Rita Johnson
Rita Johnson (August 13, 1913 – October 31, 1965) was an American actress.
Early years
Johnson was born Rita Ann Johnson in Worcester, Massachusetts, the daughter of Lillian Johnson. She worked as a waitress in her mother's lunchroom and sold hot dogs on the Boston-Worcester turnpike.
She attended the New England Conservatory of Music.
Career
Early in her career, Johnson was busy in radio. "By 1936 she ... was appearing in ten radio shows a week." She played the leading role in Joyce Jordan.
Johnson began acting on Broadway in 1935 and started her film career two years later. She played a murderess in Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) and a doomed wife in the RKO film noir They Won't Believe Me (1947).
Johnson suffered injuries (attributed to a falling hair dryer) to her head and legs September 6, 1948, requiring brain surgery and causing her film career to come almost to a complete stop. A newspaper article three years afterward reported, "It took her a year to recover. Her left side was paralyzed temporarily, and for a while she couldn't walk."
