Early life

Johnson was born on December 15, 1949 in Flat Creek, Missouri. His mother, Nell (née Wilson), was a beautician, and his father, Wayne Fred Johnson, was a farmer. At the time of his birth, they were 19 and 17, respectively. At age six, he moved from Missouri to Wichita, Kansas. A 1967 graduate of 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.

Johnson has spoken about his draft-exempt status and his dislike for war.

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), The Harrad Experiment (1973), Lollipop and Roses (1974), and A Boy and His Dog (1975). In 1976, Johnson was roommates with actor Sal Mineo when Mineo was murdered outside their West Hollywood, California apartment.

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 pilots, none of which became a TV series—Johnson landed a starring role as undercover police detective Sonny Crockett in the cop series, Miami Vice. The character typically wore thousand-dollar Versace and Hugo Boss suits over pastel cotton T-shirts, drove a Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona (really a replica kit on a 1981 Corvette chassis), followed by a Ferrari Testarossa and lived on a 40-foot (12 m) (later a 42 -ft) Endeavour yacht with his pet alligator, Elvis. Miami Vice was noted for its revolutionary use of music, cinematography, imagery, and its glitzy take on the police drama genre. In the show, his partner was Ricardo Tubbs, played by Philip Michael Thomas. Between seasons, 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, Jaime P. Gomez and Jodi Lyn O'Keefe. Johnson played the title role of Nash Bridges, an inspector (Later promoted to Captain) for the San Francisco Police Department. In Nash Bridges Johnson was again paired with a flashy convertible car, this time a Curious Yellow 1971 Plymouth Barracuda.

2000s

In the fall of 2005, he briefly starred in 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 West End of London production of Guys and Dolls as Nathan Detroit.

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 with Danny DeVito, Anjelica Huston and Kristen Bell.

2010s

Johnson and Jon Heder co-hosted WWE's Raw on January 18, 2010.

Johnson had a supporting role in Robert Rodriguez's 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 commercial with LeBron James where the NBA player contemplates acting and appears alongside Johnson on Miami Vice.

In September 2011, Johnson had a cameo in the comedy A Good Old Fashioned Orgy with Jason Sudeikis.

Johnson had a supporting role in the 2012 Quentin Tarantino film, Django Unchained, playing a southern plantation owner named Spencer 'Big Daddy' Bennett.

In 2015, Johnson began starring in the ABC prime time soap opera, Blood & Oil.

Music

Johnson released two albums of pop music in the 1980s, one in 1986 and the other in 1989. His single, "Heartbeat", reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. It was the title track from his first album, and was a collaboration with Robert Tepper. 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 Dickey 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. B.B. King and Jules Taub co-wrote the song "Blind Love", the Allman's covered it. There is no writer's credit to confirm he co-wrote "Can't Take It with You". "Till I Loved You" was the title track (a Top 40 hit in the Billboard Hot 100) of a studio album released on October 25, 1988 on Columbia Records. The song was a duet with then girl-friend, Barbra Streisand. The song was re-released on the Streisand album "Duets" in 2002.

Personal life

Relationships and family

Johnson has had four wives in five marriages, three of which were brief. His first two marriages were annulled within a matter of days. The names of Johnson's first two wives have not been made public knowledge, though they were said to have been a dancer and a "rich bimbo." In the early 1970s, Johnson lived with groupie Pamela Des Barres. During the first half of 1972, he met Melanie Griffith, the 14-year-old daughter of his Harrad Experiment co-star Tippi Hedren. When Griffith was 15, she and Johnson began living together in a rented house in Laurel Canyon. On her 18th birthday they became engaged, and were married in January 1976; they filed for divorce that July. They reunited and conceived a daughter close to the start of 1989, Dakota Johnson (born October 4, 1989) and were married again from that year until 1996.

In 1980, he dated Sally Adams (then using the aka Sally Savalas), mother of actress Nicollette Sheridan. Cybill Shepherd has written of a liaison with Johnson in her autobiography.

Johnson lived with actress Patti D'Arbanville from 1981 to 1988. The couple has a son, Jesse Wayne Johnson (born December 7, 1982). A 1989 description of the couple's life in the 1980s said,

...n Jan. 17, 1981, ... D'Arbanville ... met Johnson at an L.A. restaurant. "I saw this gorgeous guy," she says, "and I ran after him. saying, 'Hey you.' It turned out to be Donny. I said, 'So, Donny, how many times have you been married?' He said, 'Three.' I said, 'Say hello to No. 4.'...." Johnson ditched his date, Tanya Tucker, and spent the night with Patti. "One month later," she says, "I was pregnant." The couple planned to marry that fall, but D'Arbanville changed her mind. "I didn't see the point," she says. "Besides, there were areas in which we didn't get along." Drinking was one of them. Shortly after becoming pregnant, Patti sobered up. "Donny didn't," she says " we grew further apart." ... Johnson eventually stopped drinking with D'Arbanville's help.... Miami Vice took Johnson to Florida in 1984, and the couple split a year later....

Johnson next had a relationship with Barbra Streisand, lasting into at least September 1988. In 1995-1996 Johnson was briefly engaged to Jodi Lyn O'Keefe who played his daughter on Nash Bridges.

On April 29, 1999, he married San Francisco socialite and Montessori nursery school teacher Kelley Phleger, then 30, at the Pacific Heights mansion of Ann and Gordon Getty. Actor Robert Wagner served as best man, and Mayor Willie Brown presided over the civil ceremony. Johnson and Phleger have three children together: a daughter, Atherton Grace Johnson (born December 28, 1999), and two sons, Jasper Breckinridge Johnson (born June 6, 2002), and Deacon Johnson (born April 29, 2006).

Legal problems

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.

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 it would appeal the verdict. In January 2013, after recalculating interest and avoiding an additional appeal, Rysher paid Johnson $19 million to end the lawsuit.

Reception

Awards and recognitions

Year	Result	Award	Category	TV/Film
1975	Winner	Saturn Award	Best Actor	A Boy and His Dog
1985	Nominated	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	Miami Vice
1986	Winner	Golden Globe Awards	Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama
1987	Nominated		Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama
1988	Won	APBA Offshore World Cup	Superboat class
1996	Awarded	Hollywood Walk of Fame	Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1970	The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart	Stanley Sweetheart
1971	Zachariah	Matthew
1973	Harrad Experiment, TheThe Harrad Experiment	Stanley Cole
1974	Lollipops, Roses and Talangka	Franky
1975	A Boy and His Dog	Vic
1975	Return to Macon County	Harley McKay
1976	Law of the Land	Quirt	Television film
1977	The City	Sergeant Brian Scott	Television pilot film
1977	Cover Girls	Johnny Wilson	Television film
1978	Swan Lake	Benno	English version voice
1978	Pressure Point		Television film
1978	Ski Lift to Death	Mike Sloan	Television film
1978	The Two-Five	Charlie Morgan	Television film
1978	Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold	Gunther	Television film
1978	First, You Cry	Daniel Easton	Television film
1979	Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill	Cowboy	Television film
1979	The Rebels	Judson Fletcher	Miniseries
1980	Beulah Land	Bonard Davis	Miniseries
1980	Revenge of the Stepford Wives	Officer Andy Brady	Television film
1981	Elvis and the Beauty Queen	Elvis Presley	Television film
1981	The Two Lives of Carol Letner	Bob Howard	Television film
1981	Soggy Bottom, U.S.A.	Jacob Gorch
1982	Melanie	Carl
1982	Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp	Wazir's Son	English version voice
1983	Six Pack	Brewster Baker	Television pilot film
1985	Cease Fire	Tim Murphy
1985	The Long Hot Summer	Ben Quick	Television film
1987	G.I. Joe: The Movie	Lieutenant Vincent R. Falcone/Lt. Falcon
1988	Sweet Hearts Dance	Wiley Boon
1989	Dead Bang	Jerry Beck
1990	The Hot Spot	Harry Madox
1990	Seriously...Phil Collins	Himself	Television film
1991	Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man	Robert Anderson/The Marlboro Man
1991	Paradise	Ben Reed
1993	Born Yesterday	Paul Verrall
1993	Guilty as Sin	David Edgar Greenhill
1995	In Pursuit of Honor	Sgt. John Libbey	Television film
1996	Tin Cup	David Simms
1998	Goodbye Lover	Ben Dunmore
2003	Word of Honor	Lt. Benjamin Tyson	Television film Co-executive producer
2007	Moondance Alexander	Dante Longpre
2007	Bastardi	Sante Patene
2008	Long Flat Balls II	Admiral Burnett
2008	Torno a vivere da solo	Nico
2010	When in Rome	Mr. Martin	Uncredited
2010	Machete	Lt. Von Jackson
2010	Southern Discomfort		Television pilot film
2011	A Mann's World	Allan Mann	Television pilot film
2011	Four Loko Vineyards	Mr. Four Loko	Online short film
2011	A Good Old Fashioned Orgy	Jerry Keppler	Uncredited
2011	Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star	Miles Deep
2012	Django Unchained	Spencer "Big Daddy" Bennett
2014	Cold in July	Jim Bob Luke
2014	The Other Woman	Frank Whitten
2015	Alex of Venice	Roger

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1971	Serge	Deloy Coopersmith	1 episode
1972	Young Dr. Kildare	Ted Thatcher	1 episode
1972	The Bold Ones: The New Doctors	Ev Howard	1 episode
1973	Kung Fu	Nashebo	1 episode
1974	The Rookies	Al Devering	1 episode
1976	The Streets of San Francisco	Officer Larry Wilson	1 episode
1976	Barnaby Jones	Wayne Lockwood	1 episode
1977	Nashville 99	Mike Watling	1 episode
1977	Eight is Enough	Doug	1 episode
1977	Big Hawaii	Gandy	1 episode
1977	Police Story	Lee Morgan	1 episode
1978	What Really Happened to the Class of '65?	Edgar	1 episode
1978	The American Girls	Everett Simms	1 episode
1980	From Here to Eternity	Private Jefferson "Jeff" Davis Prewitt	13 episodes
1982	Matt Houston	Terry Spence	1 episode
1984-1989	Miami Vice	Detective James "Sonny" Crockett	111 Episodes
1985	Tales of the Unexpected	Reeve Baker	1 episode
1988; 2015	Saturday Night Live	Himself	2 episodes
1996-2001	Nash Bridges	Inspector/Captain Nash Bridges	122 episodes Executive producer
2005-2006	Just Legal	Grant H. Cooper	8 episodes
2010	WWE Raw	Himself	1 episode
2010-2011	Glenn Martin, DDS	Grandpa Whitey	4 episodes
2010-2012	Eastbound & Down	Eduardo Sanchez Powers	5 episodes
2014	From Dusk till Dawn: The Series	Sheriff Earl McGraw	4 episodes
2015	Blood & Oil	Hap Briggs

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Details	Peak chart positions
		US	AUT	FIN	FRA	GER	NL	NOR	SWE	SWI
Heartbeat	Release date: November 11, 1986 Label: Epic Records Formats: CD, cassette	17	3	5	—	3	20	7	34	7
Let It Roll	Release date: September 20, 1989 Label: Epic Records Formats: CD, cassette	—	23	17	15	2	19	—	35	6
"—" 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
		US	AUT	FIN	FRA	GER	NL	NOR	SWE	SWI	UK
1986	"Heartbeat"	5	3	4	—	6	10	5	16	6	46	Heartbeat
	"Heartache Away"	56	22	—	—	31	25	—	—	—	—
1987	"Voice on a Hotline"	—	—	—	—	—	59	—	—	—	—
1989	"Tell It Like It Is"	—	13	—	6	2	6	—	—	6	84	Let It Roll
	"Other People's Lives"	—	—	—	46	57	53	—	—	—	—
	"A Better Place"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Featured singles

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

Videography

• 1987: Heartbeat -

[ Source: Wikipedia ]