Don Johnson

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Biography

Donnie Wayne "Don" Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor known for his work in television and film. He played the lead role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s TV cop series, Miami Vice , which led him to huge success. He also played the lead role in the 1990s cop series, Nash Bridges . More recently, Johnson played Kenny Powers' father on the HBO series, Eastbound and Down . Johnson is a Golden Globe winning actor for his role in Miami Vice , a winner of the American Power Boat Association|APBA Offshore World Cup, and has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . He is also a singer, songwriter, producer, and director.

Early life and education

Johnson was born in Flat Creek, Missouri . His father, Wayne, was a farmer, and his mother, Nell, was a beautician; they were 19 and 17 at the time of his birth, respectively. At age six, he moved from Missouri to Wichita, Kansas . A 1967 graduate of Wichita South High School|South High School , he was involved in the high school's theatre program. As a senior, he played the lead role of Tony in West Side Story . His biography noted that he had previously appeared in "Burnt Cork and Melody" and "The Hullabaloo." He also attended the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas .

In the late 1960s, Johnson was in a psychedelic rock band called Horses. Also in the band were future members of the band Kingfish (band)|Kingfish , which featured Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir . The band put out one self-titled record on the White Whale Records|White Whale label in 1969, later re-issued on the Gear Fab Records|Gear Fab label in 2004 and then on the Rev-Ola Records|Rev-Ola label in 2005. Johnson, as several noteworthy news sources have mentioned over the years, was relieved of his military obligation due to a high lottery number. In a 1970 newspaper article, Johnson stated that, due to his beliefs at that time, he would have become a draft resister.

Johnson is quoted in a 1970 newspaper article, mentioning his draft-exempt status and his dislike for war. http://news.google.com/newspapers? id=hr00AAAAIBAJ& sjid=UIcFAAAAIBAJ& pg=1034,3970530& dq=don-johnson& hl=en

Acting

Early years

Johnson studied drama at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. His first major role was in the 1969 Los Angeles stage production of '' Fortune and Men's Eyes in which he played Smitty, the lead role. This exposure led to the quickly forgotten film The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart (1970, based on a novel by Robert Westbrook, son of columnist Sheilah Graham). He continued to work on stage, film and television without breaking out into stardom. His notable films from this period were Zachariah (1971 film)|Zachariah (1971), The Harrad Experiment (1973), Lollipop and Roses (1974), and A Boy and His Dog (1975)

Miami Vice

From 1984-1989, after years of struggling to establish himself as a TV actor (in such fare as Revenge of the Stepford Wives ) and a string of failed pilots which were never followed by an actual TV series, Johnson's fortunes changed when he landed a starring role as undercover police detective Sonny Crockett in the cop series, Miami Vice . He typically wore thousand dollar Versace and Hugo Boss suits over pastel cotton t-shirts, drove a Ferrari Daytona|Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona (really a replica kit on a 1981 Corvette chassis), followed by a Ferrari Testarossa and lived on a yacht with his pet alligator "Elvis". Miami Vice was noted for its revolutionary use of music, cinematography , and imagery as well as a more glitzy take on the police drama genre.

In between seasons, Don Johnson gained further renown through several TV miniseries , such as the 1985 TV remake of The Long, Hot Summer .

Nash Bridges

Johnson later starred in the 1996-2001 drama Nash Bridges with Cheech Marin , Jeff Perry (American actor)|Jeff Perry , Jaime P. Gomez and Jodi Lyn O'Keefe . Johnson played the title role of Nash Bridges, an inspector for the San Francisco Police Department . In Nash Bridges Johnson was again paired with a flashy convertible car, this time an Lemon Twist Yellow 1971 Plymouth Barracuda .

2000s

In the fall of 2005, he briefly starred in The WB Television Network|The WB courtroom television drama show Just Legal as a jaded lawyer with a very young and idealistic protégé/partner ( Jay Baruchel ); the show was canceled in October 2005 after just three episodes aired. In January 2007, Johnson began a run in the London West End production of Guys and Dolls (musical)|Guys and Dolls as Nathan Detroit.

Don Johnson also has a role in the Norwegian comedy Lange Flate Ballær 2 ("Long Flat Balls II"), directed by Johnson's friend Harald Zwart . Johnson did the movie as a favour to Zwart. The movie was launched March 14, 2008 in Norway, with Johnson making an appearance at the premiere. He next appeared in When in Rome (2010 film)|When in Rome with Danny DeVito , Anjelica Huston and Kristen Bell , and Machete (film)|Machete with Robert De Niro and Steven Seagal .

2010s

Johnson & Jon Heder co-hosted WWE's Monday Night RAW on January 18, 2010.

Johnson had a small role in Robert Rodriguez 's film, Machete (film)|Machete . Johnson played Von Jackson, "a twisted border vigilante leading a small army." The film was released on September 3, 2010.

In October 2010, he began appearing on the HBO series Eastbound & Down , playing Kenny Powers ' long-lost father, going by the alias "Eduardo Sanchez". He also reprised his role as Sonny Crockett for a Nike, Inc.|Nike commercial with LeBron James where the NBA player contemplates acting and appears alongside Johnson on Miami Vice .

In September 2011, Johnson has a cameo in the comedy A Good Old Fashioned Orgy with Jason Sudeikis . { http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117945138/

Music

Johnson released two albums of pop music in the 1980s, one in 1986 and the other in 1989. His single "Heartbeat", the title track from his first album, and was a collaboration with 80s one hit wonder - Robert Tepper, reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Johnson is also a good friend of Willie Nelson and Robert Tepper, and was briefly a part of the "Thailand Pack", alongside Tommy Morrison, and British TV funny man Les Dennis . Previously, Johnson worked with Gregg Allman and Dickie Betts of the Allman Brothers , co-writing the songs "Blind Love" and "Can't Take It with You" with Dickie Betts, which appeared on their 1979 album, Enlightened Rogues .

Personal life

Relationships and family

Johnson has had four wives in five marriages, three of which were brief.

His first two marriages, in the late 1960s, were annulled . The names of Johnson's first two wives have not been made public knowledge, although sources state that they were a dancer and a musician, respectively.

Johnson had a major supporting role in The Harrad Experiment (released 1973), whose female lead was Tippi Hedren . He met Hedren's daughter, Melanie Griffith , People , November 23, 1987, People Magazine , February 27, 1989 around the first half of 1972; she was an uncredited extra. He was aged 22 and dating and living with groupie Pamela Des Barres Des Barres, Pamela. I'm With The Band (2005) pp. 230-246 and Melanie was 14 when they began what became a four-year affair, that included marrying, in 1976, for less than a year. Melanie and Don reconciled and conceived a child close to the start of 1989, announced wedding plans in mid-February, and were married a second time, from that year until 1996. They had a daughter, Dakota Johnson|Dakota Mayi Johnson (born October 4, 1989).

He lived with Patti D'Arbanville from 1981 to 1985. The couple had a son, Jesse Johnson (actor)|Jesse Wayne Johnson (born on December 7, 1982).

He had a relationship with Barbra Streisand , lasting into at least September 1988. Streisand and Johnson were supposedly secretly engaged at one point. He created a single with her called "Till I Loved You", released that year. Johnson had a relationship with Jeanne Anderson in 1996.
On April 29, 1999, he married San Francisco socialite and former preschool teacher Kelley Phleger . He and Phleger had a daughter, Atherton Grace Johnson (born on December 28, 1999), and two sons, Jasper Breckinridge Johnson (born on June 6, 2002) and Deacon Johnson (born on April 29, 2006).

It has also been revealed on The Real Housewives of New Jersey reunion show that he and housewife Danielle Staub engaged in a brief affair.

Legal problems

In 2001, a 36-year-old woman accused an intoxicated Johnson of squeezing and bruising her wrist and lewdly propositioning her outside a restroom at San Francisco restaurant Mas Sake, and claimed while still firmly squeezing her wrist he began drunkenly singing "Heartbeat". The woman's friends made their way across the restaurant to confront Johnson as he continued to sing but said when he saw them he let go of her and quickly fled out the back door. Johnson said he was considering buying an advertisement in the San Francisco Chronicle to state his side of the story, but later decided to post the notices on his website. Due to insufficient evidence, no charges were filed.

In November 2002, German customs officers at the Swiss-German border performed a routine search of Johnson's car. Bank statements evidencing US$8 billion in transactions were found in the trunk of his car. He was accompanied in his black Mercedes-Benz by three men: an investment adviser, a personal assistant, and a third of unknown identity. Initially it was thought Johnson was involved in money-laundering , but he was cleared of wrongdoing. Upon receiving word of the incident, German tabloids began exploiting and perpetuating the story, at times pointing at the irony (as perceived by them) that Don Johnson has frequently portrayed police officers in his acting works. Johnson explained the incident by saying "I was meeting with some American businessmen in Zürich for financing, for a film fund that I was putting together for my company. They gave me some bank statements and some resumes and some other documents, some things to prove that they could perform as investors." The police found and copied these documents, and the money laundering story grew somehow out of this. CNN.com . March 16, 2003.

In May 2008, Johnson came within hours of losing his Woody Creek, Colorado home to foreclosure; he paid off his $14.5 million debts less than 24 hours before a scheduled auction of the property.

In July 2010, a Los Angeles jury awarded Johnson $23.2 million in a lawsuit against production company Rysher Entertainment, from whom Johnson sought a share of profits commensurate with his ownership of half the copyright of Nash Bridges . Rysher announced they would appeal the verdict. Los Angeles Times.

Reception

Awards and recognitions

Year	Result	Award	Category	TV/ Film
1975
1984
1986
1987
1988
1996

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1970
1971
1973
1973
1974
1975
1975
1976
1977
1977
1977
1978
1978
1978
1978
1978
1978
1979
1979
1979
1980
1980
1980
1981
1981
1981
1982
1984–1989
1985
1985
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1991
1993
1993
1995
1996–2001
1996
1998
2003
2005
2007
2008
2008
2010
2010
2010
2010-2012
2011
2011
2012

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Details	Peak chart positions
Title	Details	US cite web	AUT cite web	FIN cite book	FRA cite web	GER cite web	NL cite web	NOR cite web	SWE cite web	SWI cite web
Heartbeat Release date: November 11, 1986 Label: Epic Records Formats: Compact disc\|CD , Compact cassette\|cassette
Let It Roll Release date: September 20, 1989 Label: Epic Records Formats: CD, cassette
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Compilation albums

Title	Details
The Essential Release date: January 20, 1997 Label: Sony Music Entertainment Formats: CD, cassette

Singles

Year	Single	Peak positions										Album
Year	Single	US cite web	AUT	FIN	FRA cite web	GER cite web	NL	NOR	SWE	SWI cite web	UK cite web	Album
1986	5	3	4	—	6	10	5	16	6	46	Heartbeat
1986	"Heartache Away"
1987	—	—	—	—	—	59	—	—	—	—
1989	—	13	—	6	2	6	—	—	6	84	Let It Roll
	"Other People's Lives"
	Yuri )
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Featured singles

Year	Single	Artist	Peak chart positions						Album
Year	Single	Artist	US cite web	AUS cite web	FRA	GER	NL	UK cite web	Album
1988	Barbra Streisand	25	34	22	26	4	16	Till I Loved You (album)

Videography

1987: Heartbeat - Full Length Video (VHS) - (Release date: May 10, 1987)

Copyright Citations

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Undetermined Music Artists