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