Johnnie Johnston

Johnnie Johnston
Johnston in 1945
Born
John Clifford Johnston

December 1, 1915
St. Louis, Missouri, US
DiedJanuary 6, 1996 (aged 80)
Cape Coral, Florida, US
OccupationsActor
Singer
Spouses
  • Dorothy Marubio
​
​
(m. 1947; div. 1951)​
Shirley Carmel
​
​
(m. 1952, divorced)​
Jacquelyn Sheresky Unger
​
​
(m. 1961; sep. 1965)​
Beverley Markley
​
(m. 1975)​
Children5
RelativesKristin Towers-Rowles (granddaughter)

Johnny (or Johnnie) Johnston (December 1, 1915 – January 6, 1996)[1] was an American singer and actor who was popular in the 1940s.

Early years

He was born John Clifford Johnston in St. Louis, Missouri.

Career

Johnston began his career in the late 1930s, performing in smaller nightclubs, and was soon hired to sing with Art Kassel and his Kassels in the Air orchestra. He regularly sang on radio programs, and for a while had his own show on the NBC network.

In 1942, Johnston signed with Capitol Records, one of the first of four artists signed by the company. He recorded That Old Black Magic, I Don't Want to Walk Without You, and other popular songs for the label. His 78rpm record of Laura sold more than a million copies in 1945.

Johnston's movie career began in 1942 with small singing roles (sometimes billed as Johnnie Johnston). During his first marriage, Johnston had an affair with MGM singing star Kathryn Grayson, whom he would later marry. At her urging, he was cast in the 1946 MGM musical, Till the Clouds Roll By. Their scenes together were ultimately cut from the film, though outtakes have survived.

He next appeared opposite Esther Williams in the MGM musical romance This Time for Keeps. Actor Van Johnson had originally been cast as Williams' co-star in the film, until Johnston stepped in to replace him.

After starring in a 1948 Eagle-Lion Western, The Man from Texas, with James Craig and Lynn Bari, Johnston appeared in only two more feature films, Unchained (1955) and Rock Around the Clock (1956).

A short-lived TV variety program, The Johnny Johnston Show, debuted on February 2, 1951, on the CBS network, and ended on February 9, 1951.[2] Johnston sang and hosted the 45-minute show, which was broadcast on weekday afternoons.[3]

In 1951, Johnston appeared with actress Shirley Booth in the Broadway musical production, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, directed by George Abbott and choreographed by Herbert Ross. The show, based on the novel by Betty Smith, opened on April 19, 1951, at the Alvin Theatre, where it ran for 267 performances.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Johnston continued to appear regularly in nightclubs, and occasionally on television variety programs. For a while, he also operated his own nightclub in New York City.

Personal life and death

Johnston was married five times, and had five children.

He married his second wife, actress Kathryn Grayson,[4] at an August 22, 1947 ceremony in Carmel, California.[5] [6] On October 7, 1948, the couple's only child, daughter, Patricia Kathryn "Patty Kate" Johnston, was born. Grayson and Johnston separated on November 15, 1950. On October 3, 1951, Grayson was given a divorce from Johnston on the grounds of mental cruelty.[7]

Johnston's This Time for Keeps co-star, Esther Williams, claimed in her 1999 autobiography that while making the film, Johnston would read Grayson's intimate love letters aloud to the girls in his fan club, including the "all-too-graphic details concerning what she liked about love-making."[8]

On July 31, 1952, Johnston married his third wife, Shirley I. Carmel, in Greenwich, Connecticut.[6]

He died in 1996, in Cape Coral, Florida, aged 80.

Hit recordings

Year Single US Chart position label catalog #
1945 (All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings 7[9] Capitol 186 [10]
Laura 5[9] Capitol 196[10]
There Must Be a Way 9[9] Capitol 196[10]
1946 One More Dream (and She's Mine) 13[9] Capitol 228[10]

Filmography

References

  1. ↑ Wagner, Laura (Winter 2015). "Johnnie Johnston: Bobbysoxer Heartthrob". Films of the Golden Age (83): 71–72.
  2. ↑ McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 438. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
  3. ↑ Wexler, Jerry (February 3, 1951). "Johnny Johnston Show". Billboard. p. 8. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  4. ↑ Vera, Billy (2000). From the Vaults Vol. 4: Love Letters (CD). Hollywood: Capitol Records. p. 7.
  5. ↑ "Kathryn Grayson Sues for Divorce". Los Angeles Times. August 10, 1951. ProQuest 166256687.
  6. 1 2 "Johnnie Johnston Is Wed". The Kansas City Times. Missouri, Kansas City. The Kansas City Times. August 1, 1952. p. 1. Retrieved February 8, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ↑ "Kathryn Grayson Given Divorce From Johnston". Los Angeles Times. October 4, 1951. ProQuest 166274081.
  8. ↑ Williams, Esther; Diehl, Digby (1999). The Million Dollar Mermaid: An Autobiography (1st ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-15-601135-8. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Pop Memories 1890-1954. Joel Whitburn. 1986. Record Research Inc. p. 232. ISBN 0-89820-083-0
  10. 1 2 3 4 Abrams, Steven and Settlemier, Tyrone Capitol 100 - 499, numerical listing discography Online Discographical Project. November 1, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Columbia". The Evening Review. Ohio, East Liverpool. The Evening Review. October 2, 1942. p. 6. Retrieved February 6, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  12. ↑ "West Brings Top Tunefilm". The Terre Haute Tribune. Indiana, Terre Haute. The Terre Haute Tribune. April 24, 1949. p. 31. Retrieved February 6, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
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