Mel Johnson Jr.
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Mel Johnson Jr. (born 1953) is an American character actor and film producer from
Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a neighborhood within the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; Sunnyside to the east; and Newtown Creek, which separates Queens from Greenpoint, Brook ...
,
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, in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.


Biography

Johnson portrays the mutant cab driver and Mars secret agent Benny in the 1990 hit
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
film '' Total Recall''. He also starred in the
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
''
On the Twentieth Century ''On the Twentieth Century'' is a musical with book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Cy Coleman. Based partly on the 1932 play '' Twentieth Century'' and its 1934 film adaptation, the musical is part operetta, part farce ...
'' and appeared in the
Public Theater The Public Theater is an arts organization in New York City. Founded by Joseph Papp, The Public Theater was originally the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954; its mission was to support emerging playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: A ...
's "Shakespeare in the Park" 2005 revival of ''
Two Gentlemen of Verona ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1589 and 1593. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as showing his first ten ...
''.Brantley, Ben
"Shakespeare in the Park Review; Enter 'Two Gentlemen' For a Sexy Sip of Sangría"
''The New York Times'', August 29, 2005
He was also in the musical The Rink. Johnson played Broca, the
Cardassian The Cardassians () are a fictional Extraterrestrial life in popular culture, extraterrestrial species in the American science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. They were devised in 1991 for the series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' before b ...
who succeeds Damar in becoming the leader of the Cardassian Union in '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''s final two episodes, " The Dogs of War" and "
What You Leave Behind "What You Leave Behind" is the series finale of the television show ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', the 175th and 176th episodes, the 25th and 26th episodes of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7, seventh season. The episode was written by ...
". Johnson has also guest starred in ''
The Munsters Today ''The Munsters Today'' is an American sitcom and a revival of the original 1964–66 sitcom ''The Munsters'' that aired in syndication from October 8, 1988, to June 8, 1991. Plot The series concerns the day-to-day life of a family of benign m ...
'', ''
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz that aired on NBC from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart ...
'' and ''
The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy i ...
''. His other motion picture credits include ''Off the Mark'', ''
American Blue Note ''American Blue Note'' is a 1989 drama film directed by Ralph Toporoff, who wrote the screenplay with Gilbert Girion. It stars Peter MacNicol, Carl Capotorto, Tim Guinee Timothy S. Guinee (born November 18, 1962) is an American stage, televis ...
,'' ''Murder By Numbers'', ''
Hideous! ''Hideous!'' is a 1997 comedy horror film and monster movie, about several elite human oddity collectors and traders who find themselves locked in a castle with several mutated creatures come to life. The film combines live-action actors with rod ...
'', ''Archibald the Rainbow Painter'' and ''In the Shadow of the Cobra''. Johnson served as the creative head of
Full Moon Entertainment Full Moon Features is an American independent motion picture production and distribution company headed by B-movie veteran Charles Band. It is known for the direct-to-video series '' Puppet Master'', '' Trancers'', and ''Subspecies'', as well as ...
label Alchemy Entertainment/Big City Pictures. His credits as producer while there include ''
Ragdoll The Ragdoll is a List of cat breeds, breed of cat with a distinct Point coloration, colorpoint coat and blue eyes. Its Morphology (biology), morphology is large and weighty, and it has a semi-long and silky soft coat. American breeder Ann Baker ...
'', ''The Horrible Dr. Bones'', '' Killjoy'' and ''The Vault''.


Credits


Broadway

*''
On the Twentieth Century ''On the Twentieth Century'' is a musical with book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Cy Coleman. Based partly on the 1932 play '' Twentieth Century'' and its 1934 film adaptation, the musical is part operetta, part farce ...
'' (1978–1979) *'' Eubie!'' (1978–1979) *'' The Rink'' (1984) *''
Rap Master Ronnie ''Rap Master Ronnie'' is the name of several musical theater, musical comedies developed by Garry Trudeau and Elizabeth Swados throughout the 1980s, including a 1984 off-Broadway "partisan revue," a music video, and a made for TV movie starring The ...
'' (1984) *'' Big Deal'' (1986) *''
The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...
'' (1997–present) *''
Hot Feet ''Hot Feet'' is a jukebox musical featuring the music of Earth, Wind & Fire, a book by Heru Ptah and was conceived, directed, and choreographed by Maurice Hines. The musical opened on Broadway at the Lyric Theatre (then the Hilton Theatre) o ...
'' (2006) *'' Jekyll & Hyde'' (2013) *''
Kiss Me, Kate ''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Bella and Samuel Spewack. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off- ...
'' (2019)


Film

*''Eubie!'' (1981) *''Off the Mark'' (1987) *''
American Blue Note ''American Blue Note'' is a 1989 drama film directed by Ralph Toporoff, who wrote the screenplay with Gilbert Girion. It stars Peter MacNicol, Carl Capotorto, Tim Guinee Timothy S. Guinee (born November 18, 1962) is an American stage, televis ...
'' (1989) *''Murder by Numbers'' (1990) *'' Total Recall'' (1990) *''Intimate Stranger'' (1991) *''
Hideous! ''Hideous!'' is a 1997 comedy horror film and monster movie, about several elite human oddity collectors and traders who find themselves locked in a castle with several mutated creatures come to life. The film combines live-action actors with rod ...
'' (1997) *''Archibald the Rainbow Painter'' (1998) *''In the Shadow of the Cobra'' (2004) As producer: *''
Ragdoll The Ragdoll is a List of cat breeds, breed of cat with a distinct Point coloration, colorpoint coat and blue eyes. Its Morphology (biology), morphology is large and weighty, and it has a semi-long and silky soft coat. American breeder Ann Baker ...
'' (1999) *''The Horrible Dr. Bones'' (2000) *'' Killjoy'' (2000) *''The Vault'' (2000)


Television

*''
Gimme a Break! ''Gimme a Break!'' is an American television sitcom created by Mort Lachman and Sy Rosen that aired on NBC for six seasons from October 29, 1981, to May 12, 1987. The series starred Nell Carter as the housekeeper for a widowed police chief ...
'' (1985) *''
The New Mike Hammer ''Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer'' (later titled ''The New Mike Hammer''), with Stacy Keach in the title role, is an American crime drama television series that originally aired on CBS from January 28, 1984, to May 13, 1987. The series consisted ...
'' (1986) *''
My Two Dads ''My Two Dads'' is an American sitcom television series that was produced by Michael Jacobs Productions in association with Tri-Star Television (later Columbia Pictures Television) and distributed by TeleVentures. It stars Paul Reiser, Gre ...
'' (1988) *'' Police Story: The Watch Commander'' (1988) *''
Designing Women ''Designing Women'' is an American television sitcom created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason that aired on CBS between September 29, 1986 and May 24, 1993, producing seven seasons and 163 episodes. It was a joint production of Bloodworth/Thomas ...
'' (1989) *'' Life Goes On'' (1989) *''
The Munsters Today ''The Munsters Today'' is an American sitcom and a revival of the original 1964–66 sitcom ''The Munsters'' that aired in syndication from October 8, 1988, to June 8, 1991. Plot The series concerns the day-to-day life of a family of benign m ...
'' (1991) *''
On the Air On the Air may refer to: * ''On the Air'' (album), 1984, by Billy Preston * ''On the Air'' (TV series), an American sitcom * ''On the Air'' (film), a 1934 British musical comedy * On the Air (band), an English rock band * On the Air (radio play),a ...
'' (1992) *''
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz that aired on NBC from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart ...
'' (1994) *''
New York Undercover ''New York Undercover'' is an American police drama that aired on the Fox television network from September 8, 1994, to February 11, 1999. The series starred Malik Yoba as Detective J.C. Williams and Michael DeLorenzo as Detective Eddie Torre ...
'' (1997) *'' Liberty! The American Revolution'' (1997) *''
The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy i ...
'' (1998) *'' Sunset Beach'' (1999) *'' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1999) *''
Sheena Sheena may refer to: People *Ringo Sheena (born 1978), Japanese singer *Shenna Bellows (born 1975), American politician * Sheena Belarmino (born 2005), Filipino singer and dancer * Sheena Catacutan (born 2004), Filipino dancer and singer, member ...
'' (2001) *''
Jessica Jones Jessica Campbell Jones-Cage, professionally known as Jessica Jones, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos and first appea ...
'' (2018)


Notes


External links

* * Listen to Mel Johnson on Spotlight on Connecticut - Visit https://web.archive.org/web/20080315044829/http://spotlightonct.com/2_04_08_Mel_Johnson.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Mel Jr. African-American male actors 1953 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) People from Long Island City, Queens