In 1953, he took a break from well-paid film work to compete in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) becoming Team Roping World Champion, although he only broke even financially that year. Party co-chairman Ben Elliot is said to have approved payments of more than £10,000 to the Prime Minister's lawyers. Plays. Although known for avoiding drama, he had definite boundaries; during the making of Rio Grande he defied Ford, who was notorious for browbeating his actors, and reportedly told him to go to hell. The son of a rancher, Johnson arrived in Hollywood to deliver a consignment of horses for a film. 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. Fittingly, Ben had taken his last earthly ride in Monument Valley—where it all began. [11] Johnson's mother Ollie died a few years after her son, on October 16, 2000, aged 101. Services have been set for Carol Elaine Johnson, wife of Academy Award-winning actor Ben Johnson, who died Sunday following an extended illness at an Arizona hospice center. Johnson was born in Foraker, Oklahoma, on the Osage Indian Reservation, of Irish and Cherokee ancestry, the son of Ollie Susan Johnson (née Workmon; 1899-2000) and Ben Johnson, Sr. (1896-1952). Since both he and his father were named "Ben", the younger Johnson was known as "Son" at home. Johnson also operated a horse-breeding ranch throughout his career. True Grit: It’s the Cowboy Way : At age 75, Ben Johnson is still tall in the saddle. However, when he was found to be using illegal performance-enhancing drugs, he was stripped of his honors and suspended from competition. This biography of Ben Johnson provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline. Actor and roper Ben Johnson stands in front of a statue of Will Rogers that was unveiled Aug. 12, 1995, in Oologah. Ben Johnson was born on December 30, 1961, in Falmouth, Jamaica, Johnson immigrated to Canada in 1976, residing in Scarborough, Ontario. He also appeared with Charles Bronson in 1975's Breakheart Pass. Tall and laconic, Johnson brought authenticity to many roles in Westerns with his expert horsemanship. Tall and laconic, Johnson brought authenticity to many roles in Westerns with his expert horsemanship. To avoid it, I've stuck with doing things I know how to do, and it's made me a good living".[10]. Ben Jonson's comedies are his best dramatic work. [7] Instead he received a seven-year acting contract from Ford. [2], The Ben Johnson Cowboy Museum was opened in honor of Ben Johnson in his hometown of Pawhuska, OK in June 2019. Ben Johnson, Jr., found work at a Hollywood studio in 1943 as a horse wrangler and later became a stunt man. In 1963 Johnson appeared as Spinner on the TV western The Virginian in the episode titled Duel at Shiloh. She was 73. [17], 20th-century American actor, stuntman, and rodeo cowboy (1918–1996), Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture, National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor, New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor, Bronze Wrangler for Theatrical Motion Picture, "Johnson, Ben, Jr. | The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture", "Obituaries : Ben Johnson; Oscar-Winning Actor", http://files.usgwarchives.net/ok/osage/obits/lssnwrdr.txt. Born in Oklahoma, Ben Johnson was a ranch hand and rodeo performer when, in 1940, Howard Hughes hired him to take a load of horses to California. The road marker to the actor's ranch near Shidler, Oklahoma declares it as Ben "Son" Johnson's ranch. [3] In addition, he sponsored the Ben Johnson Pro Celebrity Team Roping and Penning competition, held in Oklahoma City and in Katy, Texas the proceeds of which are donated to both the Children's Medical Research Inc. and the Children's Hospital of Oklahoma. 8 Shows and Movies Like The Haunting of Bly Manor and The Haunting of Hill House He was an authority on cutting medical edge research and the only things he knew – when his diagnosis by confirmed 2 doctors and 2 separate medical laboratories – was that Lou Gehrig’s […] [citation needed], Johnson's 1941 marriage to Carol Elaine Jones lasted until her death on March 27, 1994. John Ford’s Wagon Master (1950) is not just one of my favorite movies, but I consider it one of the best Westerns ever made. In 1990, he was honored at the Ben Johnson Celebrity Rodeo at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. Johnson was born in Foraker, Oklahoma, on the Osage Indian Reservation, of Irish and Cherokee ancestry,[2][3] the son of Ollie Susan Johnson (née Workmon; 1899–2000) and Ben Johnson, Sr. Johnson was also a stuntman but wasn't credited for it. Johnson, an Oscar winner and rodeo champ, would have been 100 this year. He also had the eponymous lead role in the 1990s cop series Nash Bridges.Johnson has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Benjamin "Son" Johnson Jr. (June 13, 1918 – April 8, 1996) was an American film and … Ben Jonson, English Stuart dramatist, lyric poet, and literary critic. His father was a rancher and rodeo champion in Osage County. [citation needed], His work as a stuntman caught the eye of director John Ford. “Ben was a very good businessman and invested the money he made in movies very wisely, and in a way that was why he never learned to be a great actor,” a friend said. Born in Falmouth, Jamaica, Ben Johnson relocated to Canada in 1976. In 1964, he worked with Ford again in Cheyenne Autumn. Ben Johnson was cast in four films with John Wayne, the second and third of director, John Ford's cavalry trilogy: 'She Wore A Yellow Ribbon' in 1949, and 'Rio Grande' in 1950. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images) 1961-Canadian sprinter. "[citation needed] In the 1966–67 television season, Johnson appeared as the character Sleeve in all 26 episodes of the ABC family Western The Monroes with co-stars Michael Anderson, Jr. and Barbara Hershey.[9]. Johnson's 1941 marriage to Carol Elaine Jones lasted until her death on March 27, 1994, they had no children. Since both he and his father were named "Ben", the younger Johnson was known as "Son" at home. Graveside services will be 2 p.m. Friday at the Pawhuska Cemetery. He played Cap Roundtree in the 1979 miniseries The Sacketts. Johnson also appeared in four films of Sam Peckinpah and had a good relationship with the wayward director. [13] Johnson's body was later transported from Arizona to Pawhuska, Oklahoma, for burial at the Pawhuska City Cemetery. Johnson started reading it and when he got to the fifth line and it said "$5,000 a week," he stopped reading, grabbed a pen, and signed it, and gave it back to Ford.[7]. Ben Johnson net worth: Ben Johnson is a former Olympic sprinter who has a net worth of $2 million dollars. Johnson, who "happened to be settin' on a horse", stopped the runaway wagon and saved the men. B en Johnson was a rugged western actor probably best remembered for his 1971 Oscar-winning role as cowboy and town tycoon Sam in Peter Bogdanovich's "The Last Picture Show." He decided to stick around (the pay was good), and for some years was a stunt man, horse wrangler, and double for such stars as John Wayne, Gary Cooper and James Stewart. March 11, 2016 Marshall Trimble While cowboying at the Chapman-Barnard ranch in Oklahoma, Ben Johnson was hired to drive a herd of horses to Hollywood for Howard Hughes. (1896–1952). Peckinpah appreciated Johnson's authenticity and lack of acting airs.[1]. She was born Oct. 20, 1920, in Sherman Oaks, Calif. She and Ben Johnson had been married for 56 years. Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson was once considered the fastest man on earth, and had an Olympic gold medal to prove it. In 1980, he was cast as Sheriff Isum Gorch in Soggy Bottom U.S.A. Johnson played Bartlett in the 1962–63 season of Have Gun Will Travel, which featured a short scene of his riding skills. He is generally regarded as the second most important English dramatist, after William Shakespeare, during the reign of James I. In addition to the Ben Johnsons, the museum also features other world champion cowboys and cowgirls, famous ranches (like the one Ben grew up on), and cowboy artists and craftsmen, all from the area where Ben grew up. He later said the film was the most physically challenging of his career. Jones was the daughter of noted Hollywood horse wrangler Clarence "Fat" Jones. In 1973, he co-starred as Melvin Purvis in John Milius' Dillinger with Warren Oates; he also appeared in Milius' 1984 film Red Dawn. In 1996, Tom Thurman made a documentary film about Johnson's life, titled Ben Johnson: Third Cowboy on the Right, written by Thurman and Tom Marksbury. His first credited role was in Ford's 3 Godfathers; the film is notable for the riding skills demonstrated by both Johnson and star Pedro Armendáriz. NAME: NewsOK has disabled the comments for this article. [4] His father was a rancher and rodeo champion in Osage County. [8] Ford called Johnson into his office, handed him an envelope with a contract in it. [5] According to his ProRodeo Hall of Fame entry, he said, "I've won a rodeo world championship, and I'm prouder of that than anything else I've ever done. Actor Steve Bond and wife Cindy Bond attend Ben Johnson Pro-Celebrity Rodeo on August 11, 1989 at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Los Angeles,... Actor Danny Pintauro attends the Ben Johnson Pro-Celebrity Rodeo on August 13, 1989 at Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, California. Ben "Son" Johnson, Jr. (June 13, 1918 – April 8, 1996) was an American stuntman, world champion rodeo cowboy, and Academy Award-winning actor. She was the daughter of noted Hollywood horse wrangler Clarence "Fat" Jones. An elegiac portrayal of a former cowboy theater owner in the 1950s coming-of-age drama The Last Picture Show won Johnson the 1971 Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. [12], Johnson continued to work almost steadily until his death from a heart attack at the age of 77. When he died in 1637, he was buried in an upright position in Westminster Abbey. The apex of Johnson's career was reached in 1971, with Johnson winning an Academy Award for his performance as Sam the Lion in The Last Picture Show, directed by Peter Bogdanovich. [15], The Ben Johnson Memorial Steer Roping and the International Roundup Cavalcade, the world's largest amateur rodeo, are held annually in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. Ford hired Johnson for stunt work in the 1948 film Fort Apache, and as the riding double for Henry Fonda. Survivors are husband Ben Johnson; brother John Jones of California; mother-in-law Ollie Rider of Mesa, Ariz.; sister and brother-in-law Helen and Dale Christenson of Pawhuska; a niece and several nephews. He teamed up with John Wayne again, and director Andrew V. McLaglen, in two films, appearing with Rock Hudson in The Undefeated (1969) and in a fairly prominent role in Chisum (1970). He co-starred in the 1994 version of Angels in the Outfield. Johnson was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1973. [3] During shooting, the horses pulling a wagon with three men in it stampeded. Ford also cast Johnson as the lead in Wagon Master (1950), one of Ford's favorites. Actor Richard Roundtree and wife attend the 1989 Ben Johnson Pro-Celebrity Rodeo Weekend Extravaganza - Cocktail Party on August 11, 1989 at Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, California. It has been suggested that Shakespeare was an actor in this play at some point. He did stunt-double work for several years before breaking into acting with the help of John Ford. The museum showcases the life and career of Ben Johnson, as well as his father, Ben Johnson, Sr., who was also a world champion cowboy. In real life, Johnson did not show any bad temper; his demeanor in tense situations was calm but firm. The son of a rancher, Johnson arrived in Hollywood to deliver a consignment of horses for a film. Johnson thought the incident had been forgotten, but Ford did not use him in a film for over a decade. Charles Van Dell Johnson (August 25, 1916 – December 12, 2008) was an American film, television, theatre and radio actor, singer, and dancer. A plain stone with the unique inscription, "O Rare Ben Jonson," marks his grave. [6] With his experience wrangling for Hughes during The Outlaw's location shooting, once in Hollywood, he did stunt work for the 1939 movie The Fighting Gringo, and throughout the 1940s, he found work wrangling horses and doing stunt work involving horses. Ford cast him in two of the three films that have come to be known as Ford's cavalry trilogy, all starring John Wayne: She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), and Rio Grande (1950); both roles showcased Johnson's riding ability. Services will be at 10 a.m. today at The Bunker's Garden Chapel in Mesa. In 2008, Ben moved in front of the camera to become the BBC’s Middle East Business Correspondent. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series Miami Vice, winning a Golden Globe for his work in the role. He also appeared in four Peckinpah-directed films: Major Dundee (1965, with Charlton Heston), The Wild Bunch (1969, with William Holden and Robert Ryan), and two back-to-back Steve McQueen films, The Getaway and the rodeo film Junior Bonner (both 1972). Starring Ben Johnson, Joanne Dru, Harry Carey, Jr., Ward Bond, Charles Kemper, Russell Simpson, Hank Worden, James Arness, Francis Ford. Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer, director, singer, and songwriter. 1969 and 1970 saw the two working together again, with director Andrew McLaglen in 'The Undefeated', which also had Rock Hudson in it, and 'Chisum'. “He didn’t have to. In 1941 he married Carol E. Jones. The cash was handed over weeks after Mr Johnson … They had no children. He acted in front of the camera for the first time (uncredited) in 1945 in Abbott and Costello's Naughty Nineties. [14], For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Johnson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7083 Hollywood Boulevard. Ben Johnson is a Jamaican-born Canadian former sprinter who gained notoriety following a doping scandal in the late 1980s. Among his major plays are the comedies Every Man in His Humour (1598), Volpone (1605), Epicoene; She was born Oct. 20, 1920, in Sherman Oaks, Calif. She and Ben Johnson had been married for 56 years. In 1982, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. On the set of The Train Robbers, in June 1972, he told Nancy Anderson of Copley News Service that winning the Oscar for The Last Picture Show was not going to change him and he would not raise his salary request to studios because of it. Ben Johnson (musician) (born 1984), American musician, member of the band 100 Monkeys; Ben Patrick Johnson (born 1969), American voice-over actor, author, and commentator/activist; Benjamin Johnson (actor) (1665–1742), English actor; In government. "[5], Johnson's film career began with the Howard Hughes film The Outlaw. Ford then suggested a starring role for him in the 1949 film Mighty Joe Young; he played "Gregg" opposite Terry Moore. Ben Johnson. BIOG: Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture – Johnson, Ben, Jr. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ben_Johnson_(actor)&oldid=1014032121, Best Supporting Actor BAFTA Award winners, Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winners, Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (film) winners, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2015, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2019, Turner Classic Movies person ID same as Wikidata, Wikipedia articles with CANTIC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with PLWABN identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Carol Elaine Jones (1941–1994; her death). Services have been set for Carol Elaine Johnson, wife of Academy Award-winning actor Ben Johnson, who died Sunday following an extended illness at an Arizona hospice center. Although he said he had succeeded by sticking to what he knew, shrewd real estate investments made Johnson worth an estimated $100 million by his later years.[1]. Actor/roper Jerry Potter shares stories of working and riding with western legends on screen and off as he joins saddle pal, Rob Word, at The Autry Museum. [16], A one-and-a-quarter-size bronze sculpture by John D. Free of Ben Johnson riding a horse and roping a steer was commissioned and produced in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. His wife, Carol, was the daughter of Clarence Young "Fats" Jones, owner of Fats Jones Stables, who supplied horses to many movies and television series. She was 73. There’s a gentleness and an authenticity to it that no other Western can match. Johnson's Funeral Home of Pawhuska is handling the arrangements. On April 8, 1996, the veteran actor collapsed while visiting his then 96-year-old mother Ollie at Leisure World in Mesa, Arizona, the suburban Phoenix retirement community where they both lived. Before filming began, Hughes bought some horses at the Chapman-Barnard ranch, the Oklahoma ranch where Johnson's father was foreman, and hired Johnson to get the horses to northern Arizona (for The Outlaw's location shooting), and then to take them on to Hollywood. In 1975, he played the character Mister in Bite the Bullet, starring Gene Hackman and James Coburn. In 1616, the year in which Shakespeare died, Jonson was made poet laureate. [citation needed], Johnson liked to say later that he got to Hollywood in a carload of horses. Advertisement His wife of 54 years, Carol, died early last year. In 1953, he took a break from well-paid film work to compete in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) becoming Team Roping World Champion, although h… When Ford promised that he would be rewarded, Johnson hoped it would be with another doubling job, or maybe a small speaking role. Wife:Carol Elaine Jones (m. 1941, d. 1994) Oscar for Best Supporting Actor1972 for The Last Picture Show Golden Globe1972 for The Last Picture Show Hollywood Walk of Fame7083 Hollywood Blvd. In all, he appeared in about 300 films, many as a stunt performer. Benjamin "Son" Johnson Jr. (June 13, 1918 – April 8, 1996) was an American film and television actor, stuntman, and world champion rodeo cowboy. He continued ranching during the entire time, operating a horse-breeding ranch in Sylmar, California. Who Is Dr. Ben Johnson Dr-Ben-Johnson-MD.-DO.-NMD.-is-featured-in-the-30+-million-bestselling–book-and-movie-The-Secret Dr. Ben was supposed to die from Lou Gehrig’s disease… He is an MD, DO, NMD. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, he reached the 100 m final; after false starting, he won the bronze medal behind Carl Lewis and Sam Graddy with a time of 10.22. Johnson played in supporting roles in Shane (1953), where he appeared as Chris Calloway, a "bad guy who makes good" after being beaten senseless by Alan Ladd, and One-Eyed Jacks (1961) starring Marlon Brando. Johnson was drawn to the rodeos and horse breeding of his early years. Ben Johnson, on the other hand, was eminently sane, which is why, some say, he never became a super star. Ben Johnson’s Last Trail Ride On the 20th anniversary of the actor’s death, Arizona’s state historian revisits Ben Johnson’s final ride out West. And the Desert Shall Blossom (Season 4, Episode 11), The Case of the Reckless Hound (Season 8, Episode 10), March from Camp Tyler (Season 3, Episode 3), Ride a Northbound Horse: Part 1 and 2 (Season 15, Episodes 21 & 22), Seasons 8—17; episodes: Quint-Cident / Quaker Girl /Drago, This page was last edited on 24 March 2021, at 20:07. The road marker to the actor's ranch near Shidler, Oklahoma declares it as Ben "Son" Johnson's ranch. Ben Johnson, Actor: The Last Picture Show. He played Sam Bellows in the 1980 film Ruckus. Benjamin "Son" Johnson Jr. (June 13, 1918 – April 8, 1996) was an American film and television actor, stuntman, and world champion rodeo cowboy. Johnson was drawn to the rodeos and horse breeding of his early years. He was a major star at … Johnson was a spiritual, warm and caring person who had a "wonderful personality and a booming laugh," said sister-in-law Helen Christenson of Pawhuska. [1] In 2003, he was inducted into the Texas Trail of Fame. 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