Chas. Floyd Johnson (born Charles Floyd Johnson) is an African American television producer, actor and activist, known for '' The Rockford Files'' (1975-1980), '' Magnum, P.I.'' (1982-1988), and '' Red Tails'' (2012). A three-time Emmy Award winner (and seven-time nominee), Johnson currently serves as Executive Producer of the CBS Television Studios' television series, ''

NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to: Law enforcement * National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom * Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...

'' (2003-2019), following his tenure as an executive producer of the long-running CBS television series, '' JAG'' (1997-2005).

Early life

A native of

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

, Johnson spent most of his childhood in Middletown, Delaware. His mother, Bertha Ellen Seagers, was a school principal and teacher, and his father, Orange Maull Johnson, was a realtor. In 1956, he entered

The Stony Brook School The Stony Brook School is a 7–12 private, Christian, co-educational, college-preparatory boarding and day school in Stony Brook, New York, United States. It was established in 1922 by John Fleming Carson and fellow members of the Stony Brook ...

as the second African American student, graduating in 1958. Johnson received both his Bachelor of Arts and his Juris Doctor Degrees from Howard University.

Career

The Vietnam draft brought Johnson to the United States Army, stationed at

Fort Dix Fort Dix, the common name for the Army Support Activity (ASA) located at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, is a United States Army post. It is located south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Fort Dix is under the jurisdiction of the Air Force A ...

, New Jersey. Because of his law degree, Johnson was assigned to the Courts and Boards Defense Counsel. Once his military service was completed, Johnson relocated to Washington, D.C., and joined the U.S. Copyright Office. During this period as a copyright lawyer, Johnson took various film and acting classes in his free time. He also got acting roles in local theatre and in various film/television projects. Deciding to focus on a career in entertainment, Johnson left the copyright office and moved to Los Angeles in 1971 . Once in Los Angeles, Johnson immersed himself in the Los Angeles entertainment scene. Johnson took more acting and film/television production classes. He got a position in the mail room at Universal Studios. After just two days, Johnson applied for a newly opened position and became a Production Coordinator. While in this role for a variety of television shows, Johnson caught the attention of

Stephen J. Cannell Stephen Joseph Cannell (; February 5, 1941 – September 30, 2010) was an American television producer, writer, novelist, occasional actor, and founder of Cannell Entertainment (formerly Stephen J. Cannell Productions) and the Cannell Studios. ...

and Meta Rosenberg. They were the Producers of The Rockford Files. This led to the big break that would kick-off Johnson's professional producer career: he became the show's second Associate Producer in 1974. Along with Robert Hooks, Brock Peters, and

Denise Nicholas Denise Donna Nicholas (born July 12, 1944) is an American actress, author, and social activist. Nicholas is known primarily for her roles as high-school guidance counselor Liz McIntyre on the ABC comedy-drama series ''Room 222'' and Councilwoma ...

, Johnson was a founding member of The Media Forum and he served as a former vice president. He was a vice president of Communications Bridge, a Los Angeles training program for minority students in the fields of Film and Television Production. He is a member of the

Caucus for Producers, Writers and Directors A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

, the

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...

, the Screen Actors Guild, the Writers Guild of America and the Producers Guild of America, for which he previously served, for many years, as both an officer and a member of its Board of Directors. With the Producers Guild, he founded and produced the Oscar Micheaux Awards, which was the forerunner of the PGA's "Celebration of Diversity Awards". Johnson is also a co-author (along with George H. Hill and Lorraine Raglin) of the book, ''Black Women in Television: An Illustrated History and Bibliography'', published in 1990.

Awards

Johnson has received several notable awards. Primetime Emmys * Outstanding Drama Series - Winner - The Rockford Files - 1978 * Outstanding Drama Series - Nominee - The Rockford Files - 1979 * Outstanding Drama Series - Nominee - Magnum, P.I. - 1983 * Outstanding Drama Series - Nominee - Magnum, P.I. - 1984 Johnson produced and performed in the 1982

KCET KCET (channel 28) is a secondary PBS member television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the Public Media Group of Southern California alongside the market's primary PBS member, Huntington Beach–licensed KOCE-TV ...

Public Television Special, ''Voices of Our People … in Celebration of Black Poetry'', where he received an Emmy Award for “Outstanding Performer in an Entertainment Special” and another Emmy Award for “Outstanding Entertainment Special.” Other recent awards include the Producer of the Year for NCIS (CBS), the Chairman's Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the

Caucus for Producers, Writers & Directors A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

, the Diversity Award from the Producers Guild of America and the Ron Brown Award from Minorities in Broadcasting.

Acting and production credits

Stage appearances

* Alton Scales, The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, Theatre Lobby, Washington, DC, 1967 * Focus on Blacks in American Theatre, Back Alley Theatre, Washington, DC, 1967 * Bernard, The Boys in the Band, Morgan Theatre, Santa Monica, CA, 1972 * Lieutenant, The Drumhead, Merle Oberon Theatre, Los Angeles, 1974

Television work

Executive producer; with others; series * (And associate producer and producer) '' The Rockford Files'' (also known as ''Jim Rockford, Private Investigator''), NBC, 1974-1980 * '' Magnum, P.I.'', CBS, 1987-1988 * ''

B.L. Stryker ''B.L. Stryker'' is an American detective drama that aired on ABC from February 13, 1989, to May 5, 1990, as part of the '' ABC Mystery Movie'' umbrella group, along with '' Columbo'', and ''Kojak''. Tom Selleck was one of the series' executive p ...

'', ABC, 1989-1990 * '' Quantum Leap'', NBC, 1992-1993 * (With

Donald P. Bellisario Donald Paul Bellisario (born August 8, 1935) is an American television producer and screenwriter who created and sometimes wrote episodes for the TV series '' Magnum, P.I.'' (1980), ''Tales of the Gold Monkey'' (1982), ''Airwolf'' (1984), ''Quan ...

) '' JAG'', CBS, 1996-2005 * ''

'', CBS, 2003-2019 Producer; with others; series * '' Magnum, P.I.'', CBS, 1980-1984 * (With Mark Horowitz, and with

Gordon Dawson Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

) '' Bret Maverick'' (also known as '' Bret Maverick: The Lazy Ace''), NBC, 1981-1982 * (With Phil DeGuere) '' Simon & Simon'', CBS, 1982-1983 * (Supervising producer) '' Magnum, P.I.'', CBS, 1985-1986 Executive producer; with others; movies * Auntie Sue (''

'' episode), 1989 * The Dancer's Touch (''

'' episode), 1989 * Die Laughing (''

'' episode), 1989 * The King of Jazz (''

'' episode), 1989 * Royal Gambit (''

'' episode), 1989 * (With James Garner) ''The Rockford Files: Murder and Misdemeanor'', CBS, 1997

Film

Producer * '' Red Tails'', 2012 * ''Get in the Way: The Journey of John Lewis'', 2016

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Chas. Floyd 1941 births Living people American male television actors African-American male actors American male stage actors African-American activists 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Male actors from New Jersey Actors from Camden, New Jersey Howard University School of Law alumni Howard University alumni The Stony Brook School alumni Television producers from New Jersey