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

Early years

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

Radio

In the late 1930s, Johnston had his own program on

NBC 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 ...

-Blue.

Recordings

Johnston had several hits on the

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

label.

Personal life

Johnston was married five times, and had five children. One of his marriages was to actress

Kathryn Grayson Kathryn Grayson (born Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick; February 9, 1922 – February 17, 2010) was an American actress and coloratura soprano.Ronald Berganbr>Obituary '' London Guardian'', February 19, 2010. From the age of twelve, Grayson train ...

at an August 22, 1947 ceremony in

Carmel Carmel may refer to: * Carmel (biblical settlement), an ancient Israelite town in Judea * Mount Carmel, a coastal mountain range in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea * Carmelites, a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order Carmel may also ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Grayson was his second wife. On October 7, 1948, the couple's only child, daughter Patricia "Patty Kate" Kathryn 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. Johnston's ''

This Time for Keeps ''This Time for Keeps'' is a 1947 American romantic musical film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Esther Williams, Jimmy Durante, Johnnie Johnston and opera singer Lauritz Melchior. Produced by MGM, it is about a soldier, returning home ...

'' co-star,

Esther Williams Esther Jane Williams (August 8, 1921 – June 6, 2013) was an American competitive swimmer and actress. She set regional and national records in her late teens on the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Ol ...

, claimed in her 1999 autobiography that while making the film, Johnston would read Grayson's intimate letters aloud to the girls in his fan club, including the "all-too-graphic details concerning what she liked about his love-making." Later he operated a nightclub in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. On July 31, 1952, Johnston married Shirley I. Carmel in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Hit recordings

Filmography

* '' Star Spangled Rhythm'' (1942) * '' Priorities on Parade'' (1942) * ''

'' (1947) * '' Unchained'' (1955) * ''

Rock Around the Clock "Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers (the latter being under the pseudonym "Jimmy De Knight") in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was record ...

'' (1956)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Johnnie 1915 births 1996 deaths Capitol Records artists American male pop singers Traditional pop music singers Musicians from St. Louis American radio personalities Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players Male actors from St. Louis American people of French descent American people of Italian descent American people of Scottish descent 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singers Nightclub performers Singers from Missouri 20th-century American male singers