Dorothy Johnson (born October 14, 1936) is an American actress and print model. The former beauty queen is best known for acting on television and in motion pictures during the

Golden Age of Hollywood Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...

. She was a 1950s Hollywood

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

let. Dorothy Mae Johnson won the 1955

Miss Oregon The Miss Oregon competition is a regional scholarship competition and Beauty contest, beauty pageant that selects the representative for the US state of Oregon in the Miss America pageant. The annual event includes contestants from across the st ...

beauty pageant and was first runner-up in the 1956

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

pageant. The

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

chose her to be their official Miss Leatherneck. Johnson was cast in the title role of Bernardine in

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer and actor. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in mo ...

's first Hollywood movie '' Bernardine''. She was the female lead in Columbia Pictures' teen romance film ''

Life Begins at 17 ''Life Begins at 17'' is a 1958 American drama film starring Dorothy Johnson, Mark Damon, Edd Byrnes and Luana Anders. Plot Carol Peck, a 17-year-old from Indiana, has an older sister, Elaine, who is a beauty queen. Carol wins a local pageant, t ...

'' with co stars

Edd Byrnes Edward Byrne Breitenberger (July 30, 1932 – January 8, 2020), known professionally as Edd Byrnes, was an American actor, best known for his starring role in the television series ''77 Sunset Strip.'' He also was featured in the 1978 film '' Gre ...

and

Mark Damon Mark Damon (born April 22, 1933) is an American film actor and Film producer, producer. He became noted for roles in films like Roger Corman's House of Usher (film), ''House of Usher'', before moving to Italy and becoming a notable Western (gen ...

. She was a working actress who performed in Hollywood productions in the studio of

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

Twentieth Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film studio, film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm o ...

and

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

. Johnson traveled with

Conrad Hilton Conrad Nicholson Hilton Sr. (December 25, 1887 – January 3, 1979) was an American businessman who founded the Hilton Hotels chain. From 1912 to 1916 Hilton was a Republican representative in the first New Mexico Legislature, but became disil ...

to participate in the week-long grand opening ceremonies of the newly built

Havana Hilton Hotel Tryp Habana Libre is one of the larger hotels in Cuba, situated in Vedado, Havana. The hotel has 572 rooms in a 25-floor tower at Calle 23 ("La Rampa") and Calle L. Opened in 1958 as the Habana Hilton, the hotel famously served as the resid ...

Hotel in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

in March 1958.

Early career

She was born in

Superior, Wisconsin , native_name_lang = oj , nickname = , total_type = , motto = , image_skyline = Tower Avenue.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = Downtown Superior , ima ...

. Five years later in 1941 Johnson's parents moved from Wisconsin to the

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

area and settled in

Garden Home, Oregon A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...

. Johnson began her modeling career in 8th grade with Maria Easterly Modeling Agency in Portland, Oregon. She was a junior print model for

Jantzen Jantzen is a brand of swimwear that was established in 1916 and first appeared in the city of Portland, Oregon, United States. The brand name later replaced the name of the parent company that manufactured the branded products. The brand feature ...

swimsuits,

White Stag A white stag (or white hind for the female) is a white-colored red deer, wapiti, sika deer, chital, fallow deer, roe deer, white-tailed deer, black-tailed deer, reindeer, moose, or rusa, explained by a condition known as leucism that causes its h ...

and

Pendleton Woolen Mills Pendleton Woolen Mills is an American textile manufacturing company based in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is known for its blankets and woolen clothing. Company origins The company's roots began in 1863 when Thomas Lister Kay made a tran ...

and appeared in a national ''

Seventeen Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...

'' magazine advertisement for Skyway Luggage. During her

Beaverton High School Beaverton High School (often referred to as The Beaverton High School) is a public high school located in Beaverton, Oregon, United States. The original schoolhouse, called Beaverton Public School, opened in 1875 on land between Canyon Road and Br ...

years, she studied acting at the Portland Civic Theater under the tutoring of Doris Smith. A photograph of her and

Debbie Reynolds Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Her career spanned almost 70 years. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her portra ...

together was published in the December 1953 issue of ''Movie Stars Parade'' magazine.

Beauty queen

As a teenager, Johnson was twice chosen Miss Oregon Camera Club's queen by the state's professional photographers. In 1953, at age 16, the Portland ''

Oregon Journal ''The Oregon Journal'' was Portland, Oregon's daily afternoon newspaper from 1902 to 1982. The ''Journal'' was founded in Portland by C. S. "Sam" Jackson, publisher of Pendleton, Oregon's ''East Oregonian'' newspaper, after a group of Portlander ...

'' Sunday magazine published a cover photo feature story by writer Bill Reasons predicting her future career in Hollywood. In 1954, at age 17, she was elected by a general public newspaper vote in Oregon's

KPTV KPTV (channel 12) is a television station in Portland, Oregon, United States. affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Gray Television alongside Vancouver, Washington–licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate KPDX (channel 49). Both stations s ...

-Portland Miss Flowers of '54 contest to represent the florist industry as their theme girl for the next year. She was selected Miss Beaverton on April 14, 1955. Sponsored by the

Beaverton, Oregon Beaverton is a city in Washington County, in the U.S. state of Oregon with a small portion bordering Portland in the Tualatin Valley. The city is among the main cities that make up the Portland metropolitan area. Its population was 97,494 at the ...

Junior Chamber of Commerce The United States Junior Chamber, also known as the Jaycees, JCs or JCI USA, is a leadership training, service organization and civic organization for people between the ages of 18 and 40. It is a branch of Junior Chamber International (JCI). ...

Jaycees, she entered and won the 1955

beauty pageant held at

Seaside, Oregon Seaside is a city in Clatsop County, Oregon, Clatsop County, Oregon, United States, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. The name Seaside is derived from ''Seaside House'', a historic summer resort built in the 1870s by railroad magnate Ben Holladay ...

on July 17, 1955. This earned her a trip to the 1956

Pageant held in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

. For her talent portion of the

pageant she performed a soliloquy of

Lady Macbeth Lady Macbeth is a leading character in William Shakespeare's tragedy '' Macbeth'' (). As the wife of the play's tragic hero, Macbeth (a Scottish nobleman), Lady Macbeth goads her husband into committing regicide, after which she becomes quee ...

sleepwalking scene The sleepwalking scene is a critically celebrated scene from William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Macbeth'' (1606). The first scene in the tragedy's 5th act, the sleepwalking scene is written principally in prose, and follows the guilt-wracked, sleep ...

from ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. As an 18-year-old she performed before 20,000 spectators in the historic Atlantic City

Boardwalk Hall Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, formerly known as the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, is a multi-purpose arena in Atlantic City in Atlantic County, New Jersey. It was Atlantic City's primary convention center until the opening of the Atlanti ...

and a live national television audience of 30 million viewers. After a week of competition, on the final night of the pageant, September 10, 1955, Johnson was named Miss America first runner-up. The next week her photo appeared in ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine. With her pageant $3,000 scholarship winnings she attended the prestigious

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related art ...

in New York City, the oldest English-speaking acting school in the world. After one year studying in New York, she moved to Hollywood, California to pursue her career in show business.

USMC Miss Leatherneck

After her Miss America pageant performance, she caught the eye of the

(USMC) who selected her to be their Miss Leatherneck in 1955. Johnson's long time association with the USMC began in 1954 working with the Marine Corps Reserves at Swan Island in Portland, Oregon. For two years, in 1956 and 1957, the USMC public relations department kept Miss Leatherneck busy traveling the country appearing on bases, at special events and in the media as their goodwill ambassador spokesperson promoting the USMC. In 2014 ''

Leatherneck Magazine ''Leatherneck Magazine of the Marines'' (or simply ''Leatherneck'') is a magazine for United States Marines. History and profile ''The Quantico Leatherneck'' was started by off-duty US Marines, and in large part by the post printer, Sgt. Smith, ...

'' did a follow-up photo story about her titled "Miss Leatherneck: The Marine Corps' Golden Girl". She was the only official Miss Leatherneck in the history of the Marine Corps.

Ronald Reagan and Los Angeles Home Show Queen

In 1958 while attending

U.C.L.A. The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, she was chosen to be the Queen of the Los Angeles Home Show. She was chosen to be queen out of 300 contestants. Among her duties was to meet and greet the public each day during the event held at the

Pan-Pacific Auditorium The Pan-Pacific Auditorium was a landmark structure in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, California. It once stood near the site of Gilmore Field, an early Los Angeles baseball venue predating Dodger Stadium. It was located within sight of bot ...

. As Home Show Queen she appeared together with

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

spokesperson for

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

in a publicity photograph from the event. As a college co-ed and working actress, her photo regularly appeared in Los Angeles,

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

area newspapers including a story on the marvels of modern fingerprinting in the banking industry.

Film career

''The Joker Is Wild''

Her first speaking part in a Hollywood motion picture was in the birthday cake scene with veteran actors

Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor and activist. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; the first nomination came in 1954 for his performance in ''Roman Holiday'', ...

and

Jackie Coogan John Leslie Coogan (October 26, 1914 – March 1, 1984) was an American actor and comedian who began his film career as a child actor in silent films. Charlie Chaplin's film classic ''The Kid'' (1921) made him one of the first child stars in the ...

in the

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

movie ''

The Joker Is Wild ''The Joker Is Wild'' is a 1957 American Musical film, musical drama film directed by Charles Vidor, starring Frank Sinatra, Mitzi Gaynor, Jeanne Crain, and Eddie Albert, and released by Paramount Pictures. The film is about Joe E. Lewis, the po ...

'' directed by

Charles Vidor Charles Vidor (born Károly Vidor; July 27, 1900June 4, 1959) was a Hungarian film director. Among his film successes are ''The Bridge'' (1929), ''The Tuttles of Tahiti'' (1942), ''The Desperadoes'' (1943), ''Cover Girl'' (1944), '' Together A ...

and released by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

in October 1957. Her line of dialogue was "What will he do? All he knows is show business."

''Bernardine''

Movie producer

Sam Engel Samuel G. Engel (December 29, 1904 – April 7, 1984) was a screenwriter and film producer from the 1930s until the 1960s. He wrote and produced such films as ''My Darling Clementine'' (1946), '' Sitting Pretty'' (1948), ''The Frogmen'' (1 ...

cast her in the title role of Bernardine, the fictitious ideal dream girl of

and his friends in the movie '' Bernardine''. The pin-up swimsuit image of Dorothy Johnson as Bernardine was photographed by famous Hollywood studio photographer Frank Powolny and appeared in the movie and promotional materials. Bernardine was Pat Boone's first feature film and released by

Twentieth Century Fox Studios 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

in America in 1957. The movie's title song Bernardine sung by

with music and lyrics composed by

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallich ...

became a popular hit on the radio.

''Life Begins at 17''

Producer

Sam Katzman Sam Katzman (July 7, 1901 – August 4, 1973) was an American film producer and director. Katzman produced low-budget genre films, including serials, which had disproportionately high returns for the studios and his financial backers. Ea ...

cast her as the female lead in his teen romance drama motion picture titled ''

'' filmed at

Columbia Studios Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the multi ...

in Hollywood. The movie was released in July 1958. Her co-stars were

and

. Also included in the cast were

Luana Anders Luana Anders (born Luana Margo Anderson, May 12, 1938 – July 21, 1996) was an American film and television actress and screenwriter. Career Anders began her career with supporting roles for American International Pictures. Some of the early fi ...

Ann Doran Ann Lee Doran (July 28, 1911 – September 19, 2000) was an American character actress, possibly best known as the mother of Jim Stark ( James Dean) in ''Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955). She was an early member of the Screen Actors Guild and ser ...

Hugh Sanders Hugh Howard Sanders (March 13, 1911 – January 9, 1966) was an American actor, probably best known for playing the role of Dr. Reynolds in the movie ''To Kill a Mockingbird''. Biography Born in Illinois, Sanders graduated from Northwestern U ...

. The Columbia Studios movie was scripted by

Richard Baer (writer) Richard Baer (April 28, 1928 – February 22, 2008) was an American writer and screenwriter. Baer wrote for more than 56 television shows, many of which were sitcoms, throughout his career, including ''The Munsters'', '' Leave It to Beaver'' and ' ...

and directed by Arthur Driefus for Katzman's Clover Productions. Scriptwriter Baer's maternal uncle was

David Sarnoff David Sarnoff (February 27, 1891 – December 12, 1971) was an American businessman and pioneer of American radio and television. Throughout most of his career, he led the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in various capacities from shortly afte ...

, a broadcasting pioneer who headed the

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

company.

''The Flying Fontaines''

Katzman again cast her in a credited role in another of his movies for Clover Productions', ''

The Flying Fontaines ''The Flying Fontaines'' is a 1959 American film about trapeze artists. It stars Michael Callan. Plot Cast *Michael Callan as Rick Rias *Evy Norlund as Suzanne Fontaine * Joan Evans as Jan Fontaine *Rian Garrick as Bill Rand *Joe De Santis as ...

'' released by

in 1959. She portrayed Sally, the leader of the circus' all girl orchestra in the circus themed movie starring

Michael Callan Michael Callan (born Martin Harris Calinieff; November 22, 1935 – October 10, 2022) was an American actor best known for originating the role of Riff in ''West Side Story'' on Broadway, and for his film roles for Columbia Pictures, notably ' ...

''The Littlest Hobo''

She appeared as Sister Ophelia in the

Allied Artists Pictures Corporation An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

movie ''The Littlest Hobo''. The motion picture was filmed at studios located on

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...

in Hollywood and released in the United States on July 6, 1958. The movie featured the animal adventures of London the

German Shepherd The German Shepherd or Alsatian is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899. It was originally bred as a herding dog, for he ...

dog who saves Fleecie the Lamb from the slaughter house, outwits the authorities and befriends a young girl. The 1958 movie was the basis for the popular ''

The Littlest Hobo ''The Littlest Hobo'' is a Canadian television series (French title: ''Le Vagabond'') based upon a 1958 well-known film of the same name directed by Charles R. Rondeau. The series first aired from 1963 to 1965 in syndication, and was revived for ...

'' Canadian television series of the same name. The 1958 movie's rights are controlled by

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...

Television and the family friendly movie was re-released on home video DVD in December 2016.

Television career

Groucho Marx

She appeared as a contestant on the

Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit an ...

national broadcast television game show ''

You Bet Your Life ''You Bet Your Life'' is an American comedy quiz series that has aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show deb ...

'' filmed in Hollywood on May 30, 1957. She answered questions in the music category, won $500 and a kiss from Groucho Marx.

Jerry Lewis

She appeared in two sketches with

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...

on his

Father's Day Father's Day is a holiday of honoring fatherhood and paternal bonds, as well as the influence of fathers in society. In Catholic countries of Europe, it has been celebrated on 19 March as Saint Joseph's Day since the Middle Ages. In the United ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

live television Live television is a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. In a secondary meaning, it may refer to streaming television over the Internet when content or programming is played continuously (not on demand) ...

''Color Carnival'' special broadcast Saturday June 8, 1957. In the first sketch she plays a member of the studio audience interviewed and kissed by Jerry Lewis. In the second comedy sketch ''The Olive Thief'', she is the wife of a murdered man as Jerry Lewis' character attempts to solve the mystery. The 60-minute program was performed live and broadcast nationally from Hollywood in color at the time but only black and white copies of this program are still known to exist.

Bob Cummings

Producer

Paul Henning Paul William Henning (September 16, 1911 – March 25, 2005) was an American TV producer and screenwriter. Most famous for creating the television sitcom ''The Beverly Hillbillies'', he was also crucial in developing the "rural" comedies ''Pett ...

cast her in several episodes of the popular

Bob Cummings Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings (June 9, 1910 – December 2, 1990) was an American film and television actor who appeared in roles in comedy films such as ''The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941) and ''Princess O'Rourke'' (1943), and in d ...

television show ''

Love That Bob ''The Bob Cummings Show'' (also known in reruns as ''Love That Bob'') is an American sitcom starring Bob Cummings, which was broadcast from January 2, 1955, to September 15, 1959. The program began with a half-season run on NBC, then ran for two ...

''. Episodes where she is credited include "Bob Retrenches" aired on

NBC-TV The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

April 8, 1958, "Bob Judges a Beauty Pageant" aired on NBC-TV December 16, 1958, and "Bob and the Dumb Blonde" aired on NBC-TV September 30, 1958.

''Bat Masterson''

She was cast in the part of Claire Cantrell in an episode titled "Death by the Half Dozen" of ''

Bat Masterson Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was born to ...

'', a popular western television series starring

Gene Barry Gene Barry (born Eugene Klass, June 14, 1919 – December 9, 2009) was an American stage, screen, and television actor and singer. Barry is best remembered for his leading roles in the films ''The Atomic City'' (1952) and ''The War of The World ...

as Masterson. Her character is the fiancée of the sheriff of Mesquite Springs,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. While riding in a stage coach, she gets kidnapped by an outlaw gang and held for ransom. She is rescued by Masterson at the end of the episode. The program was produced by Ziv Television Productions for Warner Brothers and broadcast in prime time by ABC-TV on February 4, 1960.

''Overland Trail''

She portrayed the character Lady Luck, a saloon girl, in a poker table scene with actors

Doug McClure Douglas Osborne McClure (May 11, 1935February 5, 1995) was an American actor whose career in film and television extended from the 1950s to the 1990s. He is best known for his role as the cowboy Trampas during the entire run from 1962 to 1971 ...

and

Harry Guardino Harry Guardino (December 23, 1925 – July 17, 1995) was an American actor whose career spanned from the early 1950s to the early 1990s. Biography Guardino was born to an Italian family on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and raised in Bro ...

in the episode "Daughter of the Sioux" of television western series ''

Overland Trail The Overland Trail (also known as the Overland Stage Line) was a stagecoach and wagon trail in the American West during the 19th century. While portions of the route had been used by explorers and trappers since the 1820s, the Overland Trail w ...

'' broadcast by

on March 20, 1960.

''Bourbon Street Beat''

She was cast in a feature role as Donna Sue Edison in an episode of ''

Bourbon Street Beat ''Bourbon Street Beat'' is a private detective television series that aired on the ABC network from October 5, 1959, to July 4, 1960, starring Richard Long as Rex Randolph and Andrew Duggan as Cal Calhoun, with Arlene Howell as detective agency s ...

'' a detective series murder mystery set in New Orleans. The episode was titled "The Missing Queen" broadcast by ABC-TV on March 14, 1960. The cast included regulars Richard Long and

Andrew Duggan Andrew Duggan (December 28, 1923 – May 15, 1988) was an American character actor. His work includes 185 screen credits between 1949 and 1987 for roles in both film and television, as well a number more on stage. Background Duggan was born in ...

with guest co-stars

Diane McBain Diane J. McBain (May 18, 1941 – December 21, 2022) was an American actress who, as a Warner Brothers contract player, reached a brief peak of popularity during the early 1960s. She was best known for playing an adventurous socialite in the 1960 ...

Roscoe Ates Roscoe Blevel Ates (January 20, 1895 – March 1, 1962) was an American vaudeville performer, actor of stage and screen, comedian and musician who primarily featured in western films and television. He was best known as western character So ...

and

Lurene Tuttle Lurene Tuttle (August 29, 1907 – May 28, 1986) was an American actress and acting coach, who made the transition from vaudeville to radio, and later films and television. Her most enduring impact was as one of network radio's more versatile a ...

. The episode was a

Warner Brothers Television Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division o ...

Production directed by

Paul Henreid Paul Henreid (November 10, 1908 – March 29, 1992) was an Austrian-British-American actor, director, producer, and writer. He is best remembered for two film roles; Victor Laszlo in ''Casablanca'' and Jerry Durrance in ''Now, Voyager'', bo ...

, produced by Charles Hoffman with executive producer

William T. Orr William T. Orr (born William Ferdinand Quinn Jr.; September 27, 1917December 25, 2002) was an American actor and television producer associated with various Western and detective programs of the 1950s-1970s. In most of his Warner Bros. series, ...

Television commercials

Johnson made television commercials during her career for products including Elgin Watches,

Carnation Milk Carnation is a brand of food products. The brand was especially known for its evaporated milk product created in 1899, then called Carnation Sterilized Cream

Tang Tang or TANG most often refers to: * Tang dynasty * Tang (drink mix) Tang or TANG may also refer to: Chinese states and dynasties * Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...

breakfast drink,

Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...

Automobiles,

Helene Curtis Helene Curtis Industries, Inc. was an American cosmetics and beauty parlor products firm based in Chicago. The company acquired a hair-coloring line through the acquisition of a competitor business. Later the retailer diversified into the field of p ...

Hair Products, Sterling Beer,

Winston Cigarettes Winston is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by ITG Brands, subsidiary of Imperial Tobacco in the United States and by Japan Tobacco outside the U.S. The brand is named after the town where R. J. Reynolds started ...

Bayer Bayer AG (, commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer's areas of busi ...

Aspirin and the United States Marine Corp. Her likeness was featured in commercial print model work for the

State of Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Development Commission,

Mobil Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999. ...

Oil, Skyway Luggage,

swimsuits,

blankets and

Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and ...

Department Stores.

Personal life

As of 2012, Johnson lived in Florida, running a landscaping business. She has four children, including a daughter,

Dorothy Papadakos Dorothy Jean Papadakos (born 1960) is an American concert organist, composer, lyricist, playwright, and author. She is the former organist at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City (1990–2003), the first female organist to hold ...

, who is a noted concert organist, playwright, and author.