Johnny Downs
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| Johnny Downs | |
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| Born | John Morey Downs October 10, 1913 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 6, 1994 (aged 80) Coronado, California U.S. |
| Occupation | Film actor |
| Years active | 1923-1953 |
| Spouse | June Downs (?-1994) (his death) 5 children |
Johnny Downs (October 10, 1913 – June 6, 1994) was an American actor. Son of a Naval aviator, he was taken to Hollywood in 1921 when his father was transferred to the San Diego naval base. He began his career as a child actor, most notably playing Johnny in the Our Gang short series from 1923 to 1926. He remained active in films, television, and theatre up through the early 1960s.
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[edit] After Our Gang
Following his stint with Our Gang, Downs stayed with the short-subject series until 1927, appearing in twenty-four two-reelers in various roles. He honed his dancing and singing skills on the vaudeville stage, working prominently on Broadway until returning to Hollywood in 1934. Downs became a fixture of the "college musical" movie cycle of the late 1930s, usually cast as a team captain or a cheerleader. His movie career declined just after he returned to Hal Roach to star in a 45-minute streamliner feature, All-American Co-Ed. From then on he mainly walked the boards in vaudeville, summer stock, and one solid Broadway hit ("Are You With It"). One of his outstanding cameo appearances is his performance in Rhapsody in Blue where he dances to Robert Alda's piano playing of "Swanee". Downs made a short comeback in doing bit parts in the early 1950s. Despite never making it big, he has almost 100 movie credits to his name.
[edit] The Johnny Downs Show
In the 1950s and early 1960s he hosted a local, after-school kids' television show, The Johnny Downs Show on Channel 10 "KOGO" (call letters) in San Diego, California (KOGO was KFSD prior to 1961). The theme started out as an airport hangar with Downs playing a former World War II, "Johnny Jet". In between reruns of The Little Rascals, Downs entertained and informed his studio audiences and his viewers. After that, it was trains, and he could be seen getting off or on a locomotive at the start and end of a show. As the show changed to feature more Popeye cartoons, his theme changed from being a train engineer to being a boat captain at the San Diego harbor. Regardless of the theme, Johnny Downs was always a big star to the kids of the area and was always a draw when he appeared at contests, festivals, parades, or other events.
[edit] Death
Downs died of cancer in June 1994, and is interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in San Diego. Johnny and his wife June had five children: Mary, Claudia, John Jr., Mollie and Maureen.
[edit] Selected filmography
- Circus Fever (1925)
- Dog Days (1925)
- The Love Bug (1925)
- Ask Grandma (1925)
- Thundering Fleas (1926)
- 45 Minutes from Hollywood (1926)
- Seeing the World (1927)
- Chicken Feed (1927)
- The Crowd (1928)
- The Trail of '98 (1928)
- Babes in Toyland (1934)
- Blonde Trouble (1937)
- Adam Had Four Sons (1941)
- The Mad Monster (1942)
- Freckles Comes Home (1942)
- Adventures of the Flying Cadets (1943)
[edit] Broadway credits
- Hold It! (1948)
- Are You With It? (1945–1946)
- Ragged Army (1934)
- Growing Pains (1933)
- Strike Me Pink (1933)
