Rita Johnson
Rita Ann Johnson (August 13, 1913 – October 31, 1965) was an American actress.
Early in her career, Johnson was busy in radio.
Johnson began acting on Broadway in 1935 and started her film career two years later. She played a murderer in Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) and a doomed wife in the RKO film noir They Won't Believe Me (1947).
In an incident that was never fully explained, Johnson suffered a head trauma on September 6, 1948 that required brain surgery. Unsubstantiated rumors promulgated by gossip columnists such as Walter Winchell suggested she might have been abused by a boyfriend, but the only explanation she offered was that a large, industrial-grade hair dryer at her apartment had fallen on her. She was in a coma for two weeks and it was reported it took her a year to recover. Her left side was paralyzed temporarily and for a while she couldn't walk. The injury put a virtual halt to her film career. Her screen time in movies after that was limited due to her reduced mobility and powers of concentration. Johnson suffered from alcoholism from the time of her injuries until her death of a brain hemorrhage at age 52.
From Wikipedia.
Acted in
All Mine to Give
1957
as Katie Tyler
Emergency Hospital
1956
as Head Nurse Norma Mullen
Susan Slept Here
1954
as Dr. Rawley
Mr. & Mrs. North
1952
The Second Face
1950
as Claire Elwood
The Art Director
1949
as Self - from 'The Big Clock' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Family Honeymoon
1948
as Minna Fenster
An Innocent Affair
1948
as Eve Lawrence
The Big Clock
1948
as Pauline York
Sleep, My Love
1948
as Barby
Michigan Kid
1947
as Sue Dawson
They Won't Believe Me
1947
as Greta Ballentine
The Perfect Marriage
1947
as Mabel Manning
Pardon My Past
1945
as Mary Pemberton
The Affairs of Susan
1945
as Mona Kent
The Naughty Nineties
1945
as Bonita Farrow
Thunderhead: Son of Flicka
1945
as Nelle McLaughlin
My Friend Flicka
1943
as Nell McLaughlin
The Major and the Minor
1942
as Pamela Hill
Appointment for Love
1941
as Nancy Benson
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
1941
as Julia Farnsworth
The Golden Fleecing
1940
as Mary Blake
Edison, the Man
1940
as Mary Stilwell
Forty Little Mothers
1940
as Marian Edwards
Congo Maisie
1940
as Kay McWade
Nick Carter, Master Detective
1939
as Lou Farnsby
They All Come Out
1939
as Kitty
Stronger Than Desire
1939
as Barbara Winter
6,000 Enemies
1939
as Anne Barry
Broadway Serenade
1939
as Judith 'Judy' Tyrrell
Within the Law
1939
as Agnes Lynch
Honolulu
1939
as Cecelia Grayson
The Girl Downstairs
1938
as Rosalind Brown
Rich Man, Poor Girl
1938
as Sally Harrison
Smashing the Rackets
1938
as Leticia "Letty" Lane
Letter of Introduction
1938
as Honey
Man-Proof
1938
as Florence (dialogue scenes deleted)
My Dear Miss Aldrich
1937
as Ellen Warfield
London by Night
1937
as Patricia Herrick