Richard Johnson

Overview

Born in Upminster, Essex, England in 1927, Richard Johnson attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and then performed in John Gielgud's repertory company until joining the navy in 1945 until 1948. After the war, he appeared successfully in the West End and made his film debut in the early 1950s. The debonair and handsome Johnson was a natural to portray playboy type characters, perhaps the most memorable being "Bulldog Drummond" in Deadlier Than the Male (1967) and Some Girls Do (1969). Later in his career, he turned to more serious roles, such as "Marc Antony" in Antony and Cleopatra (1974), and also tried his hand at producing in the late 1980s.
- IMDb mini biography by: Lyn Hammond

He died in the Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea.
He died only one day before his Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951), Julius Caesar (1970) and Treasure Island (1990) co-star Christopher Lee.
According to several sources, Johnson was at least considered for the part of "James Bond" in Dr. No (1962). Some say he was actually offered the part but turned it down because he did not want to sign a multi-picture contract. Nonetheless, he did play a very Bondian version of British detective Bulldog Drummond in two late sixties films, Deadlier Than the Male (1967) and Some Girls Do (1969).
M-G-M were pleased with Johnson's work in Never So Few (1959) and signed him to a multi-picture deal, hoping to build him into a new star. They insisted that a role be written into the screenplay of King of Kings (1961) for him, although the film was about to start shooting. Johnson's role - as a character not mentioned in the Bible - took up nearly an hour of screen time, and was then deleted in its entirety before the film reached cinemas.
16 years prior to playing Bulldog Drummond in Deadlier Than the Male (1967), he'd had a small part in Calling Bulldog Drummond (1951).

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