Ernest Lamont Johnson Jr.^[1] (September 30, 1922 – October 24, 2010) was an American actor and film director who has appeared in and directed many television shows and movies. He won two Emmy Awards.

Early years[edit]

Johnson was born in Stockton, California,^[2] the son of Ruth Alice (née Fairchild) and Ernest Lamont Johnson, who was a realtor.^[3] He attended Pasadena Junior College and UCLA and was active in theatrical productions at both schools.^[4]

Acting[edit]

When he was 16,^[2] Johnson began his career in radio, eventually playing the role of Tarzan in a popular syndicated series in 1951.^[5] He also worked as a newscaster and a disc jockey.^[2] Johnson was also one of several actors to play Archie Goodwin in The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe, opposite Sydney Greenstreet on NBC Radio. He then turned to films and television, first as an actor, then as a director.

Directing[edit]

Johnson's directing debut came in 1948 with the play Yes Is For a Very Young Man in New York.^[6] His television directing debut was on an episode of NBC Matinee Theater.^[4]
Johnson also directed productions of the operas The Man in the Moon (1959), Iphigénie en Tauride (1962), and Orfeo (1990), and he directed an installment of the series Felicity plus the TV movie The Man Next Door.

Recognition[edit]

Johnson was nominated for nine Emmy Awards, winning twice, for Wallenberg: A Hero's Story (1985) and Lincoln (1988) — both for Outstanding Directing For A Miniseries Movie Or A Dramatic Special. He was nominated in the same category for Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232 (1992), Unnatural Causes (1987), Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter (1984), Fear on Trial (1976), The Execution of Private Slovik (1974) and That Certain Summer (1973). His other Emmy nomination was for Outstanding Miniseries or Movie, also for Wallenberg: A Hero's Story.^[7]

Johnson won five Directors Guild of America Awards, winning in the category Movies for Television and Mini-Series for Lincoln (1988) and for That Certain Summer (1972). He also won DGA Awards for Most Outstanding TV Director (1972) and for Television — My Sweet Charlie (1970) and "Oscar Underwood Story": Profiles in Courage (1964). Additionally, he was nominated for DGA Awards for Movies for Television and Mini-Series for Wallenberg: A Hero's Story (1985), Fear on Trial (1975) and The Execution of Private Slovik (1974). Another DGA Award nomination was for Dramatic Series for Birdbath (1971).^[8]

Personal life[edit]

Johnson married actress Toni Merrill in Paris in 1945.^[1] They had three children: Jeremy, Carolyn and Christopher Anthony.^[2]

Death[edit]

Johnson died of heart failure in Monterey, California, October 24, 2010.^[1]

Filmography[edit]

Actor[edit]

• Hallmark Hall of Fame


• Goodyear Television Playhouse


• Crusader


• Alfred Hitchcock Presents


• Alcoa Theatre


• Angel


• 
  Blue Light, episode "Jet Trail" (1966)


• 
  Shogun Assassin (1980)


• The Big Valley


• Felony Squad


• Gunsmoke


• Please Murder Me


• 
  Sally and Saint Anne (1952)


• 
  The Human Jungle (1954)

Director[edit]

• Naked City


• Have Gun – Will Travel


• Peter Gunn


• Mr. Lucky


• Dr. Kildare


• The Twilight Zone


• The Name of the Game


• Judd for the Defense


• The McKenzie Break


• The Last American Hero


• My Sweet Charlie


• The Execution of Private Slovik


• That Certain Summer


• You'll Like My Mother


• Visit to a Chief's Son


• Lipstick


• Cattle Annie and Little Britches


• One on One


• Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone


• Voices Within: The Lives of Truddi Chase

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• 
  Lamont Johnson at Find a Grave
  


• 
  Lamont Johnson on IMDb


• Lamont Johnson at the TV Museum


• 
  New York Times bio


• New York Times obituary, October 27, 2010: Lamont Johnson, Emmy-Winning Director, Dies at 88
  


• 
  Lamont Johnson at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television