Nunnally Hunter Johnson (December 5, 1897 - March 25, 1977) was an American filmmaker who wrote, produced, and directed films.
Johnson was born in Columbus, Georgia. He began his career as a journalist, writing for the Columbus Enquirer Sun, the Savannah Press, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and the New York Herald Tribune. He also wrote short stories and a collection of these, There Ought To Be a Law, was published in 1930. Johnson's first connection with film work was the sale of the screen rights to one of his stories in 1927. Johnson asked his editor if he could write film criticism articles in 1932. When this request was denied, he decided to relocate to Hollywood and work directly in the film industry.
Johnson quickly found work as a scriptwriter and was hired fulltime as a writer by 20th Century-Fox in 1935. He soon began producing films as well and cofounded International Pictures in 1943 with William Goetz. Johnson also directed several films in the 1950s.
Johnson was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Screenplay in 1940 for The Grapes of Wrath and the Directors Guild of America Best Directors Award in 1956 for The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit.
Johnson was married three times; to Marion Byrnes, Alice Mason, and Dorris Bowdon. His marriage to Bowdon lasted from 1939 until his death and produced three children. His daughter, Marjorie Fowler, was a film editor and his grandson, Jack Johnson, is an actor.
Johnson died of pneumonia in Hollywood in 1977 and was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Grandfather of Jack Johnson (II) and Gene N. Fowler.
Father of Marjorie Fowler.
Was a reporter for the New York Post during the 1920s before heading to Hollywood.
Father-in-law of Gene Fowler Jr..
Interred at Westwood Memorial Park, Los Angeles, CA - Sanctuary of Tranquility.
