Johnny Popwell is an African American Actor who made his debut in the 1968 production of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, playing the role of Willie. He went on to play an ambulance driver in the 1972 film Deliverance.

Biography

Background
Popwell was an all star athlete, a football captain at Morehouse College.


Stage career
Popwell has appeared on stage and in film productions. He played the part of Williams in The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail and Benito Cereno which resulted in him winning the 1966 Atlanta Drama Critics Award. He also had the title role in Anthony Burns, a Pat Freni authored historical play
about a slave who as a result of being caught and returned to his master set off the Boston Slave Riots



Film career
He has had various film roles from bit parts to supporting roles in the south.

He is also remembered for his role as Will in Earl Owensby's production of The Brass Ring.
In The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter he acted alongside Percy Rodrigues. Rodgrigues played Dr Copeland and he played Willie, his son in law who has problems with white thugs.
In 1975 he appeared alongside Gerald Richards, Linda Cook, Edmond Genest, April Johnson and Philip Pleasants in All The Young Wives.

A later role was in 1997 a Roger Birnbaum production, television movie Flash playing the station master.


Street party incident
In 1975 he was imprisoned 10 years for involvement in an Atlanta shooting.
It was reported in the April 3, 1975 issue of Jet Magazine that Popwell became involved in an altercation during a street part. It seemed that he was dancing with a lady and then had been struck by some men at the party. Popwell had returned from his van and shot a 35 year old white man. A jury of eight black and four white men found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter.