Arthur Stanton Eric Johnson (January 20, 1929 – July 3, 2019) was an American actor and comedian who was best known for his work as a regular on television's ''
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for six seasons from January 22, 1968, to July 23, 1973, on the NBC television network. The show, hosted by comed ...
''.
Biography
Early life
Johnson was born January 20, 1929, in
Benton Harbor, Michigan
Benton Harbor is a city in Berrien County, Michigan, Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is 46 miles southwest of Kalamazoo, Michigan, Kalamazoo and 71 miles southwest of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Grand Rapids. According to the 2020 2 ...
, the son of Abraham Lincoln and Edythe Mackenzie (Goldberg/Golden) Johnson. His father was an attorney. Johnson graduated from
Austin High School and received a bachelor's degree in radio journalism from
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...
in 1949, where he worked at the campus radio station and the University of Illinois Theater Guild with his brother Coslough "Cos" Johnson.
Following brief military service in
Korea
Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
(he was discharged due to a
duodenal ulcer
An ulcer is a discontinuity or break in a bodily membrane that impedes normal function of the affected organ. According to Robbins's pathology, "ulcer is the breach of the continuity of skin, epithelium or mucous membrane caused by sloughin ...
he had suffered since childhood),
["From Beautiful Downtown Burbank": A Critical History of ''Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In'', 1968–1973.]
Erickson, Hal (2000). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, page 74, . he sought employment in Chicago advertising agencies but was unsuccessful and left for New York City to work for
Viking Press
Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheimer and then acqu ...
. In early 1954, Johnson performed in several New York nightclubs, including Le Ruban Bleu and the
Village Vanguard
The Village Vanguard is a jazz club at Seventh Avenue South in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on February 22, 1935, by Max Gordon. Originally, the club presented folk music and beat poetry, but it became primarily a jaz ...
. His first job in show business came when he impulsively stepped into an audition line and was cast in ''
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes''. Johnson appeared in
Ben Bagley's ''The Shoestring Revue'', which opened
off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
on February 28, 1955, at the President Theater in New York.
Early television and film roles
Johnson appeared three times in the 1955–1956
CBS sitcom ''
It's Always Jan'', starring
Janis Paige and
Merry Anders
Merry Anders (born Mary Helen Anderson; May 22, 1934 – October 28, 2012) was an American actress who appeared in a number of television programs and films from the 1950s until her retirement from the screen in 1972.
Early life
Anders was born ...
. In 1956 a young Arte Johnson appeared in season 3, episode 22, of ''
Make Room for Daddy'' in an episode called "Who Can Figure Kids", where he sang and danced. In 1958 he joined the cast of the short-lived
NBC sitcom ''
Sally''. On that program he played Bascomb Bleacher, Jr., the son of a co-owner of a
department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...
, portrayed by
Gale Gordon
Gale Gordon (born Charles Thomas Aldrich Jr., February 20, 1906 – June 30, 1995) was an American character actor who was Lucille Ball's longtime television foil, particularly as cantankerously combustible, tightfisted bank executive Theodore J ...
. He played Ariel Lavalerra in the 1960 film ''
The Subterraneans'', an adaptation of
Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation.
Of French-Canadian ...
's
1958 novel of the same name. In 1960 and 1961, he appeared in three episodes of
Jackie Cooper's military sitcom/drama series ''
Hennesey'', also on CBS. In ''
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...
'' he played Mr. Bates in the episode "A Secret Life" (1962). He was cast in an episode of
Frank Aletter's sitcom ''
Bringing Up Buddy''. He also appeared in an episode of ''
The Twilight Zone
''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...
'' titled "The Whole Truth" (1961).
Before his big breakthrough in ''Laugh-In'', Johnson was cast for a guest role as Corporal Coogan in the anthology series ''
GE True'' ("The Handmade Private," 1962). He played a bumbling navy cameraman on an episode of ''
McHale's Navy
''McHale's Navy'' is an American sitcom starring Ernest Borgnine that aired 138 half-hour episodes over four seasons, from October 11, 1962, to April 12, 1966, on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network. The series was filmed i ...
'' in the first season and ''
The Andy Griffith Show
''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American sitcom television series that was aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color.
The series ...
'' as a hotel clerk in the episode "Andy and Barney in the Big City" (also 1962). He was a member of the regular cast of the 1962–1963 situation comedy ''
Don't Call Me Charlie!'', portraying Corporal Lefkowitz. Johnson appeared in a comedic role as Charlie, a boom-microphone operator who demonstrates to
Jack Benny
Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky; February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success as a violinist on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with ...
how to tell a joke properly, on ''
The Jack Benny Program'' that aired on October 2, 1964. The joke performed in the sketch was the "ugly baby" story, later associated with
Flip Wilson. He made a guest appearance on
ABC's sitcom, ''
Bewitched'' as
Samantha's (
Elizabeth Montgomery
Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery (April 15, 1933 – May 18, 1995) was an American actress whose career spanned five decades in film, stage, and television. She portrayed the good witch List of Bewitched characters#Samantha Stephens, Samantha Step ...
) Cousin Edgar in the final episode of the first season, airing on June 2, 1965. Also in 1965, Johnson played a rare dramatic supporting role in the film ''
The Third Day'' as Lester Aldrich, who turns out to be the downtrodden husband of the sleazy nymphomaniac Holly.
Johnson appeared in one of the final episodes of ABC's ''
The Donna Reed Show'' in 1966. He was cast in the satirical
James Coburn
James Harrison Coburn III (August 31, 1928 – November 18, 2002) was an American film and television actor who was featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television appearances during a 45-year career.AllmoviBi ...
film ''
The President's Analyst'' (1967), in which he gave a comically chilling performance as a federal agent with a blindly obedient "orders are orders" mentality. He appeared in the Season 3 episode of ''
Lost in Space'' titled "Princess of Space" (1968). Johnson also starred in an episode of
Rod Serling
Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his Anthology series, anthology television series ''The Twilight Zone (1 ...
's ''
Night Gallery
''Night Gallery'' is an American anthology television series that aired on NBC from December 16, 1970, to May 27, 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, '' The Twilight Zon ...
'' titled "The Flip-Side of Satan" (1971).
''Laugh-In''
Johnson is best known for his work on ''
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for six seasons from January 22, 1968, to July 23, 1973, on the NBC television network. The show, hosted by comed ...
'' from 1968 to 1973, on which he played many characters, including "Wolfgang," a cigarette-smoking German soldier oblivious to the fact that
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
was long over, as he skulked while hidden behind a potted plant. He would then invariably comment on a preceding gag with the catchphrase "Very interesting ...," which Johnson claimed was inspired by a
Nazi
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
character who spoke the line during an interrogation scene in the film ''
Desperate Journey'' (1942). Often toward the show's close, he (as the German) would offer words of affection to "Lucy and Gary" (
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by ''Time (magazine), Time'' in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for h ...
and her second husband
Gary Morton). ''
The Lucy Show
''The Lucy Show'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962 to 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to ''I Love Lucy''. A significant change in cast and premise for the fourth season (1965–1966) divides the program into two distinct ...
'' and later ''
Here's Lucy
''Here's Lucy'' is an American sitcom starring Lucille Ball. The series co-starred her long-time comedy partner Gale Gordon and her real-life children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. It was broadcast on CBS from 1968 to 1974. It was Ball's third ...
'' on CBS were in
direct competition with NBC's ''Laugh-In'' on
Monday night. Johnson reprised the role briefly on ''
Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
'' in the early 1970s, and while voicing the Nazi-inspired character
Virman Vundabar on an episode of ''
Justice League Unlimited
''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is an American superhero animated series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation with DC Comics in season 3 and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Universe, and ...
''.

His other prominent ''Laugh-In'' character was "Tyrone F. Horneigh" (pronounced "horn-eye," a "clean" variant of the vulgar term "horny"), the white-haired,
trench coat-wearing "dirty old man" who repeatedly sought to seduce "Gladys Ormphby," (
Ruth Buzzi's brown-clad "spinster" character) on a park bench. Tyrone would enter the scene, muttering a song (usually "
In the Merry, Merry Month of May"), and, spying Gladys on the bench, would sit next to her. He would ask her a question, and regardless of the answer, turn it into a double entendre. She would then start hitting him with her purse and he would fall off the bench, sometimes with a plea for help.
To boost ratings in the third season, Tyrone successfully courted Gladys which led to an on-air wedding on the March 16, 1970, episode during the spring ratings sweep.
Tiny Tim played best man, with
Carol Channing as the bridesmaid, and
Henry Gibson
James Bateman (September 21, 1935 – September 14, 2009), known professionally as Henry Gibson, was an American actor, comedian and poet. He played roles in the television sketch-comedy series ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' from 1968 to 1971, w ...
officiating. Alas, both bride-to-be and groom-to-be walk out of the church just before the wedding vows are spoken.
Years after ''Laugh-In'' ended, the two characters were the subject of an animated Saturday-morning children's show, ''
Baggy Pants and the Nitwits'', with Tyrone as a helpful, muttering "superhero."
Johnson and his brother Coslough earned
Emmy Awards
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
while working on ''
Laugh-In
''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for six seasons from January 22, 1968, to July 23, 1973, on the NBC television network. The show, hosted by come ...
''.
Later work
Johnson guest-starred in two episodes of ''
The Partridge Family
''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom created by Bernard Slade, which was broadcast in the United States from September 1970 to March 1974 on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. After the final first-run telecast on ABC in March ...
'' ("My Heart Belongs to a Two Car Garage" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls... and Tolls... and Tolls") and the situation comedy ''
A Touch of Grace'' (1973). He appeared in the first season of the Detroit-produced children's show ''
Hot Fudge'' (1974) and, for one week, as a celebrity guest panelist on the game show ''
Match Game
''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity paneli ...
''. From 1976 to 1980, Johnson was a regular celebrity guest judge on ''
The Gong Show''.
In 1976, Johnson voiced the animated cartoon character
Misterjaw, a blue, German-accented shark, in ''
The Pink Panther Show''. He also voiced the character "Rhubarb" on ''
The Houndcats'' and appeared as a guest on Canadian TV show ''
Celebrity Cooks'' (1976) with host
Bruno Gerussi
Bruno Santos Gerussi (7 May 1928 – 21 November 1995) was a Canadian stage and television actor, best known for the lead role in the CBC Television series '' The Beachcombers'' from 1972 to 1990. He also performed onstage at the Stratford Fest ...
. Johnson appeared on an episode of the NBC daytime version of ''
Wheel of Fortune'' in September 1977 as a substitute letter-turner, both to fill in for an injured
Susan Stafford, and to promote his short-lived NBC game show ''
Knockout
A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...
'', which aired through early 1978. Instead of being introduced by the show's announcer, he would start the show with a small monologue, then the announcer would introduce the day's contestants. He was cast as Renfield, the comic sidekick of
George Hamilton's
Dracula
''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...
in the film ''
Love at First Bite'' (1979) and appeared in the all-star television disaster film ''
Condominium
A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...
'' (1980). He voiced "Weerd" in ''
The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo'' (1985), and played a disgruntled employee denied
severance pay
Severance may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Severance'' (film), a 2006 British horror film
* ''Severance'' (novel), a 2018 novel by Ling Ma
*''Severance'', a 2006 short-story collection by Robert Olen Butler
* ''Severance'' (TV series), ...
in an episode of ''
Airwolf''. He also voiced several other characters: Dr. Ludwig Von Strangebuck and Count Ray on two episodes of ''
DuckTales DuckTales refers to:
Film and television
* ''DuckTales'' (1987 TV series), original TV series
** '' DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp''
* ''DuckTales'' (2017 TV series), reboot TV series
Video games
* ''DuckTales'' (video game) ...
''; Devil Smurf on ''
The Smurfs
''The Smurfs'' (; ) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was created and introduced as a series of comic characters by ...
'';
Top Cat
''Top Cat'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and originally broadcast in prime time on the ABC network. It aired in a weekly evening time slot from September 27, 1961, to April 18, 1962, for a single season ...
and Lou on ''
Yo Yogi!''; and Newt on ''
Animaniacs
''Animaniacs'' is an American Animated series, animated Comedy television, comedy Musical film, musical television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation. It originally aired on Fox Broadcasting Company ...
''. Johnson guest-starred in the ''
Murder, She Wrote
''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...
'' episode "No Laughing Murder" (1987). He also appeared in an episode of ''
Night Court
''Night Court'' is an American television sitcom that premiered on NBC on January 4, 1984, and ended on May 31, 1992, after nine seasons consisting of List of Night Court episodes, 193 episodes. The show is set in the night shift of a Manhattan ...
'' (1990). From 1991 to 1992, Johnson appeared in multiple episodes of ''
General Hospital
''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...
'' as
Finian O'Toole. He played the old laboratory head of a team of scientists working on a serum of youth in ''
Second Chance'' (1996).
Johnson performed more than 80 audiobook readings, including Gary Shteyngart's ''
Absurdistan'' (2006) and
Carl Hiaasen
Carl Hiaasen (; born March 12, 1953) is an American journalist and novelist. He began his career as a newspaper reporter and by the late 1970s had begun writing novels in his spare time, both for adults and for middle grade readers. Two of his ...
's ''Bad Monkey''. He appeared in the ''
Justice League Unlimited
''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is an American superhero animated series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation with DC Comics in season 3 and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Universe, and ...
'' episode "The Ties That Bind" (2005) as the voice of
Virman Vundabar, which was his final acting role before his retirement in 2006.
Personal life
Johnson lived in Southern California with his wife, Gisela. He was previously married to choreographer
Texie Waterman. He was a
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include enlarged lymph nodes, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and tire ...
survivor, having been diagnosed and successfully treated in 1997. Johnson died on July 3, 2019, after being ill for three years with
bladder
The bladder () is a hollow organ in humans and other vertebrates that stores urine from the kidneys. In placental mammals, urine enters the bladder via the ureters and exits via the urethra during urination. In humans, the bladder is a distens ...
and
prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...
.
He was 90. His ashes were scattered off Hawaii. Gisela Johnson survives him.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Arte
1929 births
2019 deaths
20th-century American comedians
21st-century American comedians
American game show hosts
American male comedians
American male film actors
American male television actors
American sketch comedians
American male voice actors
American military personnel of the Korean War
Comedians from Los Angeles
Comedians from Michigan
Comedians from New York City
Deaths from bladder cancer in California
Deaths from prostate cancer in California
Male actors from Los Angeles
Male actors from Michigan
Male actors from New York City
Military personnel from Michigan
People from Benton Harbor, Michigan
Primetime Emmy Award winners
United States Army soldiers
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Media alumni
Austin Community Academy High School alumni