors. His father is the film director Michael Anderson, Sr. He is the stepson of actress Adrienne Ellis, and stepbrother of...
, and
Barbara HersheyBarbara Hershey , also known as Barbara Seagull, is an American actress. In a career spanning nearly 50 years, she has played a variety of roles on television and in cinema, in several genres including westerns and comedies...
.
He teamed up John Wayne again, and director
Andrew McLaglenAndrew Victor McLaglen is a British-American film and television director and former actor.Andrew McLaglen was born in London, the son of British actor Victor McLaglen and Enid Lamont. He was from a film family that included eight uncles and an aunt, and he grew up on movie sets with his parents...
, in two films; appearing with
Rock HudsonRoy Harold Scherer, Jr., later Roy Harold Fitzgerald , known professionally as Rock Hudson, was an American film and television actor, recognized as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in several romantic comedies with Doris Day.Hudson was voted "Star of the Year",...
in
The UndefeatedThe Undefeated is a 1969 American Western film directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and John Wayne and starring John Wayne and Rock Hudson. The film portrays events surrounding the French Intervention in Mexico and is also loosely based on General J. O...
(1969), and in a fairly prominent role in
ChisumChisum is a 1970 Warner Bros. Technicolor western motion picture starring John Wayne, Forrest Tucker, Christopher George, Ben Johnson, Glenn Corbett, Geoffrey Deuel, Andrew Prine, Bruce Cabot, Patric Knowles, and Richard Jaeckel....
(1970).
The apex of Johnson's career was reached in 1971, with Johnson winning an
Academy AwardAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for his performance as 'Sam The Lion' in
The Last Picture ShowThe Last Picture Show is a 1971 American drama film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, adapted from a semi-autobiographical 1966 novel of the same name by Larry McMurtry....
, directed by
Peter BogdanovichPeter Bogdanovich is an American film historian, director, writer, actor, producer, and critic. He was part of the wave of "New Hollywood" directors, which included William Friedkin, Brian De Palma, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Michael Cimino, and Francis Ford Coppola...
co-starring
Timothy Bottoms-Early life:Bottoms was born in Santa Barbara, California, the eldest son of Betty and James "Bud" Bottoms, who is a sculptor and art teacher. He is the brother of actors Joseph Bottoms , Sam Bottoms and Ben Bottoms . In 1967, Bottoms toured Europe as part of the Santa Barbara Madrigal...
,
Jeff BridgesJeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....
, and
Cybill ShepherdCybill Lynne Shepherd is an American actress, singer and former model. Her best known roles include starring as Jacy in The Last Picture Show, as Betsy in Taxi Driver, as Madeleine Spencer in Psych, as Maddie Hayes on Moonlighting, as Cybill Sheridan on Cybill, and as Phyllis Kroll on The L...
.
On the set of
The Train RobbersThe Train Robbers is a 1973 Western film starring John Wayne, Ann-Margret, Rod Taylor, and Ben Johnson. The movie was written and directed by Burt Kennedy....
, in June 1972, he told Nancy Anderson of
Copley News ServiceCopley Press was a privately held newspaper business, founded in Illinois, but later based in La Jolla, California. Its flagship paper was The San Diego Union-Tribune.-Pulitzer Prizes:...
that winning the Oscar for The Last Picture Show wasn't going to change him and he wouldn't raise his salary request to studios because of it. He continued, "I grew up on a ranch and I know livestock, so I like working in Westerns. All my life I've been afraid of failure. To avoid it, I've stuck with doing things I know how to do, and it's made me a good living. He also co-starred with Gary Busey in "Bloodsport" (1973), as the "win-at-all-costs" father to his football-playing son.
He portrayed the character Cap Roundtree in the 1979 miniseries The Sacketts.
He also continued ranching during the entire time, operating a horse-breeding ranch in Sylmar, California. In addition, he sponsored the Ben Johnson Pro Celebrity Team Roping and Penning competition, held in
Oklahoma CityOklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
, the proceeds of which are donated to both the Children's Medical Research Inc., and to the Children's Hospital of Oklahoma.
He also co-starred in 1994 version of
Angels in the OutfieldAngels in the Outfield is a 1994 remake of the 1951 film of the same name. The film stars Danny Glover, Tony Danza and Christopher Lloyd, and features appearances from future stars, including Adrien Brody, Matthew McConaughey, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Neal McDonough.Unlike the original, which...
.
Death and legacy
Johnson continued to work almost steadily until his death from a heart attack at the age of 77.
On April 8, 1996, the veteran actor collapsed while visiting his 96 year-old mother Ollie, at Leisure World in
Mesa, ArizonaAccording to the 2010 Census, the racial composition of Mesa was as follows:* White: 77.1% * Hispanic or Latino : 26.54%* Black or African American: 3.5%* Two or more races: 3.4%* Native American: 2.4%...
, the suburban Phoenix retirement community where they both lived. "He asked a lady to fix him some breakfast and he went into the bathroom and that's where he collapsed," said Buster Brown, an assistant to Johnson.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Johnson has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of FameThe Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 7083 Hollywood Blvd. In 1982, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the
National Cowboy & Western Heritage MuseumThe National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with more than 28,000 Western and American Indian art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of American rodeo, photographs, barbed wire, saddlery, and early rodeo trophies...
in Oklahoma City. In 1996
Tom ThurmanTom Thurman is an American filmmaker. Thurman has produced and directed numerous independent documentaries on film, music, and literary figures, including Nick Nolte, Warren Oates, Harry Crews, John Ford, and Sam Peckinpah.-Early career:Thurman received a bachelor's degree in 1984 from Centre...
made a documentary film about Johnson's life, titled Ben Johnson: Third Cowboy on the Right, written by Thurman and Tom Marksbury.
External links