Noble Johnson
Actor

Noble Johnson Net Worth

Noble Johnson was an African-American actor and producer born in Marshall, Missouri in 1881. He was a close friend of Lon Chaney and was known for his impressive physique and handsome features. He was in demand as a character actor and bit player in the silent era, playing a variety of characters of different races in serials, westerns and adventure movies. In 1916, he founded the Lincoln Motion Picture Co., the first to produce movies portraying African-Americans as real people instead of as racist caricatures. He was also a busy character actor in the 1920s and 1930s, appearing in films such as The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Ten Commandments, The Thief of Bagdad, Moby Dick, King Kong, Lost Horizon, and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. He retired from the movie industry in 1950 and passed away in 1978 at the age of 96.
Noble Johnson is a member of Actor

Age, Biography and Wiki

Who is it? Actor, Writer, Producer
Birth Day April 18, 1881
Birth Place  Marshall, Missouri, United States
Age 138 YEARS OLD
Died On January 9, 1978(1978-01-09) (aged 96)\nYucaipa, California, U.S.
Birth Sign Taurus
Years active 1915-1950
Spouse(s) Ruth Thornton (1912–?) Gladys Blackwell

💰 Net worth: $100K - $1M

Biography/Timeline

1916

Lincoln's first picture was The Realization of a Negro's Ambition (1916). For four years Johnson managed to keep Lincoln a going concern, primarily through his extraordinary commitment to African-American filmmaking. However, he reluctantly resigned as President in 1920, as he no longer could continue his double Business life, maintaining a demanding career in Hollywood films while trying to run a studio.

1920

In the 1920s Johnson was a very busy character actor, appearing in such top-notch silent films as The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) with Rudolph Valentino, Cecil B. DeMille's original The Ten Commandments (1923), The Thief of Bagdad (1924), and Dante's Inferno (1924). He made the transition to talkies, appearing in The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (1929) as Li Po, in Moby Dick (1930) as Queequeg to John Barrymore's Captain Ahab, and in the Boris Karloff film The Mummy (1932) as "the Nubian". He was also the Native Chief on Skull Island in the classic King Kong (1933) (and its sequel The Son of Kong, 1933) and appeared in Frank Capra's classic Lost Horizon (1937) as one of the porters. One of his last films was John Ford's classic She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), in which he played Native American Chief Red Shirt. He retired from the movie industry in 1950.

1924

Standing 6'2" at 215 pounds, his impressive physique and handsome features made him in demand as a character actor and bit player. In the silent era he assayed a wide variety of characters of different races in a plethora of films, primarily serials, westerns and adventure movies. While Johnson was cast as black in many films, he also played Native American and Latino parts and "exotic" characters such as Arabians or even a devil in hell in Dante's Inferno (1924).

1960

The old orthochromatic film stock of the early days was less discriminating about a person's color, as were black and white stocks in general, permitting some African-American actors a break, as their "color" was washed out or less obvious when photographed in black and white. As late as the early 1960s, there were very few African-American members of the Screen Actors Guild. Since there was a lack of opportunity for them as black performers, they were confined mostly to race films until the 1960s.

1978

Johnson died of natural causes on January 9, 1978, in Yucaipa, California. He is buried in the Garden of Peace at Eternal Valley Memorial Park in Newhall, California.

Some Noble Johnson images

About the author

Lisa Scholfield

As a Senior Writer at Famous Net Worth, I spearhead an exceptional team dedicated to uncovering and sharing the stories of pioneering individuals. My passion for unearthing untold narratives drives me to delve deep into the essence of each subject, bringing forth a unique blend of factual accuracy and narrative allure. In orchestrating the editorial workflow, I am deeply involved in every step—from initial research to the final touches of publishing, ensuring each biography not only informs but also engages and inspires our readership.