George Clayton Johnson | |
|---|---|
 Johnson in 2014 | |
| Born | (1929-07-10)July 10, 1929 Cheyenne, Wyoming, U.S. |
| Died | December 25, 2015(2015-12-25) (aged 86) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Genre |
|
| Years active | 1959–2015 |
| Notable works | |
| Notable awards |
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| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
George Clayton Johnson (July 10, 1929 – December 25, 2015) was an American science fiction writer, who co-wrote withWilliam F. Nolan the novelLogan's Run, the basis for the MGM1976 film. He also wrote television scripts forThe Twilight Zone (including "Nothing in the Dark", "Kick the Can", "A Game of Pool", and "A Penny for Your Thoughts"), and the first telecast episode ofStar Trek, entitled "The Man Trap".[1] He also wrote the story and screenplay[2] on which the 1960 filmOcean's 11 andits 2001 remake were based.
Johnson was born in a barn inCheyenne, Wyoming,[3] was forced to repeat the sixth grade, and dropped out of school entirely in the eighth. He briefly served as atelegraph operator anddraftsman in theUnited States Army, then enrolled at the Alabama Polytechnic Institute (nowAuburn University) under theG.I. Bill, but quit to return to his travels around the U.S., working as a draftsman, before becoming a writer.[4]
"For me, fantasy must be about something, otherwise it's foolishness ... ultimately it must be about human beings, it must be about the human condition, it must be another look at infinity, it must be another way of seeing the paradox of existence."[5]
Between 1956 and early 1957, he created the story entitled "Ocean's Eleven" beginning with a 40,000 word attempt at a novel. During this time he asked his friend Jack Golden Russell, a former WWII paratrooper, if he could add ideas of authenticity to the tale, later crediting him for his contributions to the story. Johnson then thought of approaching the story as a screenplay. Under the name "George Johnson", he solely authored the script for theRat Pack filmOcean's 11, although most of the details were changed for the actual film. The story and screenplay were optioned toPeter Lawford and his wife,Patricia Kennedy in 1957.[6]
From 1959 onward, Johnson's work began to regularly appear in magazines such asPlayboy,Los Angeles,The Twilight Zone Magazine,Rogue, andGamma, and he began to write stories and scripts for TV. In 1959, Johnson wrote the story "I'll Take Care of You" forAlfred Hitchcock Presents. Later, Johnson joined the Southern California School of Writers that included, among others,William F. Nolan,Charles Beaumont,Richard Matheson andRay Bradbury.[7]
Through them he metRod Serling, to whom he sold his story "All of Us Are Dying", which was produced as "The Four of Us Are Dying", scripted by Serling. Eventually, after selling other stories and having them scripted by other writers for the show, Johnson asked Serling to let him attempt a teleplay for the series, which was "A Penny for Your Thoughts". Later, after completing more scripts forThe Twilight Zone, he worked as a writer for other television series, includingHoney West,Wanted Dead or Alive,Route 66 andKung Fu. Johnson also wrote theStar Trek episode "The Man Trap", which was the first episode telecast.[8] Johnson briefly had a L.A.-based radio program called "The Writer and the Story" which featured interviews with authors, including Charles Beaumont and William F. Nolan.[9] As his career progressed, Johnson formed, in the 1960s, a loose, short-lived federation with fellow authors and friends Matheson,Theodore Sturgeon, and others called "The Green Hand". The intent was to leverage their works in the fashion of a union within the Hollywood system for TV production. The enterprise fell apart after a few months.[10] In his later years, he wrote comic books and was a frequent guest at science fiction and comics conventions. Johnson co-created the comic book seriesDeepest Dimension Terror Anthology with cartoonist and authorJay Allen Sanford.[7]
Johnson married Lola Brownstein on October 10, 1952, in Los Angeles, and fathered two children, Paul and Judy.[4][7][11] He was a vocal advocate for thelegalization of marijuana.[7] Along with his writing output, Johnson was instrumental to the early development ofSan Diego Comic Con.[12] He was also a longtime vegetarian.[10]
Johnson died onChristmas Day 2015,[11][13][14] ofbladder andprostate cancer at a Veterans Administration Medical Center hospital inNorth Hills, California.[15] He is interred atRiverside National Cemetery.
| Year | Association | Category | Work | Result | ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Inkpot Award | Lifetime achievement | Won | [25] | |
| Nebula Award | Nebula Award for Best Script | Logan's Run | Nominated | [26] | |
| 1977 | Hugo Award | Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation | Logan's Run | Nominated | [27] |
| 1980 | Balrog Award | Best works and achievements ofspeculative fiction | A Penny For Your Thoughts (The Twilight Zone) (S 2:Ep 16) | Nominated | [28] |
| Nothing in the Dark (The Twilight Zone) (S 3:Ep 16) | Nominated | [28] | |||
| 1981 | Sea Change (The Twilight Zone)1 | Nominated | [28] | ||
| 1982 | All of Us Are Dying (Twilight Zone May 1982)2 | Won | [28] |
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