Chas. Floyd Johnson

Chas. Floyd Johnson (born Charles Floyd Johnson) is an African American television producer, actor and activist, known for The Rockford Files (1975-1980),[1] Magnum, P.I. (1982-1988), and Red Tails (2012).[2] A three-time Emmy Award winner (and seven-time nominee), Johnson currently serves as Executive Producer of the CBS Television Studios' television series, NCIS (2003-2019),[3] following his tenure as an executive producer of the long-running CBS television series, JAG (1997-2005).[1]

Chas. Floyd Johnson
Born
Charles Floyd Johnson

(1941-02-12) February 12, 1941
Camden, New Jersey, United States
EducationHoward University (BA)
Howard University (J.D.)
OccupationActor
Producer
Activist
Author
Spouse(s)Anne Burford Johnson (m.1983)
ChildrenKristin Suzanne Johnson

Early life

A native of Camden, New Jersey, Johnson spent most of his childhood in Middletown, Delaware. His mother, Bertha Ellen Seagers, was a school principal and teacher, and his father, Orange Maull Johnson, was a realtor. Johnson received both his Bachelor of Arts and his Juris Doctorate Degrees from Howard University.[4][5]

Career

The Vietnam draft brought Johnson to the United States Army, stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Because of his law degree, Johnson was assigned to the Courts and Boards Defense Counsel. Once his military service was completed, Johnson relocated to Washington, D.C., and joined the U.S. Copyright Office. During this period as a copyright lawyer, Johnson took various film and acting classes in his free time. He also got acting roles in local theatre and in various film/television projects.

Deciding to focus on a career in entertainment, Johnson left the copyright office and moved to Los Angeles in 1971 .[5][6] Once in Los Angeles, Johnson immersed himself in the Los Angeles entertainment scene. Johnson took more acting and film/television production classes.

He got a position in the mail room at Universal Studios. After just two days, Johnson applied for a newly opened position and became a Production Coordinator.[4] While in this role for a variety of television shows, Johnson caught the attention of Stephen J. Cannell and Meta Rosenberg. They were the Producers of The Rockford Files. This led to the big break that would kick-off Johnson's professional producer career: he became the show's second Associate Producer in 1974.[6]

Along with Robert Hooks, Brock Peters, and Denise Nicholas, Johnson was a founding member of The Media Forum[7] and he served as a former vice president. He was a vice president of Communications Bridge, a Los Angeles training program for minority students in the fields of Film and Television Production. He is a member of the Caucus for Producers, Writers and Directors, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the Screen Actors Guild, the Writers Guild of America and the Producers Guild of America, for which he previously served, for many years, as both an officer and a member of its Board of Directors.[8] With the Producers Guild, he founded and produced the Oscar Micheaux Awards, which was the forerunner of the PGA's "Celebration of Diversity Awards".

Johnson is also a co-author (along with George H. Hill and Lorraine Raglin) of the book, Black Women in Television: An Illustrated History and Bibliography, published in 1990.[9]

Awards

Johnson has received several notable awards.

The Charles B. Fitzsimons Honorary Lifetime Membership Award originated in 1991 during the planning of the Guild's 2nd Golden Laurel Awards. Pictured are members of the Golden Laurel Awards Committee; From left to right: Rita Dillon, Joel Freeman, Terrie Frankel, Diane Robison, Bob Finkel, and Chas. Floyd Johnson.

Primetime Emmys[10]

  • Outstanding Drama Series - Winner - The Rockford Files - 1978
  • Outstanding Drama Series - Nominee - The Rockford Files - 1979
  • Outstanding Drama Series - Nominee - Magnum, P.I. - 1983
  • Outstanding Drama Series - Nominee - Magnum, P.I. - 1984

Johnson produced and performed in the 1982 KCET Public Television Special, Voices of Our People … in Celebration of Black Poetry, where he received an Emmy Award for “Outstanding Performer in an Entertainment Special” and another Emmy Award for “Outstanding Entertainment Special.”[4]

Other recent awards include the Producer of the Year for NCIS (CBS),[11] the Chairman's Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award[12][13] from the Caucus for Producers, Writers & Directors, the Diversity Award from the Producers Guild of America and the Ron Brown Award from Minorities in Broadcasting.

Acting and production credits

Stage appearances[14]
  • Alton Scales, The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, Theatre Lobby, Washington, DC, 1967
  • Focus on Blacks in American Theatre, Back Alley Theatre, Washington, DC, 1967
  • Bernard, The Boys in the Band, Morgan Theatre, Santa Monica, CA, 1972
  • Lieutenant, The Drumhead, Merle Oberon Theatre, Los Angeles, 1974

Television work

Executive producer; with others; series[15]

Producer; with others; series[15]

Executive producer; with others; movies

Film

Producer

References
  1. Johnson, Allan. "TUNING IN, TUNING OUT". chicagotribune.com.
  2. "Gerald McRaney enlists in 'Red Tails'". The Hollywood Reporter.
  3. "NCIS Is The Biggest Show On Earth - CBS.com". CBS.
  4. Hill, Michael E. (May 1, 1988). "CHARLES JOHNSON" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  5. "Charles F. Johnson's Biography". The HistoryMakers.
  6. "Rockford Files: An Interview with Chas Floyd Johnson". Jim Suva and The Suva Files Blog.
  7. "Ebony". Johnson Publishing Company. 1 September 1981 – via Google Books.
  8. Madigan, Nick (16 June 1999). "Producers' directors".
  9. Hill, George H. "Black women in television : an illustrated history and bibliography" – via www.torontopubliclibrary.ca.
  10. "Chas. Floyd Johnson". Television Academy.
  11. "Lionsgate TV Boss Kevin Beggs Named Executive of the Year by The Caucus for Producers, Writers & Directors". The Hollywood Reporter.
  12. Littleton, Cynthia (5 December 2011). "Trio win Caucus honors".
  13. "The Caucus For Producers, Writers and Directors 36th Annual Caucus Awards Dinner". 3 December 2018.
  14. "Chas. Floyd Johnson Biography ((?)-)". www.filmreference.com.
  15. "Chas. Floyd Johnson". TV.com.
  16. "Auntie Sue (1989) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies.
  17. "B.L. Stryker: The Dancer's Touch". TV.com.
  18. "Die Laughing (1989) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies.
  19. "Royal Gambit (1989) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies.
  20. Sandler, Adam (18 September 1996). "The Rockford Files: Crime and Punishment".
  21. "Lucas' Next Movie: Tuskegee Airmen : Film: 'Red Tails,' the story of the black pilots in World War II, will be virtually an all-black project. Said Lucas: 'I'm one of the few people that can get this film made.'". Los Angeles Times. August 11, 1990.
  22. "Freedom Riders Reunited at Documentary Screening about the Life of Congressman John Lewis". 5 October 2016.
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