Randy Johnston (September 25, 1988October 11, 2008) was an American

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

. He was represented by the Ford NY

modeling agency A modeling agency is a company that represents fashion models, to work for the fashion industry. These agencies earn their income via commission, usually from the deal they make with the model and/or the head agency. The top agencies work with b ...

and was best known for his starring in the fall 2007

Dior Homme Dior Homme is the menswear division of Christian Dior SA, the French clothing retailer. Dior Men has been under the creative direction of Kim Jones since spring/summer 2019. It had been directed by Hedi Slimane since the fall/winter 2001-02 seaso ...

advertising campaign An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ideas, beliefs, and conc ...

."Ford Model Randy Johnston Passes Away"
14 October 2008, ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...

'' Johnston was born in Waterford,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, of German and English descent. He was a successful model;"Male Supermodel's death last Dior Boy"
, 15 January 2009, ''

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses a ...

'' besides his best known role as the last "Dior Boy", he did an ad campaign for Levi's in 2008 with Rachel Clark and

Shannan Click Shannan Marie Click (born November 17, 1983) is an American model. She has appeared in a variety of international editions of ''Vogue'' (including ''Vogue Italia'') and the 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Early life and ...

. His last known modeling gig was an appearance in the November 2008 issue of the '' i-D'' magazine with

Lara Stone Lara Catherina Stone (born 20 December 1983) is a Dutch fashion model. Stone has appeared on the covers of W and Vogue and has worked with brands like Fendi, Chanel, Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney, H&M, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Versace amon ...

. Randy was also a talented musician, and multi-instrumentalist;(drums, bass, guitar) playing in a few Connecticut based indie rock and punk bands. One talented up and coming band, with best friend Jared, called The Electric Noise Act (drumming), and another local band called Soviet Tribe. also providing exciting rhythmic dimension on drums. His favorite book was ''

Things Fall Apart ''Things Fall Apart'' is the debut novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, first published in 1958. It depicts pre-colonial life in the southeastern part of Nigeria and the invasion by Europeans during the late 19th century. It is seen as the ...

,'' by

Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe (; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as the dominant figure of modern African literature. His first novel and ''magnum opus'', ''Things Fall Apart'' (1958), occupies ...

. At the time of his death, his hobbies included

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a ...

, reading, as well as writing

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

, prose, and sketching. He also had a passion for developing

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

of his own; stating that he'd like to be behind the camera professionally, one day. He used TMax400

black and white film Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

. He began to photograph his friends, and his hometown city's architecture. He delighted in sailing boats with his grandfather,

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...

, and survivalist strategy, He became quite skilled in many areas and crafts. After a dedicated and sincere attempt at getting off drugs, Johnston relapsed, after three months of sobriety, and died in

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...

, suddenly on October 11, 2008, around 5pm Eastern Standard Time. He was 20 years old. The cause of death was a drug overdose, which was ruled accidental."Suicidal Models Are Fashion's Worst Trend"
13 May 2010 ''

Jezebel Jezebel (;"Jezebel"
(US) and ) was the daughte ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Randy People from Waterford, Connecticut American people of German descent American people of English descent Drug-related deaths in Connecticut 1988 births 2008 deaths Male models from Connecticut Accidental deaths in Connecticut

See also

References