Ben Johnson (actor)
Francis Benjamin Johnson Jr. (June 13, 1918 – April 8, 1996) was an American film and television actor, stuntman, and world-champion rodeo cowboy. Johnson brought authenticity to many roles in Westerns with his droll manner and expert horsemanship.
For other people with the same name, see Ben Johnson.
Ben Johnson
April 8, 1996 (aged 77)
Pawhuska City Cemetery
- Actor
- stuntman
- rodeo cowboy
1939–1996
The son of a rancher, Johnson arrived in Hollywood to deliver a consignment of horses for a film. He did stunt-double work for several years before breaking into acting with the help of John Ford. An elegiac portrayal of a former cowboy theater owner in the 1950s coming-of-age drama The Last Picture Show won Johnson the 1971 Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Johnson also operated a horse-breeding ranch throughout his career. Although he said he had succeeded by sticking to what he knew, shrewd real estate investments made Johnson worth an estimated $100 million by his later years.[1]
Early life[edit]
Johnson was born in Foraker, Oklahoma, on the Osage Indian Reservation, of self-identified Irish and Cherokee ancestry,[2][3] the son of Ollie Susan Johnson (née Workmon) and Ben Johnson Sr.[4] His father was a rancher and rodeo champion in Osage County.[5]
Rodeo championship[edit]
Johnson was drawn to the rodeos and horse breeding of his early years. In 1953, he took a break from well-paid film work to compete in the Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA), becoming the Team Roping World Champion; although he only broke even financially that year. Johnson was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1979.[13] According to his ProRodeo Hall of Fame entry, he said, "I've won a rodeo world championship, and I'm prouder of that than anything else I've ever done."[13]
Personal life[edit]
Johnson's 1941 marriage to Carol Elaine Jones lasted until her death on March 27, 1994. They had no children. She was the daughter of noted Hollywood horse wrangler Clarence "Fat" Jones.[1] Johnson continued to work almost steadily until his death.
On April 8, 1996, aged 77, Johnson collapsed and died from a heart attack while visiting his then 96-year-old mother Ollie at Leisure World in Mesa, Arizona, the suburban Phoenix retirement community where they both lived.[14] Johnson's body was later transported from Arizona to Pawhuska, Oklahoma, for burial at the Pawhuska City Cemetery.[15]
Ollie died on October 16, 2000, aged 101.[16]
In 2003 Johnson was inducted into the Texas Trail of Fame.[17]
Legacy[edit]
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Johnson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7083 Hollywood Boulevard. In 1982, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. In 1996, Tom Thurman made a documentary film about Johnson's life, titled Ben Johnson: Third Cowboy on the Right, written by Thurman and Tom Marksbury.[2]
The Ben Johnson Cowboy Museum was opened in honor of Ben Johnson in his hometown of Pawhuska in June 2019. The museum showcases the life and career of Ben Johnson, as well as his father, Ben Johnson Sr., who was also a world-champion cowboy. In addition to the Ben Johnsons, the museum also features other world-champion cowboys and cowgirls, famous ranches (like the one Ben grew up on), and cowboy artists and craftsmen, all from the area where Ben grew up.[18]
The Ben Johnson Memorial Steer Roping and the International Roundup Cavalcade, the world's largest amateur rodeo, are held annually in Pawhuska, Oklahoma.[19]
A one-and-a-quarter-sized bronze sculpture by John D. Free of Ben Johnson riding a horse and roping a steer was commissioned and produced in Pawhuska, Oklahoma.[20]