Bryan Johnson (18 July 1926 – 18 October 1995) was an English singer and actor.

Biography

Having been eliminated in the semi-finals of the 1957 UK heats for Eurovision, he later emulated his brother and sister-in-law,

Pearl Carr A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carbo ...

and

Teddy Johnson Pearl Lavinia Carr (2 November 1921 – 16 February 2020) and Edward Victor "Teddy" Johnson (4 September 1919 – 6 June 2018) were English husband-and-wife entertainers who gained their highest profile during the 1950s and early 1960s. Early d ...

, by coming second in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1960, with " Looking High, High, High". The single reached number 20 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in April 1960. Johnson also participated in ''

A Song for Europe A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name ...

'', the UK qualifying heat for Eurovision in 1961. His song, "A Place in the Country" came fifth. He was also an actor who, in

Donald Wolfit Sir Donald Wolfit, KBE (born Donald Woolfitt; Harwood, Ronald"Wolfit, Sir Donald (1902–1968)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, January 2008; accessed 14 July 2009 20 April 1902 ...

's company, played such roles as

Feste Feste is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's comedy ''Twelfth Night''. He is a Shakespearian fool, fool (royal jester) attached to the household of the Olivia (Twelfth Night), Countess Olivia. He has apparently been there for some time ...

in ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vi ...

'' and the Fool in ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane ...

''. In

Ronald Harwood Sir Ronald Harwood ( né Horwitz; 9 November 1934 – 8 September 2020) was a South African-born British author, playwright, and screenwriter, best known for his plays for the British stage as well as the screenplays for ''The Dresser'' (for w ...

's biography of Wolfit, the actor is quoted as saying (p. 251) that he was "the best Fool I ever had". Later he played roles in musicals such as ''Lock Up Your Daughters'', and enjoyed a late success as Scrooge in a touring production of '' A Christmas Carol''. He was an actor of the old school with a melodious speaking voice and a strong stage presence. Johnson recounted his Eurovision experiences in an edition of ''Gloria Live'', with

Gloria Hunniford Mary Winifred Gloria Hunniford, OBE (born 10 April 1940) is a Northern Irish television and radio presenter, broadcaster and singer. She is known for presenting programmes on the BBC and ITV, such as '' Rip Off Britain'', and her regular appea ...

, broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

on 4 May 1990.

References

External links

* 1926 births 1995 deaths English male singers English male stage actors Eurovision Song Contest entrants for the United Kingdom Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1960 20th-century English male actors 20th-century English singers 20th-century British male singers {{UK-singer-stub