Mary Lea Johnson Richards (August 20, 1926 – May 3, 1990) was an American heiress, entrepreneur, and Broadway producer. She was a granddaughter of

Robert Wood Johnson I Robert Wood Johnson I (February 20, 1845 – February 7, 1910) was an American industrialist. He was also one of the three brothers who founded Johnson & Johnson. Early life Johnson was born in Carbondale, Pennsylvania. His father was Sylvest ...

(co-founder of

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...

), and of Bermudan politician, soldier, and lawyer, Colonel

Thomas Melville Dill Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Melville Dill OBE (23 December 1876 – 7 March 1945) was a prominent Bermudian lawyer, politician, and soldier. Early life Dill was born in Devonshire Parish, in the British Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda, the ...

. She was the first baby to appear on a Johnson's baby powder label. Pg. 129 "For six years, he committed incest with Mary Lea..." Pg. 126

Early life

Johnson was born in

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.John Seward Johnson I John Seward Johnson I (July 14, 1895 – May 23, 1983) was one of the sons of Robert Wood Johnson I (co-founder of Johnson & Johnson). He was also known as J. Seward Johnson Sr. and Seward Johnson. He was a longtime executive and director of Jo ...

, and her mother was Ruth Dill, the sister of actress Diana Dill; she was therefore ma first cousin of

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the AF ...

. Johnson grew up with five siblings: Elaine Johnson,

John Seward Johnson II John Seward Johnson II (April 16, 1930 – March 10, 2020), also known as J. Seward Johnson Jr. and Seward Johnson, was an American artist known for ''trompe-l'œil'' painted bronze statues. He was a grandson of Robert Wood Johnson I, the co-found ...

, Diana Melville Johnson, Jennifer Underwood Johnson, and James Loring "Jimmy" Johnson. She was sexually abused by her father from age nine to fifteen. "She did anything that men wanted," Richards says, sadly, "because of the abuse with her father." Her parents divorced around 1937, and her father remarried two years later, producing two half siblings, including Jimmy Johnson, which made her an aunt of

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

director Jamie Johnson. Johnson graduated from the

Masters School The Masters School (colloquially known as Masters), is a private, coeducational boarding school and day college preparatory school located in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Its campus is located north of New York City in the Hudson Valley in Westc ...

in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., and the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Career

Johnson was a founder and partner of Producer Circle, a film and theater production company, which produced Broadway shows such as Sweeney Todd, and Broadway producer.

Personal life

Johnson was excluded from her father's will, which left the bulk of his fortune to

Barbara Piasecka Johnson Barbara "Basia" Piasecka Johnson (born Barbara Piasecka; February 25, 1937 – April 1, 2013) was a Polish humanitarian, philanthropist, art connoisseur and collector. Early life Piasecka Johnson was born in Staniewicze near Grodno, Poland (n ...

, her father's wife and former chambermaid. She and her siblings sued on grounds that their father wasn't mentally competent at the time he signed the will. It was settled out of court, and the children were granted about 12% of the fortune. During the largest inheritance battle in history, it was revealed that Johnson was a victim of incest. "Mary Lea Johnson was a victim of incest..." Johnson's first marriage was to William Ryan, a press agent turned farmer. Before they divorced, the pair had six children: Eric Ryan, Seward Ryan, Hillary Ryan, Quentin Ryan, Roderick Newbold Ryan, and Alice Ryan Marriott. In 1972, she married Dr. Victor D'Arc, a psychiatrist, whom she met while seeking treatment for her son's drug addiction. In 1976, she publicly declared that her estranged husband and his homosexual lover had hired hitmen to have her murdered.
Pp. 254. Johnson, who was living with gay Broadway producer Marty Richards, hired a bodyguard, who was beaten almost to death during a break-in that almost killed Johnson and Richards. Subsequently, the Bronx D.A's office made a case, and opened an investigation. No charges were brought, and the pair divorced in 1978. Johnson's third marriage would be to Richards, and last until her death. Her family had a twelve-year-long court battle regarding her husband's eligibility for a share of the Johnson & Johnson fortune. The court ruled in favor of Richards. In 1990, Johnson died of liver cancer at the age of 63. The NYU Mary Lea Johnson Richards Organ Transplantation Center is named after her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Mary Lea Johnson Robert Wood Johnson family, Mary Lea 1990 deaths 1926 births People from New Brunswick, New Jersey American socialites Deaths from liver cancer Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania Schuyler family The Masters School people

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References