Stephen R. Johnson
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Stephen R. Johnson (July 12, 1952 – January 26, 2015) was an American
music video director A music video director is the head of music video production. The director conceives of videos' artistic and dramatic aspects while instructing the musical act, technical crew, actors, models, and dancers. They may or may not be in collaboration ...
, television director,
animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video gam ...
, painter, and writer. Johnson got his start directing a
music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
for the song "Girls Like You" by Combonation, which features a young
Robin Wright Robin Gayle Wright (born April 8, 1966) is an American actress. She has won a Golden Globe Award and a Satellite Award, and has received eleven Emmy Award nominations for her work in television. Wright first gained attention for her role in t ...
, before moving on to directing videos for popular artists. Johnson directed three music videos for
Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...
: " Big Time", "
Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
", and "
Sledgehammer A sledgehammer is a tool with a large, flat, often metal head, attached to a long handle. The long handle combined with a heavy head allows the sledgehammer to gather momentum during a swing and apply a large force compared to hammers designed t ...
". "Sledgehammer" has the distinction of winning nine
MTV Video Music Award The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...
s, which remains unsurpassed. In addition, Johnson directed the videos for "
Road to Nowhere "Road to Nowhere" is a rock song written by David Byrne for the 1985 Talking Heads album ''Little Creatures''. It also appeared on '' Best of Talking Heads'', '' Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites'', the ''Once in a Lifetime'' box set and t ...
" by
Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...
, and "
The Bug "The Bug" is a song written by Mark Knopfler and originally performed by Dire Straits on the final studio album by the band, '' On Every Street'' (1991). It was covered by Mary Chapin Carpenter in 1992, and also recorded on the albums ''Blues B ...
" and "
Walk of Life "Walk of Life" is a song by the British rock band Dire Straits, the third track on their fifth studio album '' Brothers in Arms'' (1985). It subsequently appeared on their live album '' On the Night'' (1993). It was released as a single October ...
" by
Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and percuss ...
. In addition to directing music videos, Johnson was known for directing all thirteen episodes of the first season of ''
Pee-wee's Playhouse ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'' is an American television series starring Paul Reubens as the childlike Pee-wee Herman that ran from 1986 to 1990 on Saturday mornings on CBS, and airing in reruns until July 1991. The show was developed from Reubens's po ...
'', for which he was nominated for a
Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...
for Outstanding Directing in Children's Programming. He also spearheaded the creation of the short film ''Universal Declaration of Human Rights'' for
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
, based on the thirty articles of the ''
Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal De ...
'' created by the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
. The film is composed of animated interpretations of the articles from forty-two different animators. Johnson was born on July 12, 1952, in
Paola, Kansas Paola is a city in and the county seat of Miami County, Kansas, Miami County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 5,768. History Native Americans in the United States, Nativ ...
, the son of Russell and Lena Wheeler Johnson. He attended high school in
Pleasanton, Kansas Pleasanton is a city in Linn County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,208. History In 1864, General Alfred Pleasonton defeated the Confederates in the Battle of Mine Creek near present-day Pleasant ...
. He then attended college at Kansas University and the University of Southern California. At USC he made an award-winning movie using stop-motion techniques - as did many of his music videos. Johnson died at the age of 62 on January 26, 2015, in Fort Scott, Kansas, from cardiac complications.


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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Stephen R. American animated film directors American music video directors 20th-century American painters American animators American television directors American writers 1952 births 2015 deaths 21st-century American painters