Raymond Edward Johnson
Encyclopedia
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and stage
Stage (theatre)
In theatre or performance arts, the stage is a designated space for the performance productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal point for the members of the audience...
actor best remembered for his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries
Inner Sanctum Mysteries
Inner Sanctum Mysteries, a popular old-time radio program that aired from January 7, 1941 to October 5, 1952, was created by producer Himan Brown. A total of 526 episodes were broadcast.-Horror hosts:...
.
Born in Kenosha, Wisconsin
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Kenosha is a city and the county seat of Kenosha County in the State of Wisconsin in United States. With a population of 99,218 as of May 2011, Kenosha is the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Kenosha is also the fourth-largest city on the western shore of Lake Michigan, following Chicago,...
, Johnson started out as a bank teller, and later studied acting at the Goodman School of Drama
Goodman School of Drama
The Goodman School of Drama is now renamed The Theatre School at DePaul University. Founded in 1925 in Chicago, Illinois, a city with a rich theatrical heritage, the Goodman School became part of DePaul University in 1978 and was renamed The Theatre School at DePaul University in 1982...
in Chicago. Johnson began his career in Chicago, some of his earliest work including a regular role on Edgar A. Guest's dramatic serial Welcome Valley (1932-1937) as Bill Sutter, and was featured on The National Farm and Home Hour
The National Farm and Home Hour
The National Farm and Home Hour was a variety show which was broadcast in various formats from 1928 to 1958. Aimed at listeners in rural America, it was known as "the farmer's bulletin board" and was produced by the United States Department of Agriculture with contributions from, and the...
in dramatic sketches as the Forest Ranger (a role also played by Don Ameche
Don Ameche
Don Ameche was an Academy Award winning American actor with a career spanning almost sixty years.-Personal life:...
).
Chicago to New York
While in Chicago, Johnson began working with writer/director Arch ObolerArch Oboler
Arch Oboler was an American actor, playwright, screenwriter, novelist, producer, and director who was active in radio, films, theater, and television. He generated much attention with his radio scripts, particularly the horror series Lights Out, and his work in radio remains the outstanding period...
, with roles on his Lights Out
Lights Out (radio show)
Lights Out is an extremely popular American old-time radio program, an early example of a network series devoted mostly to horror and the supernatural, predating Suspense and Inner Sanctum...
series. When both Oboler and Johnson relocated to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the actor was featured in many episodes of Arch Oboler's Plays
Arch Oboler's Plays
Arch Oboler's Plays was a radio anthology series written, produced and directed by Arch Oboler. Minus a sponsor, it ran for one year, airing Saturday evenings on NBC from March 25, 1939 to March 23, 1940 and revived five years later on Mutual for a sustaining summer run from April 5, 1945 to...
, notably as the title role in "The Ugliest Man in the World" (repeated five times) and as Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
in "This Lonely Heart" both from 1939.
Inner Sanctum
While in New York, Johnson landed his most famous role when Himan BrownHiman Brown
Himan Brown , also known as Hi Brown and Mende Brown, was an American producer of radio programs. Producing for the major radio networks and also for syndication, Brown worked with such actors as Helen Hayes, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Gregory Peck, Frank Sinatra and Orson Welles while creating...
hired him for Inner Sanctum. From the first broadcast in 1941, Johnson was heard as the series host/narrator, introducing himself as "Your host, Raymond." The "Raymond" character became known for his chilling introductions and morbid puns, and his typical closing, an elongated and ironic "Pleasant dreaaaams, hmmmmmmm?" Johnson departed the series in 1945, when he joined the Army; although replaced for the remainder of the run by Paul McGrath
Paul McGrath (actor)
Paul McGrath was an American film, television, Broadway, and Pittsburgh actor best known for his radio appearances in the 1940s and 1950s. He was born in Chicago, Illinois and died in London, England.-See also:...
as host, Johnson took the "Raymond" name with him. Johnson later hosted the radio version of the science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series Tales of Tomorrow
Tales of Tomorrow
Tales of Tomorrow is an American anthology science fiction series that was performed and broadcast live on ABC from 1951 to 1953. The series covered such stories as Frankenstein, starring Lon Chaney, Jr., 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea starring Thomas Mitchell as Captain Nemo, and many others...
.
Soap operas
In both New York and Chicago, he was a staple on many soap operaSoap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
s, playing romantic leads on the radio version of The Guiding Light (as enigmatic stranger Ellis Smith), 1943's Brave Tomorrow (as Hal Lambert), Kate Hopkins, Angel of Mercy (as Robert Atwood) and Valiant Lady (as Paul Morrison). His sister, Dora Johnson Remington, was also a soap staple, playing Evey on Ma Perkins
Ma Perkins
Ma Perkins is an American radio soap opera which was heard on NBC from 1933 to 1949 and on CBS from 1942 to 1960. Between 1942 and 1949, the show was heard simultaneously on both networks...
.
A prolific performer, Johnson was also heard as Mr. District Attorney
Mr. District Attorney
Mr. District Attorney is a popular radio crime drama which aired on NBC and ABC from April 3, 1939 to June 13, 1952 . The series focused on a crusading D.A., initially known only as "Mister District Attorney," or "Chief", and was later translated to television. On television the D.A...
in 1939, Roger Kilgore, Public Defender, Calling All Cars, and starred in radio adaptations of the comic strips Don Winslow of the Navy
Don Winslow of the Navy
Don Winslow of the Navy is a Universal Pictures film serial based on the comic strip Don Winslow of the Navy by Commander Frank V. Martinek.-Production:...
and Mandrake the Magician
Mandrake the Magician
Mandrake the Magician is a syndicated newspaper comic strip, created by Lee Falk , which began June 11, 1934. Phil Davis soon took over as the strip's illustrator, while Falk continued to script. The strip was distributed by King Features Syndicate.Davis worked on the strip until his death in 1964,...
.
Still other radio dramas included appearances on such diverse anthologies as Cavalcade of America
Cavalcade of America
Cavalcade of America is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company, although it occasionally presented a musical, such as an adaptation of Show Boat, and condensed biographies of popular composers. It was initially broadcast on radio from 1935 to 1953, and later on...
, Gangbusters, Dimension X
Dimension X
Dimension X was an NBC radio program broadcast on an unsponsored, sustaining basis from April 8, 1950 to September 29, 1951. The first 13 episodes were broadcast live, and the remainder were pre-recorded...
(and its sequel X Minus One
X Minus One
X Minus One was a half-hour science fiction radio drama series broadcast from April 24, 1955 to January 9, 1958 in various timeslots on NBC.-Overview:...
), the wartime
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
series Words at War, Famous Jury Trials and Cloak and Dagger
Cloak and Dagger (radio)
Cloak and Dagger was an NBC radio series, a foreign intrigue adventure adapted from the book Cloak and Dagger by Corey Ford and Alastair MacBain.A syndicated transcription package produced by the Louis G...
.
Broadway
On stage, Johnson starred as Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
in Sidney Kingsley
Sidney Kingsley
Sidney Kingsley was an American dramatist. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Men in White in 1934.- Biography :...
's Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
play The Patriots
The Patriots (play)
The Patriots is an award-winning play written in a prologue and three acts by Sidney Kingsley in 1943. It won the New York Drama Critics' Circle award for Best Play, and ran for 173 performances.-Synopsis:...
, in 1943. His few on-camera appearances included the role of Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone....
in the 1947 film Mr. Bell. Stricken with multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
from his forties onward, limiting his activities in later years, Johnson was still a frequent presence at old time radio conventions, performing in recreations and reprising "Raymond", often from a portable bed or wheelchair. He died not long after his 90th birthday.