
Rita Johnson
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Female
Birthday
1913-08-13
Day of Death
1965-10-31 (52 years old)
Place of Birth
Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
Rita Johnson
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
Acting
(1957)
All Mine to Give
as Katie Tyler
(1956)
Emergency Hospital
as Head Nurse Norma Mullen
(1954)
Susan Slept Here
as Dr. Rawley
(1950)
The Second Face
as Claire Elwood
(1949)
The Art Director
as Self - from 'The Big Clock' (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1948)
The Big Clock
as Pauline York
(1948)
Sleep, My Love
as Barby
(1948)
Family Honeymoon
as Minna Fenster
(1948)
An Innocent Affair
as Eve Lawrence
(1947)
The Perfect Marriage
as Mabel Manning
(1947)
They Won't Believe Me
as Greta Ballentine
(1947)
Michigan Kid
as Sue Dawson
(1945)
The Affairs of Susan
as Mona Kent
(1945)
The Naughty Nineties
as Bonita Farrow
(1945)
Thunderhead: Son of Flicka
as Nelle McLaughlin
(1945)
Pardon My Past
as Mary Pemberton
(1943)
My Friend Flicka
as Nell McLaughlin
(1942)
The Major and the Minor
as Pamela Hill
(1941)
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
as Julia Farnsworth
(1941)
Appointment for Love
as Nancy Benson
(1940)
Edison, the Man
as Mary Stilwell
(1940)
The Golden Fleecing
as Mary Blake
(1940)
Forty Little Mothers
as Marian Edwards
(1940)
Congo Maisie
as Kay McWade
(1939)
Broadway Serenade
as Judith 'Judy' Tyrrell
(1939)
Honolulu
as Cecelia Grayson
(1939)
Stronger Than Desire
as Barbara Winter
(1939)
Within the Law
as Agnes Lynch
(1939)
Nick Carter, Master Detective
as Lou Farnsby
(1939)
6,000 Enemies
as Anne Barry
(1939)
They All Come Out
as Kitty
(1938)
Letter of Introduction
as Honey
(1938)
Smashing the Rackets
as Leticia "Letty" Lane
(1938)
The Girl Downstairs
as Rosalind Brown
(1938)
Rich Man, Poor Girl
as Sally Harrison
(1938)
Man-Proof
as Florence (dialogue scenes deleted)
(1937)
My Dear Miss Aldrich
as Ellen Warfield
(1937)
London by Night
as Patricia Herrick