Ronald Samuel Johnson (14 May 1949 – November 1998) was an English actor.

Biography

Johnson was born in

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

. the son of Samuel Johnson and Thomasina (Tina) Scott. He was brother to Kenneth (who died in September 1964), Raymond (Jimmy) and two sisters Valerie and Catherine. Johnson was raised in Gateshead and lived on the Springwell Estate. From an early age he was interested in music and played guitar, which he wore around his neck. Later he became a member of the band Pigmeat along with Jim Murray and Ray Stubbs. After playing bass guitar at Live Theatre in a panto he was asked to act in the show. He applied for

Equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership * Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the dif ...

membership but they already had a 'Ron Johnson' so he used his father's name of 'Sammy'. He appeared in several TV productions and often worked with local writers like

C. P. Taylor Cecil Philip Taylor (6 November 1929 – 9 December 1981) usually credited as C. P. Taylor, was a Scottish playwright. He wrote almost 80 plays during his 16 years as a professional playwright, including several for radio and television. He also ...

Tom Hadaway Tom Hadaway (18 March 1923 – 3 March 2005) was a writer for stage and television, born in North Shields in North East England. Early life Hadaway was born on Howdon Road, North Shields on 18 March 1923. After leaving school, aged 14, he worke ...

, Leonard Barras and Arthur McKenzie but continued to be a musician with the 'Ray Stubbs R&B Allstars' as well as forming 'Matt Vinyl and the Decorators'. Johnson was cast as Martin Cooper in the second series of '' Auf Wiedersehen, Pet''. He was then chosen by Jimmy Nail to play 'Stick' in ''

Spender ''Spender'' is a British television police procedural drama, created by Ian La Frenais and Jimmy Nail, that first broadcast on 8 January 1991 on BBC1. The series, which also starred Nail as the titular character, ran for three series between 19 ...

'', which was written by Jimmy Nail and Ian La Frenais. Other famous roles he played were in the animated comedy adaptation of

VIZ Viz may refer to: *''viz.'', a synonym for “namely” * ''Viz'' (comics), a British adult comic magazine **'' Viz: The Game'', a computer game based on the comic *Viz Media, an American manga and anime distribution and entertainment company *"V ...

Sid the Sexist Sid the Sexist (real name Sidney Aloysius Smutt) is a character from the British satirical comic '' Viz'', first appearing in issue 9 in October 1982. The strip was created and mostly drawn by Simon Donald until he left the magazine in 2003, when ...

- where he provided the voice of the titular character and in ITV's adaptation of Catherine Cookson's ''The Gambling Man'' as Victor Pittie. He then turned to scriptwriting and moved to Spain in the hills above

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

, where he died while out jogging in 1998 at the age of 49. After his death, the Sammy Johnson Memorial Fund was set up. There is a biennial variety concert named ''

Sunday for Sammy ''Sunday for Sammy'' is a series of biennial charity concerts held in aid of the Sammy Johnson Memorial Fund, which benefits young performers. The fund was established in memorial to Sammy Johnson, an actor from North East England, who died sudd ...

'' hosted by Tim Healy and (until 2008) Jimmy Nail, featuring sketches with North East personalities. Kevin Whately, Denise Welch and

Peter Beardsley Peter Andrew Beardsley MBE (born 18 January 1961) is an English football coach and former footballer who played as a forward or midfielder between 1979 and 1999. In 1987, he set a record transfer fee in the English game and represented his coun ...

are amongst the regular contributors.

External links

*
Sammy Johnson Memorial FundBBC Comedy Sammy Johnson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Sammy 1949 births 1998 deaths English male television actors British expatriates in Spain Male actors from Newcastle upon Tyne Actors from County Durham Actors from Gateshead 20th-century English male actors