Don Johnson
| Don Johnson | |
|---|---|
 Johnson in 1986 during an interview aboard the USS Lexington aircraft carrier. |
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| Born | Donald Wayne Johnson December 15, 1949 Flat Creek, Missouri, U.S. |
| Other names | DJ, The Don |
| Occupation | Actor Producer Director Singer-songwriter[1] |
| Years active | 1969–present |
| Spouse | Melanie Griffith (1976, 1989-1996) Kelley Phleger (1999-present) |
| Partner | Patti D'Arbanville (1982-1985) |
Donald Wayne "Don" Johnson[1] (born December 15, 1949)[1] is an American actor known for his work in television and film. He played the lead role of Sonny Crockett in the 1980s TV cop series, Miami Vice, which led him to huge success and fame. He also played the lead role in the 1990s cop series, Nash Bridges. Johnson is a Golden Globe winning actor for his role in Miami Vice, a winner of the APBA Offshore World Cup, and has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[2] He is also a singer, songwriter, producer, and director.[1]
Contents |
Early life and education
Johnson was born in Flat Creek, Missouri.[1] His father, Wayne, was a farmer, and his mother, Nell, was a beautician;[3] they were 19 and 17 at the time of his birth, respectively. At age six, he moved from Missouri to Wichita, Kansas. A 1967 graduate of South High School, he was involved in the high school's theatre program. As a senior, he played the lead role of Tony in "West Side Story." His biography noted that he had previously appeared in "Burnt Cork and Melody" and "The Hullabaloo." He also attended the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas.
In the late 1960s, Johnson was in a psychedelic rock band called Horses. Also in the band were future members of the band Kingfish, which featured Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir. The band put out one self-titled record on the White Whale label in 1969, later re-issued on the Gear Fab label in 2004 and then on the Rev-Ola label in 2005. Johnson, as several noteworthy news sources have mentioned over the years, was relieved of his military obligation due to a high lottery number. In a 1970 newspaper article, Johnson claimed he would not have done so even if called due to his beliefs at the time.
Johnson is quoted in a 1970 newspaper article, mentioning his draft-exempt status and his dislike for war.[4]
Acting
Early years
Johnson studied drama at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. His first major role was in the 1969 Los Angeles stage production of Fortune and Men's Eyes in which he played Smitty, the lead role. This exposure led to the quickly forgotten film The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart (1970). He continued to work on stage, film and television without breaking out into stardom. His notable films from this period were Zachariah (1971), The Harrad Experiment (1973), Lollipop and Roses (1974), and A Boy and His Dog (1975).
Miami Vice
After years of struggling to establish himself as a TV actor (in such fare as Revenge of the Stepford Wives) and a string of failed pilots which were never followed by an actual TV series, in September 1984, Johnson's fortunes changed when he landed a starring role as Sonny Crockett in the cop series, Miami Vice. In this role, Johnson played an undercover police detective. He typically wore thousand dollar Versace and Hugo Boss suits over pastel cotton t-shirts, drove a Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona (really a replica kit on a 1981 Corvette chassis), followed by a Ferrari Testarossa and lived on a 42-foot (13 m) yacht with his pet alligator "Elvis". Miami Vice was noted for its revolutionary use of music, cinematography, and imagery as well as a more glitzy take on the police drama genre.
In between seasons, Don Johnson gained further renown through several TV miniseries, such as the 1985 TV remake of The Long, Hot Summer.
Nash Bridges
Johnson later starred in the 1996-2001 drama Nash Bridges with Cheech Marin, Jeff Perry, Jaime P. Gomez and Jodi Lyn O'Keefe. Johnson played the title role of Nash Bridges, an inspector for the San Francisco Police Department. In Nash Bridges Johnson was again paired with a flashy convertible car, this time an electric yellow 1970 Plymouth Barracuda.
2000s
In the fall of 2005, he briefly starred in The WB courtroom television drama show Just Legal as a jaded lawyer with a very young and idealistic protegé/partner (Jay Baruchel); the show was canceled in October 2005 after just three episodes aired. In January 2007, Johnson began a run in the London West End production of Guys and Dolls as Nathan Detroit.
Don Johnson also has a role in the Norwegian comedy Lange Flate Ballær 2 ("Long Flat Balls II"), directed by Johnson's friend Harald Zwart. Johnson did the movie as a favour to Zwart. The movie was launched March 14, 2008 in Norway, with Johnson making an appearance at the premiere. He next appeared in A Good Old Fashioned Orgy with Jon Heder, When in Rome with Danny De Vito, Anjelica Huston and Kristen Bell, and Machete with Robert De Niro and Steven Seagal.[5]
2010s
Johnson & Jon Heder co-hosted WWE's Monday Night RAW on January 18, 2010.[6]
Music
Johnson released two albums of pop music in the 1980s, one in 1986 and the other in 1989. His single "Heartbeat", the title track from his first album, and was a collaberation with 80's one hit wonder - Robert Tepper, reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Johnson is also a good friend of Willie Nelson and Robert Tepper, and was briefly a part of the "Thailand Pack", alongside Tommy Morrison, and brit TV funny man, Les Dennis. Previously, Johnson worked with Gregg Allman and Dickie Betts of the Allman Brothers, co-writing the songs "Blind Love" and "Can't Take It with You" with Dickie Betts, which appeared on their 1979 album, Enlightened Rogues.[1][7]
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. [8] |
Germany [9] |
Austria [10] |
Switzerland [11] |
Sweden [12] |
Norway [13] |
||
| 1986 | Heartbeat
|
17 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 34 | 7 |
| 1989 | Let It Roll
|
— | 2 | 23 | 6 | 35 | — |
| 1997 | The Essential
|
— | — | — | — | — | — |
Tell It Like It Is
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. [14] |
U.S. Rock [14] |
U.S. AC [14] |
UK [15][16] |
Germany [9] |
Netherlands [17] |
Austria [10] |
Switzerland [11] |
Sweden [12] |
Norway [13] |
France [18] |
New Zealand [19] |
Australia [20] |
|||
| 1986 | "Heartbeat" | 5 | 26 | — | 46 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 16 | 5 | — | 13 | — | Heartbeat |
| "Heartache Away" | 56 | — | — | — | 31 | 25 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987 | "Voice On A Hotline" | — | — | — | — | — | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1988 | "Till I Loved You" (duet with Barbra Streisand) |
25 | — | 3 | 16 | 26 | 4 | — | — | — | — | 22 | — | 34 | Till I Loved You |
| 1989 | "Tell It Like It Is" | — | — | — | 84 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 6 | — | — | 6 | — | — | Let It Roll |
| "Other People's Lives" | — | — | — | — | 57 | 53 | — | — | — | — | 46 | — | — | ||
| "A Better Place" (duet with Yuri) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||||||||
Videos
- 1987: Heartbeat - Full Length Video (VHS) - (Release date: May 10, 1987)
Personal life
Relationships and family
Johnson has had four wives in five marriages, three of which were brief.[21] His first two marriages, in the late 1960s, were annulled. Johnson had a major supporting role in The Harrad Experiment (released 1973), whose female lead was Tippi Hedren.[22] He met Hedren's daughter, Melanie Griffith[21][23] around the first half of 1972; she was an uncredited extra.[24] He was aged 22 and dating and living with famous groupie Pamela Des Barres[25] and Melanie was 14 when they began what became a four-year affair, that included marrying, in 1976, for less than a year.[23][26] Melanie and Don reconciled and conceived a child close to the start of 1989, announced wedding plans in mid-February,[23] and were married a second time, from that year until 1996. They had a daughter, Dakota Mayi Johnson (born October 4, 1989).
He lived with Patti D'Arbanville[26] from 1981 to 1985. The couple had a son, Jesse Wayne Johnson (born on December 7, 1982).
He had a relationship with Barbra Streisand, lasting into at least September 1988.[23] Streisand and Johnson were supposedly secretly engaged at one point.He created a single with her called "Till I Loved You", released that year. Johnson had a relationship with Jeanne Anderson in 1996.
On April 29, 1999, he married San Francisco socialite and former preschool teacher Kelley Phleger. He and Phleger had a daughter, Atherton Grace Johnson (born on December 28, 1999), and two sons, Jasper Breckinridge Johnson (born on June 6, 2002) and Deacon Johnson (born on April 29, 2006)
It has also been revealed on The Real Housewives of New Jersey reunion show that he and housewife Danielle Staub engaged in a brief affair.
Legal problems
In 2001, a 36-year-old woman accused an intoxicated Johnson of squeezing and bruising her wrist and lewdly propositioning her outside a restroom at San Francisco restaurant Mas Sake, and claimed while still firmly squeezing her wrist he began drunkenly singing "Heartbeat". The woman's friends made their way across the restaurant to confront Johnson as he continued to sing but said when he saw them he let go of her and quickly fled out the back door. Johnson said he was considering buying an advertisement in the San Francisco Chronicle to state his side of the story, but later decided to post the notices on his website. Due to insufficient evidence, no charges were filed.[27][28]
In November 2002,[29] German customs officers at the Swiss-German[29] border performed a routine search of Johnson's car.[29] Bank statements evidencing US$8 billion in transactions were found in the trunk of his car.[29][30][31] He was accompanied in his black Mercedes-Benz[30] by three men: an investment adviser,[30] a personal assistant,[30] and a third of unknown identity.[30] Initially it was thought Johnson was involved in money-laundering,[31] but he was cleared of wrongdoing.[32] Upon receiving word of the incident, German tabloids began exploiting and perpetuating the story, at times pointing at the irony (as perceived by them) that Don Johnson has frequently portrayed police officers in his acting works. Johnson explained the incident by saying "I was meeting with some American businessmen in Zurich for financing,[31] for a film fund that I was putting together for my company. They gave me some bank statements and some resumes and some other documents, some things to prove that they could perform as investors." The police found and copied these documents, and the money laundering story grew somehow out of this.[33]
In May 2008, Johnson came within hours of losing his Woody Creek, Colorado home to foreclosure; he paid off his $14.5 million debts less than 24 hours before a scheduled auction of the property.[34]
In July 2010, a Los Angeles jury awarded Johnson $23.2 million in a lawsuit against production company Rysher Entertainment, from whom Johnson sought a share of profits commensurate with his ownership of half the copyright of Nash Bridges.[35] Rysher announced they would appeal the verdict. [36]
Reception
Awards and recognitions
| Year | Result | Award | Category | TV/Film |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Winner | The Saturn Award | Best Actor[37] | A Boy and his Dog |
| 1985 | Nominated | Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series[38] | Miami Vice |
| 1986 | Winner | Golden Globe Awards | Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama[39] | |
| 1987 | Nominated | Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama[39] | ||
| 1988 | Won | APBA Offshore World Cup | Superboat class[1][40] | - |
| 1996 | Awarded | Hollywood Walk of Fame | Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame[2] | - |
In popular culture
- The Finnish music group Don Johnson Big Band is named after him.[41]
- In the comic strip of Calvin and Hobbes that was first published on May 4, 1986, when Calvin and Hobbes are getting ready to go to a dinner with Calvin's parents, Hobbes asks, "Think I should shave?" to which Calvin replies "No, go for the Don Johnson fuzzy look."
- In an episode of "Beavis & Butt-head," the boys attempt to purchase athletic supporters for gym class, but everything they try on is much too large for them, prompting Butt-head to tell the clerk, "Do you have anything smaller? I'm not Don Johnson, you know."
- The Don Johnson is a Miami Vice themed drink made from vodka, gin, curaçao, and orange juice.[42]
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart | Stanley Sweetheart | |
| 1971 | Zachariah | Matthew | |
| 1973 | The Harrad Experiment | Stanley Cole | |
| Kung Fu | 1973 episode - The Spirit Helper | ||
| 1974 | Lollipops and Roses | Franky | |
| A Boy and His Dog | Vic | The Saturn Award - Best Actor | |
| 1975 | Return to Macon County | Harley McKay | |
| 1976 | Law of the Land | ||
| 1977 | The City | Sergeant Brian Scott | tv pilot |
| Trial Marriage | |||
| Cover Girls | |||
| 1978 | Swan Lake | Benno (English version) (voice) | |
| Pressure Point | |||
| Ski Lift to Death | Mike Sloan | ||
| The Two-Five | |||
| Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold | |||
| First, You Cry | |||
| 1979 | Tales of the Unexpected | ||
| Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill | TV Movie | ||
| The Rebels | Miniseries | ||
| 1980 | Soggy Bottom, USA | Jacob Gorch | |
| From Here to Eternity | Canceled after 13 episodes | ||
| Beulah Land | Miniseries | ||
| Revenge of the Stepford Wives | TV Movie | ||
| 1981 | Elvis and the Beauty Queen | Elvis Presley | TV Movie |
| The Two Lives of Carol Letner | TV Movie | ||
| 1982 | Melanie | Carl | |
| 1984–1989 | Miami Vice | Det. James "Sonny" Crockett | 111 Episodes Golden Globe Winner: Best TV Actor - Drama |
| 1985 | Cease Fire | Tim Murphy | |
| The Long, Hot Summer | Ben Quick | TV Movie | |
| 1987 | G.I. Joe: The Movie | Lt. Falcon (voice) | direct-to-video |
| 1988 | Sweet Hearts Dance | Wiley Boon | |
| 1989 | Dead Bang | Jerry Beck | |
| 1990 | The Hot Spot | Harry Madox | |
| 1991 | Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man | Marlboro | |
| Paradise | Ben Reed | ||
| 1993 | Born Yesterday | Paul Verrall | |
| Guilty as Sin | David Edgar Greenhill | ||
| 1995 | In Pursuit of Honor | Sgt. John Libbey | HBO Movie |
| 1996–2001 | Nash Bridges | Nash Bridges | Executive producer 122 Episodes |
| 1996 | Tin Cup | David Simms | |
| 1998 | Goodbye Lover | Ben Dunmore | |
| 2003 | Word of Honor | Lt. Benjamin Tyson | TV Movie Co-executive producer |
| 2005 | Just Legal | Grant H. Cooper | Cancelled after 3 episodes the rest of the episodes were later aired 8 episodes (2005–2006) |
| 2007 | Moondance Alexander | Dante | |
| Super Bowl XLI in-studio discussion team. (CBS) | |||
| 2008 | Lange Flate Ballær 2 | Admiral Burnett | Norwegian film |
| Torno a vivere da solo | Nico | Italian film | |
| 2009 | A Good Old Fashioned Orgy[43] | - | |
| 2010 | Born to be a Star[44] | - | |
| When in Rome[43] | - | ||
| Machete | Lt. Von Jackson |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Don Johnson". TV Guide. www.tvguide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/don-johnson/147651. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Don Johnson at Hollywood.com". Hollywood.com. http://www.hollywood.com/celebrity/Don_Johnson/1114596. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
- ↑ Twardy, Chuck (1986-02-23). "Don Johnson at KU". Lawrence Journal-World. http://news.google.ca/newspapers?id=NBIyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ReUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6337,4844901&dq=don-wayne-johnson-spent&hl=en. Retrieved 2010-09-04.
- ↑ http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hr00AAAAIBAJ&sjid=UIcFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1034,3970530&dq=don-johnson&hl=en
- ↑ Celebrate Cinco De Mayo With a Trailer for Machete
- ↑ additional text
- ↑ Zoglin, Richard (1985-09-16). "Cool Cops, Hot Show". Time Magazine (Time Inc.). http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959822,00.html. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
- ↑ Don Johnson Album & Song Chart History | Billboard.com
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Musicline.de - Chartverfolgung - Don Johnson
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 austriancharts.at - Discographie - Don Johnson
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 hitparade.ch - Discographie - Don Johnson
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 swedishcharts.com - Discography - Don Johnson
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 norwegiancharts.com - Discography - Don Johnson
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 allmusic ((( Don Johnson > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))
- ↑ Chart Stats - Don Johnson
- ↑ Chart Stats - Barbra Streisand And Don Johnson]
- ↑ dutchcharts.nl - Discografie Don Johnson
- ↑ lescharts.com - Discographie Don Johnson
- ↑ charts.org.nz - Don Johnson - Heartbeat
- ↑ australian-charts.com - Barbra Streisand & Don Johnson - Till I Loved You
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 "A Wedding Belle Gives Miami Spice", People, November 23, 1987
- ↑ "IMDb ''The Harrad Experiment''". Imdb.com. 2003-07-22. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070157/. Retrieved 2009-05-09.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 "A Baby for Don and Melanie", People Magazine, February 27, 1989
- ↑ "IMDb ''The Harrad Experiment'' full cast". Imdb.com. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070157/fullcredits#cast. Retrieved 2009-05-09.
- ↑ Des Barres, Pamela. I'm With The Band (2005) pp. 230-246
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 Zoglin, Richard (1985-09-16). "Cool Cops, Hot Show". Time Magazine (Time Inc.). http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959822-4,00.html. Retrieved 2009-02-25.
- ↑ "The Smoking Gun: Archive". Thesmokinggun.com. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/johnson1.html. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
- ↑ Gordon Hom (2008-12-29). "Nash Bridges: Nashbits News". Lowtek.com. http://www.lowtek.com/nash/nashbits/. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 Cironneau, Lionel (2003-03-12). "Germany inspects papers linked to Johnson". USA Today. Associated Press (Germany). http://www.usatoday.com/life/2003-03-12-johnson_x.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 30.4 Welkos, Robert W. (2003-03-13). "For Actor Don Johnson, $8 Billion Worth of Bad Publicity in Germany". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2003/mar/13/local/me-johnson13. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 "Don Johnson denies laundering money". CNN. Associated Press. 2003-03-16. http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/TV/03/16/don.johnson.ap/. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
- ↑ "Don Johnson’s off the hook". Los Angeles Times. 2003-05-07. http://articles.latimes.com/2003/may/07/entertainment/et-quick7.4. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
- ↑ "Don Johnson denies laundering money." CNN.com. March 16, 2003.
- ↑ The Famous and Foreclosured Trutv.com. Retrieved December 22, 2008.
- ↑ "Don Johnson Verdict - $23.2 Million Win!". National Ledger. July 8, 2010. http://www.nationalledger.com/ledgerpop/article_272633118.shtml. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
- ↑ Actor Don Johnson is awarded $23.2 million in 'Nash Bridges' lawsuit Los Angeles Times.
- ↑ "Awards Database: Don Johnson". The Envelope: The Awards Insider. LA Times. http://theenvelope.latimes.com/factsheets/awardsdb/env-awards-db-search,0,7169155.htmlstory?searchtype=all&query=Don+Johnson. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
- ↑ "Advanced Primetime Awards Search". Academy of Television Arts and Science. www.emmys.tv. http://www.emmys.tv/awards/awardsearch.php. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
- ↑ 39.0 39.1 "Miami Vice". Hollywood Foreign Press Association/Golden Globes. www.hfpa.org. http://www1.goldenglobes.org/browse/film/24549. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
- ↑ Friedman, Jack; Cindy Dampier (1990-05-28). "With Kurt Russell and Chuck Norris in Tow, Don Johnson Risks His Neck on a New Miami Vice—superboat Racing". People Magazine 33 (21): 101,102.
- ↑ "Biography". Don Johnson Big Band. www.donjohnsonbigband. http://www.donjohnsonbigband.com/en/biography/. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
- ↑ "Cocktail Recipe: Don Johnson's Blazer". BarMeister: Online guide to drinking. www.barmeister.com. http://www.barmeister.com/drinks/recipe/3483/. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
- ↑ 43.0 43.1 "Don Johnson's road leads to "Rome"". Reuters. 2008-08-10. http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN1026564420080811. Retrieved 2008-08-12.
- ↑ Hewitt, Chris (2009-04-28). "Don Johnson Is Born To Be A Star". Empire Weekly. http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=24673. Retrieved 2009-05-09.
External links
- Don Johnson at the Internet Movie Database
- Don Johnson at TV.com
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