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Rita Johnson

American actress (1913–1965) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rita Johnson
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Rita Ann Johnson (August 13, 1913[1][2] – October 31, 1965) was an American actress.[3]

Quick facts Born, Died ...
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Early years

Johnson was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, the daughter of a single mother, Lillian Johnson.[4]

She worked as a waitress in her mother's lunchroom and sold hot dogs on the Boston-Worcester turnpike.[5] She later attended the New England Conservatory of Music.[6]

Career

Early in her career, Johnson was busy in radio. "By 1936 she... was appearing in ten radio shows a week."[5] She played the leading role in Joyce Jordan, M.D..[7]

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).[8]

In an incident that was never fully explained, Johnson suffered a head trauma on September 6, 1948 that required brain surgery.[9] 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.[5] 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."[10] It 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.

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Personal life

Johnson was married to businessman L. Stanley Kahn.[4] They were granted a divorce on June 29, 1943.[11] She was married to Edwin Hutzler from 1943 to 1946, when they were divorced.[8] A Democrat, she supported Adlai Stevenson during the 1952 presidential election.[12] She was a practicing Roman Catholic.[13]

Johnson suffered from alcoholism. She died of a brain hemorrhage on October 31, 1965, at age 52.[8][14]

Partial filmography

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Radio appearances

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References

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