Actor, Director. He was a pioneer actor and director of American silent films. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Arthur Vaughan Johnson began as a film actor with the Edison Studios in The Bronx, New York in 1905 in the one-reel drama "The White Caps", directed by Wallace McCutcheon, Sr. and Edwin S. Porter. In 1908 he went to work for Biograph Studios where he acted in films directed by D.W. Griffith including "Resurrection" in 1909 and "In Old California" a year later, the first movie Griffith ever shot in Hollywood. At Biograph, Johnson performed with stars such as Mary Pickford and Florence Lawrence. Johnson was reputed to be Griffith's favorite actor. In 1911 he accepted an offer from Lubin Studios in Philadelphia that allowed him to direct as well as act. Health problems ended his career in 1915 after having performed in more than three hundred silent film shorts and having directed twenty-six. He married actress Florence Hackett, with whom he had appeared in 1913 in the film "Power of the Cross." He died of tuberculosis in Philadelphia in 1916, a few weeks short of his 40th birthday.
Actor, Director. He was a pioneer actor and director of American silent films. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Arthur Vaughan Johnson began as a film actor with the Edison Studios in The Bronx, New York in 1905 in the one-reel drama "The White Caps", directed by Wallace McCutcheon, Sr. and Edwin S. Porter. In 1908 he went to work for Biograph Studios where he acted in films directed by D.W. Griffith including "Resurrection" in 1909 and "In Old California" a year later, the first movie Griffith ever shot in Hollywood. At Biograph, Johnson performed with stars such as Mary Pickford and Florence Lawrence. Johnson was reputed to be Griffith's favorite actor. In 1911 he accepted an offer from Lubin Studios in Philadelphia that allowed him to direct as well as act. Health problems ended his career in 1915 after having performed in more than three hundred silent film shorts and having directed twenty-six. He married actress Florence Hackett, with whom he had appeared in 1913 in the film "Power of the Cross." He died of tuberculosis in Philadelphia in 1916, a few weeks short of his 40th birthday.
Bio by: oObuttonOo
Inscription
Front:
JOHNSON
1836 REV MYRON ALFRED JOHNSON D.D. 1921
1841 FRANCES ADELAIDE MITCHELL HIS WIFE 1943
1876 ARTHUR VAUGHAN THEIR SON 1916
"I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE"
Left side:
BESSIE
1874-1960
Rear:
1875 REGINALD HALL JOHNSON 1958
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