Johnson was born in a barn in Cheyenne, Wyoming,[3] was forced to repeat the sixth grade, and dropped out of school entirely in the eighth. He briefly served as a telegraph operator and draftsman in the United States Army, then enrolled at the Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University) under the G.I. Bill, but quit to return to his travels around the U.S., working as a draftsman, before becoming a writer.[4]
Writing career
"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 on which the 1960 and 2001 films were based for the Rat Pack film Ocean's 11, although most of the details were changed for the actual film. The story and screenplay were optioned to Peter Lawford and his wife, Patricia Kennedy (sister, at that time, of the future President John F. Kennedy) in 1957.[6]
In 1959, Johnson wrote the story "I'll Take Care of You" for Alfred Hitchcock Presents. From 1959 onward, Johnson's work began to regularly appear in magazines such as Playboy, Los Angeles, The Twilight Zone Magazine, Rogue, and Gamma, and he began to write stories and scripts for TV. Later, Johnson joined the Southern California School of Writers that included, among others, William F. Nolan, Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson and Ray Bradbury.[7]
Through them he met Rod 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 for The Twilight Zone, he worked as a writer for other television series, including Honey West, Wanted Dead or Alive, Route 66 and Kung Fu. Johnson also wrote the Star 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. Unfortunately, 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 series Deepest Dimension Terror Anthology with cartoonist and author Jay Allen Sanford.[7]
Personal life
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 the legalization of marijuana.[7] Along with his writing output, Johnson was instrumental to the early development of San Diego Comic Con.[12] He was also a longtime vegetarian.[10]
Jessica's Run: A New Sequel for the Logan's Run Universe (George Clayton Johnson's long rumored personal sequel to Logan's Run said to be "in development";[16] yet to be published)
Television and film scripts
Icarus Montgolfier Wright (with Ray Bradbury; 1962)[17]
In 1960, Johnson submitted a story to The Twilight Zone called "Sea Change" which wasn't used but was later adapted for Johnson's 1994 comic book series Deepest Dimension Terror Anthology.[20]
