Ben Johnson

Ben Johnson

Birth : 1918-06-13, Foraker, Shidler, Oklahoma, USA

Death : 1996-04-08

History

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.   Ben "Son" Johnson, Jr. (June 13, 1918 – April 8, 1996) was an American motion picture actor who was mainly cast in Westerns. He was also a rodeo cowboy, stuntman, and rancher. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ben Johnson (actor) , licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Profile

Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson

Movies

And the Oscar Goes To...
Self (archive footage)
The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry's most coveted prize, AND THE OSCAR GOES TO... traces the history of the Academy itself, which began in 1927 when Louis B. Mayer, then head of MGM, led other prominent members of the industry in forming this professional honorary organization. Two years later the Academy began bestowing awards, which were nicknamed "Oscar," and quickly came to represent the pinnacle of cinematic achievement.
Backstabber
Lance
Employees attending an extreme team-building function for the weekend find new meaning in teamwork, thinking outside the box, and risk management as they fight for survival from a deranged killer bent on revenge.
Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
Self (archive footage)
An account of the life and work of American film director Sam Peckinpah (1925-84), a tortured artist whose genius and inner demons changed the Western genre forever.
The Evening Star
Arthur Cotton
Continuing the story of Aurora Greenway in her latter years. After the death of her daughter, Aurora struggled to keep her family together, but has one grandson in jail, a rebellious granddaughter, and another grandson living just above the poverty line.
Bonanza: Under Attack
Bronc Evans
After a rogue band of Pinkerton detectives led by ruthless Charley Siringo bushwhacks reformed outlaw Frank James, he seeks sanctuary on the Ponderosa with the next generation of Cartwrights and his former Civil War compatriots. Will Frank's comrades come to his aid or turn their backs on him? Richard Roundtree also stars in this made-for-TV sequel to the popular Western series.
Angels in the Outfield
Hank Murphy
Roger is a foster child whose irresponsible father promises to get his act together when Roger's favourite baseball team, the California Angels, wins the pennant. The problem is that the Angels are in last place, so Roger prays for help to turn the team around. Sure enough, his prayers are answered in the form of angel Al.
Outlaws: The Legend of O.B. Taggart
After many years in prison, a changed robber comes home to see his sons again, one of them brain-damaged. Due to many misfortunate events and terrible tragic misunderstandings, they go on the run, leaving a bloody trail wherever they go.
Bonanza: The Return
Bronc Evans
A man with a grudge against the late Little Joe seeks revenge on the Cartwrights and attempts to take over the Ponderosa.
Warren Oates: Across the Border
Self
A retrospective of the work of the late actor Warren Oates, with clips from his films and interviews with cast and crew members who worked with him.
The Making of Rio Grande
Himself
A short documentary about the making of John Ford's 'Rio Grande'.
Radio Flyer
Geronimo Bill
A father reminisces about his childhood when he and his younger brother moved to a new town with their mother, her new husband and their dog, Shane. When the younger brother is subjected to physical abuse at the hands of their brutal stepfather, Mike decides to convert their toy trolley, the "Radio Flyer", into a plane to fly him to safety.
Picture This: The Times of Peter Bogdanovich in Archer City, Texas
Self
A visceral deconstruction of Academy Award nominated Peter Bogdanovich and the nervous breakdown he nearly had while shooting THE LAST PICTURE SHOW.
My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Jesse Dalton
H.D. Dalton is a champion rodeo rider whose career is ruined after being gored by a bull. He returns home to discover things have drastically changed -- the family farm has been abandoned, his old girlfriend Jolie is a now a widowed mother, and his sister Cheryl has put his father in a nursing home.
The Chase
Laurienti
In Denver, a fleeing bank robber kills a cop and kidnaps an old man to hold as a hostage. He is chased by the police and a news helicopter, which films the entire incident. Based on a true story.
Hollywood on Horses
Himself
Hosted by celebrity horse enthusiast, Tab Hunter, visits the stables and homes of the Hollywood movie set, where you'll see first hand how Hollywood's biggest stars ride, train and discuss their passion for these magnificent animals.
Back to Back
Eli Hix
Modern day western about two very different brothers, who join forces to clear their family name, from the shadow of their dead brother's blame for a bloody unsolved robbery.
Stranger on My Land
Vern Whitman
A Vietnam veteran has to fight peacefully with words once more when the Air Force wants to expropriate his ranch for the construction of an air base.
Cherry 2000
Six Fingered Jake
When successful businessman Sam Treadwell finds that his android wife, Cherry model 2000 has blown a fuse, he hires sexy renegade tracker E. Johnson to find her exact duplicate. But as their journey to replace his perfect mate leads them into the treacherous and lawless region of 'The Zone', Treadwell learns the hard way that the perfect woman is made not of computer chips and diodes.
Let's Get Harry
Mr. Burck Sr.
Harry Burck has been kidnapped by South American terrorists, and when the US Government refuses to intervene, Harry's friends decide to take matters into their own hands!
Trespasses
August Klein
A couple of drifters (Adam Roarke and Lou Diamond Phillips) molest Sharon (Mary Pillot). Franklin (Robert Kuhn) scares them away, but loses his son who is stabbed by one of the drifters. Franklin and Sharon commence a relationship to the chagrin of her husband (Van Brooks). Franklin's old friend August Klein (Ben Johnson) dies. What happens when murder and romance collide?
Wild Horses
Bill Ward
An over-the-hill rodeo champion gets fired from his assembly line job in Texas. He and a buddy then decide to head to Wyoming to get a job herding mustangs. His wife gives him her his blessing, knowing he needs to find something which satisfies his spirit. They sign up for a roundup headed by a veteran cowboy. With the job, he finds himself cross-wise of a corrupt government official, who is making big profits on the illegal sale of wild horses.
Red Dawn
Mr. Mason
It is the dawn of World War III. In mid-western America, a group of teenagers band together to defend their town—and their country—from invading Soviet forces.
Champions
Burly Cocks
The true story of jockey Bob Champion who overcame cancer to win the 1981 Grand National
Always in My Heart
The Shadow Riders
Uncle 'Black Jack' Traven
After starring in "The Sacketts", Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott team up again but this time as Mac and Dal Traven, in a movie based on a classic Louis L'Amour novel. They are brothers, who meet up at the end of the Civil War fighting on opposite sides. They go home only to find their family in dire need and their sisters and brother kidnapped by ruthless raiders. They set out to rescue their family.
Tex
Cole Collins
Coming-of-age story about two teenage brothers in rural Oklahoma and their struggle to grow up on their own, after their mother dies and their father leaves them.
Soggy Bottom, U.S.A.
Isum Gorch
In a small Southern town, the local sheriff tries to keep everything peaceful and under control.
Ruckus
Sam Bellows
Madoc County is a quiet and peaceful place until vagrant Kyle Hanson arrives. The people of Madoc County are repelled by his appearance and want to chase him out of the city. Unfortunately for them, Kyle Hanson is a former Vietnam elite soldier and he uses his skills to fight back.
Terror Train
Carne
A masked killer targets six college kids responsible for a prank gone wrong three years earlier and who are currently throwing a large New Year's Eve costume party aboard a moving train.
The Hunter
Sheriff John Strong
During his long career, bounty hunter Ralph "Papa" Thorson has caught over 5,000 criminals. Now, while he is working on apprehending fugitives in Illinois, Texas and Nebraska, he himself is being hunted by a psychotic killer.
The Swarm
Felix
Scientist Dr. Bradford Crane and army general Thalius Slater join forces to fight an almost invisible enemy threatening America; killer bees that have deadly venom and attack without reason. Disaster movie-master Irwin Allen's film contains spectacular special effects, including a train crash caused by the eponymous swarm.
Grayeagle
John Colter
A young Cheyenne warrior, who goes by the name Grayeagle, kidnaps the daughter of a grizzled frontier man John Colter who goes on an epic search for his daughter Beth, aided by a friendly native...
The Greatest
Hollis
Muhammad Ali's life story up to the late 1970s, which includes his Olympic triumphs as Cassius Clay, his conversion to Islam, his refusal of the Army draft and the legal battle after being stripped of his World Title.
The Savage Bees
Sheriff Donald McKew
In this horror-drama the festive fun of the annual Mardi Gras celebration is brought to a halt when a swarm of African killer bees escape from a foreign freighter.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown
Captain J.D. Morales
A Texas Ranger hunts for a hooded serial killer terrorizing the residents of a small town, set in 1946 Arkansas. Loosely based on a true story.
Hustle
Marty Hollinger
The body of teenager Gloria Hollinger is found dead on a Los Angeles beach, and Lt. Phil Gaines is in charge of the investigation. Gaines learns that the girl, a stripper and prostitute, committed suicide, but he ignores the connection between her and a powerful mob lawyer, Leo Sellers. Hollinger's father, however, is not satisfied with Gaines's results, and attempts to investigate the case on his own.
Breakheart Pass
Pearce
At the height of the frontier era, a train races through the Rocky Mountains on a classified mission to a remote army post. But one by one the passengers are being murdered, and their only hope is the mysterious John Deakin, who's being transported to face trial for murder.
Bite the Bullet
Mister
At the beginning of the 20th century, a newspaper organizes an endurance horse race : 700 miles to run in a few days. 9 adventurers are competing, among them a woman, Miss Jones, a Mexican, an Englishman, a young cow-boy, an old one and two friends, Sam Clayton and Luke Matthews. All those individualists will learn to respect each other.
Locusts
Amos Fletcher
A swarm of locusts appears on the horizon near a Midwestern town and the inhabitants must find a way to destroy or divert them before the insects devour the area's valuable crops
The Sugarland Express
Captain Harlin Tanner
Married small-time crooks Lou-Jean and Clovis Poplin lose their baby to the state of Texas and resolve to do whatever it takes to get him back. Lou-Jean gets Clovis out of jail, and the two steal their son from his foster home, in addition to taking a highway patrolman hostage. As a massive dragnet starts to pursue them across Texas, the couple become unlikely folk heroes and even start to bond with the captive policeman.
Blood Sport
Dwayne Birdsong
A searing commentary on the "win at all costs" mentality of American high school sports. David Lee Birdsong is the smalltown quarterback hoping to escape with a college scholarship and a pro career. David's father is the overbearing taskmaster vicariously living through his son. The third side of the triangle is Coach Marshall, a hypercritical and cruel man who sees David as the key to his future success. David's lockstep commitment to his father and coach is altered when he witnesses a teammate die after a grueling practice.
Runaway!
Holly Gibson
A group of skiers are trapped inside a runaway train hurtling down a mountainside.
Dillinger
Melvin Purvis
After a shoot-out kills five FBI agents in Kansas City the Bureau target John Dillinger as one of the men to hunt down. Waiting for him to break Federal law they sort out several other mobsters, while Dillinger's bank robbing exploits make him something of a folk hero. Escaping from jail he finds Pretty Boy Floyd and Baby Face Nelson have joined the gang and pretty soon he is Public Enemy Number One. Now the G-men really are after him.
The Red Pony
Jess Taylor
A young farmboy who can't seem to communicate with his father develops an attachment to a young red pony.
Wayne Train
Self
A short documentary on the making of THE TRAIN ROBBERS
The Train Robbers
Jesse
A gunhand named Lane is hired by a widow, Mrs. Lowe, to find gold stolen by her husband so that she may return it and start fresh.
Kid Blue
Sheriff 'Mean John' Simpson
Bickford Waner, an apparently naive young man from Fort Worth, arrives in the tiny Texas town of Dime Box and takes on a variety of menial jobs. He's befriended by Reese Ford and his wife Molly, but before long Molly has seduced Bickford. Only with the arrival of Bickford's former girlfriend Janet Conforto is it revealed that Bickford is actually the notorious train robber Kid Blue. Humiliated by a scandal arising from his affair with his friend's wife, Bickford gives up on going straight and plots a crime.
The Getaway
Jack Beynon
A recently released ex-convict and his loyal wife go on the run after a heist goes wrong.
Junior Bonner
Buck Roan
With his bronco-busting career on its last legs, Junior Bonner heads to his hometown to try his luck in the annual rodeo. But his fond childhood memories are shattered when he finds his family torn apart by his greedy brother and hard-drinking father.
The Bull Of The West
Spinner
Two episodes of the TV series "The Virginian" edited together: "Duel at Shiloh" (2 Jan. 1963) and "Nobility of Kings" (10 Nov. 1965).
Corky
Boland
A country boy wants to make it big as a stockcar racer.
Something Big
Jesse Bookbinder
Joe Baker has a dream. He wants to do 'something big.' When he needs a Gatling gun to accomplish this, he seeks out a black marketeer. The price he wants for the gun? A woman! So Baker kidnaps a woman off of the stagecoach, only to find that she is the wife of the commandant of the local Cavalry detachment. Things get further complicated when a girl named Dover McBride shows up. She has come to force Baker to marry her and return east, as he promised to do four years earlier
The Last Picture Show
Sam the Lion
High school seniors and best friends, Sonny and Duane, live in a dying Texas town. The handsome Duane is dating a local beauty, while Sonny is having an affair with the coach's wife. As graduation nears and both boys contemplate their futures, Duane eyes the army and Sonny takes over a local business. Each struggles to figure out if he can escape this dead-end town and build a better life somewhere else.
Chisum
James Pepper
Cattle baron John Chisum joins forces with Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett to fight the Lincoln County land war.
The Undefeated
Short Grub
After the Civil War, ex-Union Colonel John Henry Thomas and ex-Confederate Colonel James Langdon are leading two disparate groups of people through strife-torn Mexico. John Henry and company are bringing horses to the unpopular Mexican government for $35 a head while Langdon is leading a contingent of displaced southerners, who are looking for a new life in Mexico after losing their property to carpetbaggers. The two men are eventually forced to mend their differences in order to fight off both bandits and revolutionaries, as they try to lead their friends and kin to safety.
The Wild Bunch
Tector Gorch
An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them.
Hang 'em High
Marshal Dave Bliss
Marshall Jed Cooper survives a hanging, vowing revenge on the lynch mob that left him dangling. To carry out his oath for vengeance, he returns to his former job as a lawman. Before long, he's caught up with the nine men on his hit list and starts dispensing his own brand of Wild West justice.
Will Penny
Alex
Will Penny, an aging cowpoke, takes a job on a ranch which requires him to ride the line of the property looking for trespassers or, worse, squatters. He finds that his cabin in the high mountains has been appropriated by a woman whose guide to Oregon has deserted her and her son. Too ashamed to kick mother and child out just as the bitter winter of the mountains sets in, he agrees to share the cabin until the spring thaw. But it isn't just the snow that slowly thaws; the lonely man and woman soon forget their mutual hostility and start developing a deep love for one another.
Noon Wine
Sheriff Barbee
A dark tragedy about a farmer's futile act of homicide that takes place on a small dairy farm in southern Texas during the 1890s. Sam Peckinpah directed this original adaptation of the Katherine Anne Porter novel for ABC, and the project became an hour-long presentation for ABC Stage 67, premiering on Nov. 23, 1966.
The Rare Breed
Jeff Harter
When her husband dies en route to America, Martha Price and her daughter Hilary are left to carry out his dream: the introduction of Hereford cattle into the American West. They enlist Sam "Bulldog" Burnett in their efforts to transport their lone bull, a Hereford named Vindicator, to a breeder in Texas, but the trail is fraught with danger and even Burnett doubts the survival potential of this "rare breed" of cattle.
Major Dundee
Sergeant Chillum
During the last winter of the Civil War, cavalry officer Amos Dundee leads a contentious troop of Army regulars, Confederate prisoners and scouts on an expedition into Mexico to destroy a band of Apaches who have been raiding U.S. bases in Texas.
Cheyenne Autumn
Trooper Plumtree (uncredited)
A reluctant cavalry Captain must track a defiant tribe of migrating Cheyenne.
Tomboy and the Champ
Uncle Jim
A young Texas cowgirl raises a prize-winning calf, whose presence helps her recover from polio.
One-Eyed Jacks
Bob Amory
Running from the law after a bank robbery in Mexico, Dad Longworth finds an opportunity to take the stolen gold and leave his partner Rio to be captured. Years later, Rio escapes from the prison where he has been since, and hunts down Dad for revenge. Dad is now a respectable sheriff in California, and has been living in fear of Rio's return.
Ten Who Dared
George Bradley
The John Wesley Powell expedition of 1869 explores the dangerous Colorado River, withstands internal dissension, and finally discovers the Grand Canyon.
Fort Bowie
Capt. Thomas Thompson
Fort Bowie commander Colonel Garrett, suspecting that his wife Alison is having an affair with good-looking Captain Thompson, sends him on a dangerous mission to try to persuade renegade Indian leader Victorio to cease his attacks against white settlers and soldiers.
Slim Carter
Montana Burriss
Hughie Mack, a not so nice western singer, is discovered by Clover Doyle as the next movie cowboy hero. His name is changed to Slim Carter and a promotional buildup begins. Leo Gallaher, an orphan boy wins the contest to spend a month with Slim. Leo is a good influence on his cowboy hero. Clover sees the good and more in Slim. Montana Burriss is Slim's double.
War Drums
Luke Fargo
The friendship between a white man & an Apache chief is tested when they fall in love with the same woman
Rebel in Town
Frank Mason
Ex-Confederate Bedloe Mason and his four sons ride into a small Western town with robbery in mind. Hearing a suspicious "click," Wes Mason whirls and shoots dead a boy playing with a cap pistol. The Mason clan then flees but Gray Mason, feeling remorse, decides to return to the town. He winds up at the home of John and Nora Willoughby who, unknown to him, are parents of the dead boy. Nora recognizes him as one of the Confederates but keeps quiet, wishing to avoid more violence. However, when John learns of Gray's true identity, he determines to avenge his son's death
Shane
Chris Calloway
A weary gunfighter attempts to settle down with a homestead family, but a smouldering settler and rancher conflict forces him to act.
Wild Stallion
Dan Light (as an adult)
A young orphan grows into adulthood, all the while searhing for his beloved white horse that disappeared years earlier.
Fort Defiance
Ben Shelby
It's just after the Civil War and Ben Shelby arrives looking for Johnny Tallon whom he plans to kill. Shelby was the only survivor of a battle due to the cowardice of Tallon. Thinking Tallon dead, another man who lost a brother at the same battle arrives to kill Tallon's blind brother. Tallon arrives to find Shelby and his brother fleeing. Then they are attacked by Indians and Shelby and Tallon must now fight together postponing the inevitable showdown.
Rio Grande
Trooper Travis Tyree
Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke is posted on the Texas frontier to defend settlers against depredations of marauding Apaches. Col. Yorke is under considerable stress by a serious shortage of troops of his command. Tension is added when Yorke's son (whom he hasn't seen in fifteen years), Trooper Jeff Yorke, is one of 18 recruits sent to the regiment.
Wagon Master
Travis Blue
Two young drifters guide a Mormon wagon train to the San Juan Valley and encounter cutthroats, Navajo, geography, and moral challenges on the journey.
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
Sgt. Tyree
After Custer and the 7th Cavalry are wiped out by Native Americans, everyone expects the worst. Capt. Nathan Brittles is ordered out on patrol but he's also required to take along Abby Allshard, wife of the Fort's commanding officer, and her niece Olivia Dandridge, who are being evacuated. Brittles is only a few days away from retirement and Olivia has caught the eye of two of the young officers in the Company. She's taken to wearing a yellow ribbon in her hair, a sign that she has a beau in the Cavalry, but refuses to say for whom she is wearing it.
Mighty Joe Young
Gregg Johnson
A young woman, Jill Young, grew up on her father's ranch in Africa, raising a large gorilla named Joe from an infant. Years later, she brings him to Hollywood to become a star.
3 Godfathers
Posse man #1
Three outlaws on the run discover a dying woman and her baby. They swear to bring the infant to safety across the desert, even at the risk of their own lives.
The Gallant Legion
Ranger
When power-hungry Faulkner and Leroux want to divide Texas into smaller sections, instead of allowing it to enter the Union as a single state, Gary Conway and the Texas Rangers must step in to thwart their chicanery.
The Naughty Nineties
Coach Driver (uncredited)
In the gay '90s, cardsharps take over a Mississippi riverboat from a kindly captain. Their first act is to change the showboat into a floating gambling house. A ham actor and his bumbling sidekick try to devise a way to help the captain regain ownership of the vessel.
Bordertown Gun Fighters
Stunts
Cameo Shelby is running a crooked lottery out of El Paso and treasury agent Bill Elliott has been sent to break it up. When Bill intercepts a shipment of tickets to New Mexico he forces Shelby to send incriminating papers in the next shipment. Bill captures these also and now has the evidence he needs to go after Shelby.
The Outlaw
Stunts
Newly appointed sheriff Pat Garrett is pleased when his old friend Doc Holliday arrives in Lincoln, New Mexico on the stage. Doc is trailing his stolen horse, and it is discovered in the possession of Billy the Kid. In a surprising turnaround, Billy and Doc become friends. This causes the friendship between Doc and Pat to cool. The odd relationship between Doc and Billy grows stranger when Doc hides Billy at his girl Rio's place after Billy is shot.
The Outlaw
Deputy (uncredited)
Newly appointed sheriff Pat Garrett is pleased when his old friend Doc Holliday arrives in Lincoln, New Mexico on the stage. Doc is trailing his stolen horse, and it is discovered in the possession of Billy the Kid. In a surprising turnaround, Billy and Doc become friends. This causes the friendship between Doc and Pat to cool. The odd relationship between Doc and Billy grows stranger when Doc hides Billy at his girl Rio's place after Billy is shot.