
Rita Johnson
Actress
Born: August 13, 1913 (52 years old)
Died: October 31, 1965
Place of birth: Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
Biography
Rita Ann Johnson (August 13, 1913 – October 31, 1965) was an American actress. Early in her career, Johnson was busy in radio. 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). In an incident that was never fully explained, Johnson suffered a head trauma on September 6, 1948 that required brain surgery. 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. 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. The injury 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. Johnson suffered from alcoholism from the time of her injuries until her death of a brain hemorrhage at age 52. From Wikipedia.
Filmography (31)
- The Naughty Nineties (1945, ★ 6.6)
- They Won't Believe Me (1947, ★ 6.5)
- The Major and the Minor (1942, ★ 7.1)
- Within the Law (1939, ★ 6)
- Edison, the Man (1940, ★ 6.8)
- Honolulu (1939, ★ 6.1)
- Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941, ★ 7)
- The Big Clock (1948, ★ 7.3)
- Nick Carter, Master Detective (1939, ★ 5.7)
- My Friend Flicka (1943, ★ 5.9)
- All Mine to Give (1957, ★ 6.2)
- Susan Slept Here (1954, ★ 6)
- Thunderhead: Son of Flicka (1945, ★ 6.7)
- Sleep, My Love (1948, ★ 6.3)
- Forty Little Mothers (1940, ★ 6.4)
- The Golden Fleecing (1940, ★ 5.3)
- My Dear Miss Aldrich (1937, ★ 6.1)
- The Affairs of Susan (1945, ★ 6.1)
- Pardon My Past (1945, ★ 6)
- Rich Man, Poor Girl (1938, ★ 5.9)
- They All Come Out (1939, ★ 5.6)
- London by Night (1937, ★ 5.9)
- Appointment for Love (1941, ★ 5.4)
- Letter of Introduction (1938, ★ 5.7)
- 6,000 Enemies (1939, ★ 6)
- Man-Proof (1938, ★ 4.3)
- Stronger Than Desire (1939, ★ 5.1)
- Congo Maisie (1940, ★ 4)
- The Girl Downstairs (1938, ★ 4.1)
- An Innocent Affair (1948, ★ 4.2)