Rita Johnson
Acting
Born: 1913-08-13 in 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.
Known For
Mr. & Mrs. North
Emergency Hospital
Head Nurse Norma Mullen
The Naughty Nineties
Bonita Farrow
The Big Clock
Pauline York
Sleep, My Love
Barby
Appointment for Love
Nancy Benson
Susan Slept Here
Dr. Rawley
The Major and the Minor
Pamela Hill
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
Julia Farnsworth
Family Honeymoon
Minna Fenster
They Won't Believe Me
Greta Ballentine
Edison, the Man
Mary Stilwell
Within the Law
Agnes Lynch
Honolulu
Cecelia Grayson
They All Come Out
Kitty
My Friend Flicka
Nell McLaughlin
All Mine to Give
Katie Tyler
Stronger Than Desire
Barbara Winter
Man-Proof
Florence (dialogue scenes deleted)
An Innocent Affair
Eve Lawrence
Letter of Introduction
Honey
Pardon My Past
Mary Pemberton
The Affairs of Susan
Mona Kent
The Girl Downstairs
Rosalind Brown
Nick Carter, Master Detective
Lou Farnsby
The Perfect Marriage
Mabel Manning
Broadway Serenade
Judith 'Judy' Tyrrell
Michigan Kid
Sue Dawson
Congo Maisie
Kay McWade
Smashing the Rackets
Leticia "Letty" Lane
Forty Little Mothers
Marian Edwards
The Golden Fleecing
Mary Blake
Rich Man, Poor Girl
Sally Harrison
London by Night
Patricia Herrick
Thunderhead: Son of Flicka
Nelle McLaughlin
6,000 Enemies
Anne Barry
My Dear Miss Aldrich
Ellen Warfield
The Art Director
Self - from 'The Big Clock' (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Second Face
Claire Elwood