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Ben JohnsonAmerican actor
Date of Birth: 13.06.1918
Country:  USA |
Content:
Biography of Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson was an American actor who was frequently cast in western films. He was also a rodeo performer, stuntman, ranch owner, and dedicated philanthropist. Born on June 13, 1918, in the small town of Foraker, Oklahoma, on the Osage Indian Reservation, Johnson had Native American Cherokee and Irish ancestry. His father owned a ranch and was a rodeo performer. Before pursuing a career in acting, Ben learned all the tricks of the trade from his father, performing alongside him and becoming a star rodeo performer in the western states. However, he was unable to earn much money from his skills.
In 1941, he married Carol Elaine Jones, the daughter of renowned Hollywood cowboy Clarence Jones, and they remained happily married for 53 years, although they did not have any children.
Early Acting Career
Johnson's first appearance on screen in the 1939 film "The Fighting Gringo" went unnoticed, and it is commonly believed that he made his debut in Howard Hughes' controversial western film "The Outlaw." "The Outlaw" also marked the first major film for Hollywood beauty Jane Russell. The camera constantly focused on the actress's revealing neckline, which attracted the attention of censors. The film was shot between 1940 and 1941 but took a couple of years to reach theaters. Before filming, Hughes purchased several horses from the Johnson ranch and hired Ben to deliver them first to northern Arizona, where the movie was being filmed, and then to Hollywood. Johnson liked to say that he arrived in Hollywood in a wagon with horses.
In his first 10 films, Johnson mainly performed horse-related stunts, and his name did not appear in the credits due to the insignificance of his roles. However, in 1948, he caught the eye of director John Ford, who hired him as a double for Henry Fonda in the western "Fort Apache." During the shooting, horses pulling a wagon with three riders panicked, but Johnson managed to stop the horses, preventing any injuries. The director promised to reward the fearless stuntman. Ben thought it would be another stunt job or a small role with a few lines, but the reward for the skilled rider was a seven-year contract. When Ford invited him to sign the agreement, Johnson started reading and came across the line stating that his salary would be $5,000 per week. He quickly grabbed a pen and signed the documents without reading the rest.
Successful Acting Career
By 1949, Johnson played his first leading role in the adventure film "Mighty Joe Young." Throughout his five-decade-long career, Johnson portrayed over 100 characters in movies and TV shows, with the majority of them in westerns. He fully demonstrated his horse-handling skills in films such as "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon," "Rio Grande," "Wagon Master," "Shane," "One-Eyed Jacks," "Cheyenne Autumn," "Dillinger," and many others. Johnson continued to work almost without breaks until his death from a heart attack at the age of 77.
On April 8, 1996, the actor lost consciousness while visiting his 96-year-old mother at a nursing home in Phoenix, Arizona, where they both lived. He asked for breakfast to be prepared for him and went to the bathroom, where he collapsed. Johnson was taken to the nearest hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was buried next to his beloved wife Carol Jones, who had passed away in 1994, at the Pawhuska Cemetery in Oklahoma. Johnson's mother, Ollie Susan Workmon Johnson-Rider, lived to be 101 years old and passed away in October 2000. For his contributions to the film industry, Johnson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1982, he was also inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. In 1996, a documentary about his life titled "Ben Johnson: Third Cowboy on the Right" was released, directed by Tom Thurman.
