Rita Johnson
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.
Photos
Movies (38)
All Mine to Give
1957 · Katie Tyler
Emergency Hospital
1956 · Head Nurse Norma Mullen
Susan Slept Here
1954 · Dr. Rawley
The Second Face
1950 · Claire Elwood
The Art Director
1949 · Self - from 'The Big Clock' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Family Honeymoon
1948 · Minna Fenster
An Innocent Affair
1948 · Eve Lawrence
The Big Clock
1948 · Pauline York
Sleep, My Love
1948 · Barby
Michigan Kid
1947 · Sue Dawson
They Won't Believe Me
1947 · Greta Ballentine
The Perfect Marriage
1947 · Mabel Manning
Pardon My Past
1945 · Mary Pemberton
The Affairs of Susan
1945 · Mona Kent
The Naughty Nineties
1945 · Bonita Farrow
Thunderhead: Son of Flicka
1945 · Nelle McLaughlin
My Friend Flicka
1943 · Nell McLaughlin
The Major and the Minor
1942 · Pamela Hill
Appointment for Love
1941 · Nancy Benson
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
1941 · Julia Farnsworth
The Golden Fleecing
1940 · Mary Blake
Edison, the Man
1940 · Mary Stilwell
Forty Little Mothers
1940 · Marian Edwards
Congo Maisie
1940 · Kay McWade
Nick Carter, Master Detective
1939 · Lou Farnsby
They All Come Out
1939 · Kitty
Stronger Than Desire
1939 · Barbara Winter
6,000 Enemies
1939 · Anne Barry
Broadway Serenade
1939 · Judith 'Judy' Tyrrell
Within the Law
1939 · Agnes Lynch
Honolulu
1939 · Cecelia Grayson
The Girl Downstairs
1938 · Rosalind Brown
Rich Man, Poor Girl
1938 · Sally Harrison
Smashing the Rackets
1938 · Leticia "Letty" Lane
Letter of Introduction
1938 · Honey
Man-Proof
1938 · Florence (dialogue scenes deleted)
My Dear Miss Aldrich
1937 · Ellen Warfield
London by Night
1937 · Patricia Herrick
