Johnny Carpenter (Jasper Carpenter; June 25, 1914 – February 27, 2003) was an American film actor, screenwriter and producer. He was known mostly for his work in Westerns and for his association with filmmaker

Ed Wood Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and pulp novel author. In the 1950s, Wood directed several low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult cla ...

. He used the stage names John, Johnny, Josh, and John Forbes.

Film career

Johnny began working in Hollywood in the mid-1940s, mostly in bit parts in B-Westerns. By 1950, Johnny had graduated to larger roles in films produced by Jack Schwarz, including ''Border Outlaws'' and ''Cattle Queen'', his breakout film. He starred in several more B-Westerns, all the while continuing to do stunt work in higher profile films. From 1953 to 1956, Carpenter produced four movies independently; ''

Son of the Renegade ''Son of the Renegade'' is a 1953 low-budget American Western film directed by Reg Browne. The film's soundtrack was conducted by Darrell Calker. The film also features an uncredited co-screenwriting role for Legendary B-Movie director Ed Wood ...

'' (1953), ''

The Lawless Rider ''The Lawless Rider'' is a 1954 American black-and-white western film directed by Yakima Canutt and starring Johnny Carpenter, Frankie Darro and Noel Neill, and marketed by United Artists. Ed Wood helped co-write the screenplay, which was origin ...

'' (1954), '' Outlaw Treasure'' (1955) and ''

I Killed Wild Bill Hickok ''I Killed Wild Bill Hickok'' is a 1956 American Western film directed by Richard Talmadge. It is an entirely fictional account of Wild Bill Hickok ( Tom Brown) who is the villain of the film. The film was produced and written by Johnny Carpe ...

'' (1956). These four films have drawn comparisons between Carpenter and his friend

, who actually helped produce ''The Lawless Rider'' and may have worked on ''Son of the Renegade'', as well. Carpenter would also make a featured appearance in Wood's 1959 film, ''

Night of the Ghouls ''Night of the Ghouls'' is a horror film written and directed by Ed Wood. The film was shot between April and May 1958. Cast member Paul Marco recalled that the film had a preview screening in 1959 at the Vista Theatre in Hollywood, after which ...

''. By the 1960s, Western film work had dried up and Carpenter's output decreased, with his last film role being in 1961's '' Tomboy and the Champ''.

Heaven on Earth

Besides his work in Westerns, Carpenter had a great love of horses and tried to share his enthusiasm with all who cared. One way in which he spread his love of the outdoors was through his "Heaven on Earth" ranch.Michael Carpenter: ''New Heaven on Earth Ranch'', http://www.nhoer.org/ , retrieved June 28, 2009. First located in Glendale, California (later moved Lake View Terrace), the ranch was available for handicapped children (mostly from Los Angeles) to come and spend a day with the horses and enjoy the mock Western town that served as the ranch's backdrop. The ranch began in the mid-1940s and ran until Carpenter was evicted in 1994, having run for around fifty years. Carpenter died in Burbank, California, in 2003, at age 88.

References

External links

* * http://www.b-westerns.com/johnnyc.htm. This website, and every other one I've reviewed, lists his birthplace as "Debinsville"—that is incorrect; he was born in Dardanelle,

Yell County, Arkansas Yell County is a county in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,263. The county has two county seats, Dardanelle and Danville. Yell County is Arkansas's 42nd county, formed on December 5, 1840, from porti ...

. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, Johnny 1914 births 2003 deaths American male film actors American male screenwriters American film producers Deaths from cancer in California Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters