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Rita Johnson

Acting Born Aug 13, 1913 Worcester, Massachusetts, USA 24 credits

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.

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Known for

Film

One Hundred Steps

2000
Film

Emergency Hospital

as Head Nurse Norma Mullen

Full filmography

  • Mr. & Mrs. North (1952)
  • The Big Clock (1948) as Pauline York
  • Sleep, My Love (1948) as Barby
  • Emergency Hospital (1956) as Head Nurse Norma Mullen
  • Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) as Julia Farnsworth
  • Susan Slept Here (1954) as Dr. Rawley
  • Edison, the Man (1940) as Mary Stilwell
  • The Major and the Minor (1942) as Pamela Hill
  • All Mine to Give (1957) as Katie Tyler
  • Family Honeymoon (1948) as Minna Fenster
  • Within the Law (1939) as Agnes Lynch
  • An Innocent Affair (1948) as Eve Lawrence
  • The Girl Downstairs (1938) as Rosalind Brown
  • The Naughty Nineties (1945) as Bonita Farrow
  • My Friend Flicka (1943) as Nell McLaughlin
  • They All Come Out (1939) as Kitty
  • Appointment for Love (1941) as Nancy Benson
  • Man-Proof (1938) as Florence (dialogue scenes deleted)
  • Pardon My Past (1945) as Mary Pemberton
  • London by Night (1937) as Patricia Herrick
  • The Art Director (1949) as Self - from 'The Big Clock' (archive footage) (uncredited)
  • Smashing the Rackets (1938) as Leticia "Letty" Lane
  • The Perfect Marriage (1947) as Mabel Manning
  • The Second Face (1950) as Claire Elwood