Rita Johnson
Known For
Acting
Born
1913-08-13 in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
Died
1965-10-31
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.
Most Known For
Family Honeymoon
as Minna Fenster
Mr. & Mrs. North
Emergency Hospital
as Head Nurse Norma Mullen
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
as Julia Farnsworth
The Big Clock
as Pauline York
Susan Slept Here
as Dr. Rawley
An Innocent Affair
as Eve Lawrence
Sleep, My Love
as Barby
The Major and the Minor
as Pamela Hill
All Mine to Give
as Katie Tyler
They Won't Believe Me
as Greta Ballentine
Edison, the Man
as Mary Stilwell
Thunderhead: Son of Flicka
as Nelle McLaughlin
The Naughty Nineties
as Bonita Farrow
Within the Law
as Agnes Lynch
Broadway Serenade
as Judith 'Judy' Tyrrell
My Friend Flicka
as Nell McLaughlin
Honolulu
as Cecelia Grayson
The Affairs of Susan
as Mona Kent
The Girl Downstairs
as Rosalind Brown