Early life and career Johnson was born to Frances Louisa Olive (née Tweed) and Keith Holcombe Johnson in
Upminster,
Essex, in 1927. Johnson went to
Felsted School, and wanted to act instead of going into the family paint business. He trained at
RADA and due to the manpower shortage of wartime made his first professional appearance relatively quickly, on stage in Manchester with
John Gielgud's company in a production of
Hamlet in 1944. He served in the
Royal Navy from 1945 to 1948.
Early screen appearances Johnson made his screen debut in an adaptation of
Tusitala for
BBC Sunday-Night Theatre. He made his film debut with an uncredited part in
Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951) and was also uncredited in
Calling Bulldog Drummond (1951). He was at the
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre from 1952 to 1957. "It was an electric time to be in that company", he later recalled. Johnson played Mr. Wickham in a 1952 TV adaptation of
Pride and Prejudice (with
Peter Cushing as Darcy) and was
D'Artagnan in a TV adaptation of
The Three Musketeers (1952). He could be seen in
Lady in the Fog (1952), "The Mayor of Torontal" for
Wednesday Theatre (1952),
The Heir of Skipton (1953),
Saadia (1953) for MGM,
A Party for Christmas (1954),
The Queen Came By (1954), "The Rescue" for
ITV Television Playhouse, "The Orderly" for
Theatre Royal, and
Plaintiff in a Pretty Hat (1955). In 1955, he was in
The Lark, by
Jean Anouilh, with
Dorothy Tutin. He was Laertes to
Paul Scofield's
Hamlet in 1956. That was directed by
Peter Brook who also directed Johnson in
Heaven and Earth (1957). In 1958, he and Tutin played
Romeo and Juliet at Stratford.
MGM After Johnson's stage performances had received excellent reviews,
MGM offered him a long-term contract in June 1959. His first work for the studio was in
Never So Few (1959) with
Frank Sinatra. "I never took myself very seriously as a movie star", said Johnson later. "But it was thrilling to be among the idols I'd worshipped as a kid. I did a test with Gary Cooper, went to a party with Spencer Tracy, made a film with Frank Sinatra." Johnson did
Ondine on stage for the RSC with
Leslie Caron and director
Peter Hall (this was filmed in 1961). Also for TV he did productions of ''
Journey's End, This Happy Breed, Sword of Vengeance
and The Sponge Room''. In 1961–62, he portrayed Clive Root on Broadway in
Graham Greene's
The Complaisant Lover, which ran for 101 performances at the
Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Johnson was second-billed to
George Sanders in
Cairo (1963) for
MGM-British. He co-starred with
Claire Bloom in
80,000 Suspects (1963) for
Val Guest. He was then in
The Haunting (1963) also featuring
Claire Bloom and
Julie Harris. It was directed by
Robert Wise, who said Johnson has "the attack of the young Gable" and predicted he would be a big star. Johnson wrote a play
The Golden Age, composed from poems, diaries and speeches from the age of Queen Elizabeth I. It had a short run on Broadway in 1963. In 1964 he did a
Kingsley Amis script,
A Question of Happiness #1: A Question About Hell for TV, followed by
A Question of Happiness #2: Another Port, Another Storm. Johnson had a support role in
The Pumpkin Eater (1964) and went to France for
The Other Woman (1964). He did episodes of
Armchair Mystery Theatre,
The Human Jungle, and
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. He also portrayed
Duncan Sandys in
Operation Crossbow (1965).
Film stardom Johnson was second billed to
Kim Novak in
The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders (1965), directed by
Terence Young. When filming ended, Johnson and Novak were married. Around this time he expressed interest in writing and directing as well as acting. Johnson was
Colonel Stewart in
Khartoum (1966) with
Charlton Heston and
Laurence Olivier. He was top billed in the Italian horror film
The Witch (1966) then was cast as
Bulldog Drummond in
Deadlier Than the Male (1967) with
Elke Sommer for director
Ralph Thomas, a James Bond-style adventure. He supported
Anthony Quinn and
Rita Hayworth in
The Rover (1967), again directed by Young. He starred in another James Bond-type spy film,
Danger Route (1967) for director
Seth Holt. He announced he had formed his own company and would star in
An Alibi for a Playboy but it was not made. Johnson was Creon in
Oedipus the King (1968) with
Christopher Plummer, then starred in the adventure film
A Twist of Sand (1968). He was a Roman officer in
Columna (1968) and
Horatio Nelson in
Emma Hamilton (1968), with
Michèle Mercier. He reprised his role as Drummond in
Some Girls Do (1969). Johnson later recalled in 2000 that "It comes as a curious shock to me now to realise that I was making around £1m a year in today's money. And I managed to spend it all having a hell of a good time... I knew it wasn't going to last for ever, but I also knew I had to enjoy it while the time was right."
Filmink argued "Richard Johnson never became a star despite producers trying to make him one for a decade" later suggesting "Despite all these chances as a leading man, Johnson’s essential problem as a movie star remained – he had the looks, the voice, the ability, the talent, but he lacked personality. He was an ideal foil, but he couldn’t carry a movie." Johnson was in episodes of
Quiller,
Space: 1999, and
Hart to Hart. He was in the films
Aces High (1976),
Take All of Me (1976) in Italy,
The Four Feathers (1978) for Sharp,
The Comeback (1978),
Screamers (1979),
Zombi 2 (1979),
The Flame Is Love (1979),
Island of the Fishmen (1979) and
The Great Alligator (1979). He had the lead in
A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (1979) directed by Thomas.
Producer In 1982, Johnson helped set up United British Artists, the film and theatre-producing company, along with fellow actors Albert Finney, Maggie Smith and Glenda Jackson. Johnson said, "In this profession it is mighty irritating always to be in the hands of other people, waiting on the end of a telephone, unable to guide your ship. When I propounded the idea that we all get together to do high-quality work on a continuing commercial basis, they were very enthusiastic." He acted in and was executive producer on
The Biko Inquest (1984). Johnson acted in
What Waits Below (1985) for Don Sharp, and acted in and produced
Turtle Diary (1985). He worked as a producer on
Castaway (1986) and
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987). Johnson says however that the company "didn't quite come off. Unfortunately we ran out of money. We didn't have enough to start with... One day I was in Hollywood with my old friend Angela Lansbury and she said, 'Anybody can be a producer. You've got talent and you're wasting it.' I decided to get back to what I've always wanted to do since I was seven: acting. I'd like to be on test. I need challenges."
Filmink argued "These films were all decent, honourable attempts to make something of quality, and most of them succeeded... But United British Artists couldn’t make it work financially – it lacked a backer with deep pockets to ride through the rough times (the late 1980s was a particularly rough time for the British film industry) – and the company eventually wound up." As an actor only, he was in
Lady Jane (1986),
Dempsey and Makepeace,
Murder, She Wrote,
A Man for All Seasons (1988) with Heston,
Voice of the Heart (1989),
Treasure Island (1990) with Heston as
Squire Trelawney,
The Secret Life of Ian Fleming (1990),
Made in Heaven,
Diving In (1990),
Duel of Hearts (1991),
The Crucifer of Blood (1991) with Heston as
Sherlock Holmes and Johnson as Watson,
The Camomile Lawn (1992), and
Anglo-Saxon Attitudes (1992). According to one reviewer, his performance in
Anglo Saxon earned him "a sheaf of golden notices and put him at the top of the ratings for mature heart-throbs. The key attraction was his effortless screen technique in saying so little yet conveying so much. There was much virtuoso eyebrow work and a wonderful use of the crinkled tissue around the eyes." He did
Antony and Cleopatra on stage again in 1991. In 1992, Johnson returned to the RSC after a 25-year absence under the direction of Peter Hall, appearing in a production of ''
All's Well that Ends Well''. "It would have been nice to be able to afford to go back more often", he said. "Unfortunately, what my agent used to call the 'shit factor' comes into play: the better quality the work, the less the money." Johnson appeared in
Heavy Weather (1995),
Kavanagh QC,
Murder Most Horrid,
Tales from the Crypt,
Breaking the Code (1996),
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries (1996),
Supply & Demand,
The Echo,
Milk (1999), and
Happy Days (2000). He did the original story for
A Kind of Hush (1999). A third divorce and the financial failure of a hotel he co owned meant he needed to work. In a 2000 interview he said "Now I'm constantly worried where the next job is coming from. At least at my age the opposition gets less and less because they keep dying."
Later career Johnson's later career appearances included doing
The Seagull at Stratford in 2000, plus
The Whistle-Blower (2001),
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001),
The Royal,
The Robinsons,
Whatever Love Means (2005) as
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma,
Wallis & Edward (2005) (as
Stanley Baldwin),
Rebus,
Scoop (2006),
Doc Martin,
Midsomer Murders,
Waking the Dead,
The Raven (2007),
Two Families (2007), and
Jump! (2008) (which he also helped produce). From 2007, he led the cast of the BBC's radio comedy series
Bleak Expectations which ran until 2012. He also had a successful stage show with a revival of
On Golden Pond. Film-wise he was in
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008),
Spooks,
Lewis,
The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff (2011), and
Silent Witness. He had a good role in
Radiator (2015), saying "Right from the off I felt it was a superior piece of writing for the screen." He was in
The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015). ==Other work==