Arthur V. Johnson

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Nationality USA
Birth 1 february 1876 at Davenport (USA)
Death 17 january 1916 (at 39 years) at Philadelphia (USA)

Arthur Vaughan Johnson (February 2, 1876 – January 17, 1916) was a pioneer actor and director of the early American silent film era.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Rev. Myron A. Johnson, Arthur Vaughan Johnson left college at 19 to join a traveling Shakespearean troupe. He later appeared on stage with Sol Smith Russell, Robert B. Mantell and Marie Wainwright. 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 a year later in In Old California, the first movie Griffith ever shot in Hollywood. At Biograph, Arthur 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. With Lottie Briscoe, his frequent co-star at Lubin, Johnson directed and starred in The Belovéd Adventurer (1914), a 15 episode serial by Emmett Campbell Hall. Health problems ended his career in 1915 after having performed in more than three hundred silent film shorts and having directed twenty-six.

Arthur V. Johnson married actress Maude Webb when he was 23 years old. She later adopted the stage name of Maude Vaughan. While it is often mentioned that he was married to Florence Hackett with whom he had appeared in 1913 in the film, Power of the Cross, there is no clear evidence that he divorced Maude Webb and then married Florence Hackett. He died of tuberculosis in Philadelphia in 1916, a few weeks short of his fortieth birthday. Johnson's funeral services were held in Philadelphia and his remains later interred at Fairview Cemetery, Chicopee, Massachusetts. Nearby stands Grace Episcopal Church, where his father once served as Rector.

Biography

Arthur V. Johnson est né le 2 avril 1876 à Cincinnati, dans l'Ohio où son père est un prêtre épiscopalien. À la fin des années 1910, après être sorti d'une agence de comédiens sur Broadway, Arthur Johnson est accosté par un réalisateur totalement inconnu appelé D. W. Griffith. Celui-ci, à la recherche d'un acteur pour son premier film, lui propose de l'engager pour cinq dollars par jour. Comme tous les comédiens de l'époque, Johnson est quelque peu réticent à faire du cinéma comme le laisse suggérer sa réponse quand Griffith lui certifie qu'il ne souhaite pas faire des films comme ceux des autres : « Si j'en juge par ceux que j'ai vus, il me paraît en effet judicieux de ne pas faire les mêmes ». Il accepte finalement de travailler pour Griffith, ce qui lui assure au moins un repas par jour de travail. C'est ainsi que la collaboration entre les deux hommes débute avec Les Aventures de Dollie (The Adventures of Dollie), film qui sort en 1908.

Arthur Johnson tourne tout au long de sa carrière plus de 300 films et c'est lors d'un de ces nombreux tournages qu'il rencontre Florence Hackett, une actrice veuve qu'il finit par épouser. Arthur Johnson meurt le 17 janvier 1916 de la tuberculose.