films – Texas History Notebook

Brad Johnson, Actor

Brad William Johnson (1959 – 2022) was an American actor. His parents were Grove Johnson and Virginia Scala Johnson. Brad was born to the couple on October 24, 1959 while the family was living in Tucson, Arizona. It has been suggested that he graduated from high school in Dallas but most likely, he graduated in Grants Pass, Oregon. Online genealogy sources note that he was in the school yearbooks when he was in the 11th and 12th grade. Also, he appears to have attended but did not graduate from college.

In an interview in 1992 with Hollywood writer Bob Thomas, Brad revealed a little of his history. He said that his father had been on the rodeo circuit and that he was introduced to it while living on a ranch near Tucson. The interview mentioned Brad attending college (most likely in Oregon and Idaho) before spending a couple of years in the rodeo life, beginning in 1984. While in Jackson, Wyoming for a rodeo, he was invited to participate in a beer advertisement which led to more ad work, including doing some clothing photos and also some time as the Marlboro Man. Injuries (likely including a knee injury) cut short his rodeo career. This led him to Los Angeles where he took some drama classes. Soon he made one appearance in an episode of the series “Dallas” and was cast by Roger Corman in his first film project, “Nam Angels,” a biker/Vietnam movie that was released in 1989.

After this film, he was cast in the Steven Spielberg film “Always.” This project was a remake of the 1940s World War II era fantasy called “A Guy Named Joe” which starred Spencer Tracy, Irene Dunne, an early appearance of Van Johnson and various others including Ward Bond. The plot of the older film was a brave but risk-taking airman (Tracy) who dies in combat. In his afterlife, he is assigned by “the General” played by John Barrymore to assist his replacement (Van Johnson) both in love and war. Spielberg’s writers crafted the 1980s script to place it in a more current period with pilots and support personnel being firefighters in the aerial fire suppression industry. The writers used many of the same character names from the earlier film. Richard Dreyfus plays Pete (Tracy’s character), Holly Hunter plays Dorinda (Dunne’s character) and Brad plays Baker (Van Johnson’s character). John Goodman appears in the role played by Ward Bond in the earlier film. Also released in 1989, “Always” was well received by viewers but again, likely not as highly regarded by critics. Compared with other Spielberg films, it had a modest box office ranking, but still earned over $100 million in U. S. and global revenue. At the moment, it is rarely streamed but is still available on DVD or rental on streaming platforms.

After a made for television film he was cast in the 1991 release of “Flight of the Intruder,” with Willem Dafoe and Danny Glover. Directed by John Milius, it was based on a Stephen Coonts novel of the same name. In this film, Johnson plays a pilot of an A-6 Intruder during the Vietnam era. The A-6 Intruder was a carrier based aircraft used in strategic bombing engagements. At various times during the war, there were political restrictions on locations that could be bombed. The plot line includes an unauthorized mission on the North Vietnamese capital of Hanoi. The film was successful at the box office, but did not cover the production cost.

Other projects Brad worked on included several westerns (“Crossfire Trail,” “Ned Blessing,” “Copperhead,” “Siringo,” “Comanche Moon” and others). He also appeared in several television series (“Melrose Place,” “Rough Riders,” “Soldier of Fortune, Inc.” and others). He was in several science fiction films including “Philadephia Experiment II,” “The Birds II,”Supergator” and “Riverworld.” as well as three faith-based films in the “Left Behind” series. He did quite a lot of film and television work until around 2008. By then he had relocated to North Texas and had begun to transition to other pursuits.

No reasons are given for Johnson’s winding down and finally leaving the acting profession. He and his growing family lived in New Mexico and Colorado before settling in North Texas. His last film project was also a faith-based film called “Nail 32.” Johnson seems to have come out of his self-imposed retirement to participate in the project. The title refers to the number of nails needed to shoe one horse. In this film, Brad played the main character, Buck Livingston, as an older man. Livington is fashioned after Jasper “Buck” Weaver.

The “Nail 32” project was a semi-biographical film on the life experiences of Weaver who began as a rodeo cowboy. Weaver transitioned into starting a “cowboy” church in North Texas at time when it was counter-cultural to the transient rodeo life. During his hiatus from rodeo, Weaver attended a Bible school in Waxahachie and became a bi-vocational minister. His church appears to have been the first in a movement that is currently estimated to number congregations in the thousands. The “come as you are” atmosphere is appealing to members. Some congregations may have facilities that also feature rodeo arenas and weekly services may spill over to include rodeo events.

Except for Brad Johnson, most of the actors in the “Nail 32” project had limited credits and some are only noted for this one film. It was filmed entirely in Johnson and Ellis counties around 2015, released later in the year and can be found on streaming services.

Brad was married to his wife Laurie in 1986 in Denton County and the couple raised a large family. In North Texas he was the operator of a real estate business. Known for being a family man, Brad succumbed to complications of Covid-19 in early 2022. He is buried in North Texas. At the time of his passing, he and his wife had been married for 35 years.

Boom Town (1940)

A year before its release, news out of Hollywood touted the MGM project “Boom Town” by naming its all star cast of Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Claudette Colbert and Hedy Lamarr, each of whom were box office draws. The project was set to begin production March 15, 1939 with Jack Conway directing and Sam Zimbalist producing. It was described as the story of a Texas oilfield penned by screenwriter John Lee Mahin who adapted a story by James Edward Grant.

Texas Guinan

Mary Louise Cecilia Guinan (pronounced “guy-nan”) was born January 12, 1884 in Waco, McLennan County, Texas to Michael Guinan (1854 – 1935) and Bridget Cecile Duffy Guinan (1857 – 1939). Her nickname as a child was “Mamie” and she was the second of four children. Both of her parents were born in Canada and their ancestry is said to have been Irish. While living in Waco, the father was part owner of a wholesale grocery and candy business named Eagon, Guinan & Co. near downtown on Austin Street. Various articles note that she attended school at the Loretta Convent in downtown Waco. They likely lived in Waco until the early 1890s. By the time the 1900 federal census was taken, the family had relocated to Denver, Colorado. In 1900, Mary Louise was about 17 years old and was still living at home. The father’s business was listed as being the owner of a public warehouse. Her parents also owned a ranch at some point. She learned to ride horses and she was otherwise an active child. As she grew up, she studied singing and and would later be drawn to the entertainment business, including vaudeville. Along the way, as a reference to her birthplace, she began to adopt the nickname “Texas” and used it for the rest of her career.

Kitty O’Neal

Kitty Linn O’Neil was likely best known as a stunt woman in television and films, but she led a very active life. She was born on March 24, 1946 in Corpus Christi to John Thomas O’Neil and Patsy Linn Compton O’Neil. Her father was of Irish descent and her mother’s ancestry was Cherokee. Her father died in March, 1950 in California, apparently from complications of an earlier heart attack. Photographs of him often show him in a rugby uniform. He had competed in the Olympic Games in 1924. A death notice in the San Antonio Light issue of March 26, 1950 tells that he had been in the oil business in San Antonio since 1933. Marriage records show that he and Patsy had married in 1940. Two children were born to the couple, Kitty in 1946 and John in 1947. However, in the death notice, there is no mention of Patsy, Kitty or John. Their marital status at the time of his death is unknown.

The Last Picture Show (1971)

The Last Picture Show was the 1971 film adaptation of Larry McMurtry’s novel of the same name. McMurtry’s 1966 release was the first of five books McMurtry wrote about life in Texas. Other McMurtry books related to “The Last Picture Show” are “Texasville,” “Duane’s Depressed,” “When the Light Goes Out” and “Rhino Ranch.” “Texasville” was also adapted to a film.