RIP Richard Johnson

By Tristan Bishop

About fifteen minutes ago I learned of the passing of Richard Johnson at age 87. Johnson was familiar to fans of horror from his roles as Dr Menard in Lucio Fulci’s Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979) and as Dr Markway in Robert Wise’s version of The Haunting (1963), but his career was far more varied and full than many realised.

Johnson trained at RADA and went straight into John Gielgud’s theatre company in the 1940’s, before joining the Royal Navy during World War 2. After the war he took back to the stage and soon found himself one of the star players in London’s Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, appearing in many of their important productions. When Sir Peter Hall took over the direction of the theatre in 1959 it was renamed The Royal Shakespeare Company (aka RSC) and Johnson was asked to become an Associate Artist of the RSC, a role which he held for life, and he would return to the company for starring roles over the next four decades. It was in 1958 however that he first got a taste of acting in front of a camera, for a role in the TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

In 1959 he appeared in his first film, Never So Few, alongside Frank Sinatra and Gina Lollobrigida, and was snapped up by MGM to a six year contract, out of which came his role in The Haunting, where the 36 year old Johnson played a suave, yet driven parapsychologist out to discover the secrets behind the cursed Hill House. Johnson played Dr Markway to perfection, his easy charm the perfect counterpoint to the eerie supernatural goings-on, with the occasional small note of desperation and obsession creeping in to add to the unsettling atmosphere of what still remains one of the most frightening films ever made.

In the 1960’s Johnson married superstar actress Kim Novak (his second marriage) after meeting her on the set of The Amorous Adventures Of Moll Flanders (1965) and appeared as the lead character in the British spy films Danger Route (1967) and the two sixties Bulldog Drummond films, Deadlier Than The Male (1967) and Some Girls Do (1969). Director Terence Young had Johnson as his first choice for Bond, but Johnson turned down the role, citing the fact that he didn’t want to be tied down to another lengthy contract, but I suspect the real reason was that Johnson never courted super-stardom. Whilst he obviously enjoyed life to the fullest and took advantage of the trappings of the Hollywood lifestyle, he was far more interested in his art and the freedom to take it where he wished – plus one can only assume that his brief marriage to Novak showing him the more inconvenient side of fame may have put him off somewhat.

Throughout the seventies Johnson in appeared in TV (Cymbeline in 1974), Hollywood blockbusters (1974’s Anthony and Cleopatra) and even wrote and starred in Hennessey (1975) alongside Rod Steiger, but it was in 1974 that he appeared in his first Italian horror movie, 1974’s Exorcist copy Beyond The Door. Johnson had a natural affinity with Italy, falling in love with the food, the people, and, no doubt, the wine, and continued to act in Italian horror films for several years, appearing in The Cursed Medallion (1975), Island Of the Fishmen (1979) and The Great Alligator River (1979). Somehow also managing to appear in such films as British sleaze maestro Pete Walker’s The Comeback (1978) and alongside Malcolm McDowell in the brilliant anti-war film Aces High (1976), Johnson finished the seventies on a high in the iconic role of Dr Menard in Fulci’s Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979), probably his most well-known role to today’s audiences. Johnson here was totally convincing as the bedraggled, alcoholic doctor on the remote Caribbean island of Matul, possibly responsible for an onslaught of the titular gut-munchers and trying to deal with the invasion corpse by corpse. Johnson got to utter the film’s most famous line – “The boat can leave now. Tell the crew” – in actual fact he got to say it twice as the line is actually two different takes rather than one repeated one.

Johnson made a couple more horror films in the 1980’s: the legendarily awful The Monster Club (1981), alongside Vincent Price, Donald Pleasence and John Carradine, and the interesting underground sci-fi/horror What Waits Beneath/Secrets Of The Phantom Caverns (1985), but spent the decade as CEO of the production company United British Artists, producing films featuring the likes of Ben Kingsley and Glenda Jackson, as well as theatre and TV (notably 1984’s docudrama The Biko Inquest).

In 1990 Johnson quit UBA in order to begin acting again, and over the next 24 years appeared in a dazzling amount of stage and TV work, including Anglo-Saxon Attitudes (1992), which won him an award from the Guild Of Television Writers, and shows as varied as Tales From The Crypt and Doc Martin. In addition to acting, Johnson also taught the art throughout his life, both in the US and at RADA (he was appointed to the RADA council in 2000), wrote travel articles for newspapers, maintained a blog and teaching website, and started a directory of eco-friendly hotels. We also appeared in high profile film roles as varied as the villain in Tomb Raider (2001) and the grandfather in The Boy With The Striped Pyjamas (2008).

Johnson also did the occasional appearance at horror festivals, and it was at the Abertoir festival in 2013 where I was honoured to meet him and watch him take to the stage for Q&A sessions following screenings of The Haunting and Zombie Flesh Eaters. The session for Fulci’s film in particular, alongside the film’s composer, Fabio Frizzi (it was the first time the two had met!) was the undoubted highlight of the festival, with Johnson speaking of his love for the Italian film industry and Fulci’s film in particular – quite a refreshing change from the many distinguished actors who made these films for a quick buck and were embarrassed by the retrospective attention they acquired. “That spike in the eyeball scene!”, Johnson enthused, “Wasn’t that genius? So cinematic!”. He proceeded to bring the audience to tears of laughter at his impression of Fulci throwing a fit during filming, dropping to his knees and miming Fulci chewing on grass in frustration with all the energy of a man fifty years younger than he was. A deeply-felt and joyful ‘Long live Lucio!’ was Johnson’s closing statement, and the audience cheered and sobbed as one.

I count myself incredibly lucky to have been invited to dinner that night with Johnson and his wife Lynne, alongside the festival organisers, and I count it as one of the best evenings of my life. Even into his mid-eighties Johnson was hugely charismatic, warm and eloquent, and we talked about everything from his Italian films (I managed to identify a still from Island Of The Fishmen which they apparently had framed in their bathroom!) to the state of UK politics (let’s just say he wasn’t a fan of David Cameron). He also managed to drink enough to down most mere mortals and returned back to the Abertoir stage for another Q&A session afterwards, the consummate professional.

It’s no underestimation to say that being in the presence of Johnson made you feel special, his passion for his art, his fellow artists and for life itself was tangible and inspiring, and will no doubt continue to inspire those whom he crossed paths with. Long live Richard!

Photos courtesy of Abertoir Horror Festival/Matt Hardwick