Johnson, Kenneth 1942- (Ken Johnson, Lillian Weezer)

views updated

Johnson, Kenneth 1942- (Ken Johnson, Lillian Weezer)

PERSONAL

Born October 26, 1942, in Pine Bluff, AR; son of Helene (maiden name, Brown) Johnson; married Bonnie Hollaway, February 2, 1963 (divorced, 1975); married Susan Appling, June 19, 1977; children: (first marriage) David, Juliet, Michael; (second marriage) Katharine, Olivia. Education: Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie-Mellon University), Pittsburgh, PA, B.F.A., 1964.

Addresses:

Office—Kenneth Johnson Productions, 4461 Vista Del Monte Ave., Suite 1, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403-2948.

Career:

Director, producer, and writer. Kenneth Johnson Productions, Sherman Oaks, CA, executive producer and developer of television series and movies; also worked as a stage manager in New York City. University of California, Los Angeles, instructor in film and television; also taught at University of Southern California and at England's national film and television school.

Awards, Honors:

Television Award nomination, best original or adapted multi-part long-form series, Writers Guild of America, 1984, for V; Founder's Award, Viewers for Quality Television, 1990, for Alien Nation; Edgar Allan Poe Award nomination, best television feature or miniseries, Mystery Writers of America, 1994, for Sherlock Holmes Returns; Lifetime Achievement Award, Sci-Fi Universe, 1996.

CREDITS

Television Work; Series:

Producer, The Reel Game (game show), ABC, 1971.

Producer and director, Hollywood's Talking (game show), CBS, 1973.

Producer (with others), The Six Million Dollar Man, ABC, 1973-78.

Creator, producer, and supervising producer, The Bionic Woman, ABC, 1976-77, NBC, 1977-78.

Creator and executive producer, The Incredible Hulk, CBS, 1978-82.

Creator and executive producer, The Curse of Dracula (also known as Cliffhangers: The Curse of Dracula, Dracula '79, The Loves of Dracula, and The World of Dracula), NBC, 1979.

Creator and executive producer, Stop Susan Williams, NBC, 1979.

Creator and executive producer, The Secret Empire (also known as Cliffhangers: The Secret Empire), NBC, 1979.

Executive producer (with others) Hot Pursuit, NBC, 1984.

Creator and executive producer, Shadow Chasers, ABC, 1985.

Creator and executive producer, Alien Nation, Fox, 1989-90.

Director, JAG, CBS, multiple episodes, between 2002 and 2004.

Began as associate producer, became producer, The Mike Douglas Show, syndicated, c. 1964-66; also producer of Juvenile Jury.

Television Work; Miniseries:

Creator, executive producer, and director, V (also known as V: The Original Mini Series), NBC, 1983.

Creator and executive producer, V: The Final Battle, NBC, 1984.

Executive producer and director, Venus Rising, PAX, 2002.

Television Executive Producer and Director; Movies:

The Incredible Hulk: Married (also known as Bride of the Incredible Hulk), CBS, 1978.

Senior Trip!, CBS, 1981.

The Liberators, ABC, 1987.

Sherlock Holmes Returns (also known as 1994 Baker Street: Sherlock Holmes Returns), CBS, 1993.

Alien Nation: Dark Horizon, Fox, 1994.

Alien Nation: Body and Soul, Fox, 1995.

Alien Nation: Millennium, Fox, 1996.

Alien Nation: The Enemy Within, Fox, 1996.

Alien Nation: The Udara Legacy, Fox, 1997.

The Master Race, 2001.

Television Director; Movies:

Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century, Disney Channel, 1999.

Don't Look Under the Bed, Disney Channel, 1999.

The Valley of Secrets, TBS, 2002.

Television Work; Pilots:

Executive producer and director, The Incredible Hulk, CBS, 1977.

Producer and director, The Return of the Incredible Hulk (also known as The Incredible Hulk: Death in the Family), CBS, 1977.

Executive producer and director, Hot Pursuit, NBC, 1984.

Executive producer and director, Shadow Chasers, ABC, 1985.

Executive producer and director, Alien Nation, Fox, 1989.

Television Work; Specials:

Director, The Alan King Special, ABC, 1969.

Director, Alan King Looks Back in Anger—A Review of 1972, ABC, 1973.

Producer, with Don Kibbee, and director, Alan King in Las Vegas, Part I, ABC, 1973.

Producer, with Kibbee; and director, Alan King in Las Vegas, Part II, ABC, 1973.

Producer, The Secret of Bigfoot (also known as The Six Million Dollar Man: The Secret of Bigfoot), 1975.

Executive producer and director, The Girl Who Saved the World, 1979.

Television Director; Episodic:

Hollywood's Talking (game show), CBS, 1973.

"The Framing of Billy the Kid," Griff, ABC, 1973.

"The Ghost Hunter," The Bionic Woman, ABC, 1976.

"Doomsday Is Tomorrow: Parts 1 & 2," The Bionic Woman, ABC, 1977.

"Married: Parts 1 & 2," The Incredible Hulk, CBS, 1978.

Stop Susan Williams, NBC, 1979.

The Secret Empire (also known as Cliffhangers: The Secret Empire), NBC, 1979.

The Curse of Dracula (also known as Cliffhangers: The Curse of Dracula, Dracula '#x2018;79, The Loves of Dracula, and The World of Dracula), NBC, 1979.

"Prometheus: Parts 1 & 2," The Incredible Hulk, CBS, 1980.

Shadow Chasers, ABC, 1985.

Premiere episode, Alien Nation, Fox, 1989.

Also directed episodes of Adam-12, NBC; and Seven Days (also known as Seven Days: The Series), UPN.

Television Appearances; Pilots:

(Uncredited) Voice of Scotty, The Incredible Hulk, CBS, 1977.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

"Pedro Arrupe: A Man for Others," For Our Times, CBS, 1987.

Film Director:

(And producer, as Ken Johnson) An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe, 1972.

Short Circuit 2, TriStar, 1988.

Steel, Warner Bros., 1997.

WRITINGS

Television Series:

Griff, ABC, 1973.

The Bionic Woman, ABC, 1976-77.

(And composer of theme music) Alien Nation, Fox, 1989.

Also writer for The Six Million Dollar Man, ABC.

Television Pilots:

The Bionic Woman (also known as The Six Million Dollar Man: The Bionic Woman), CBS, 1975.

The Incredible Hulk (based on characters created by Stan Lee and Marvel Comics), CBS, 1977.

The Return of the Incredible Hulk (also known as The Incredible Hulk: Death in the Family), CBS, 1977.

Hot Pursuit, NBC, 1984.

Shadow Chasers, ABC, 1985.

Alien Nation, Fox, 1989.

Television Movies:

The Incredible Hulk: Married (also known as The Bride of the Incredible Hulk), CBS, 1978.

(And music composer) Senior Trip!, CBS, 1981.

The Liberators, ABC, 1987.

Sherlock Holmes Returns (also known as 1994 Baker Street: Sherlock Holmes Returns), CBS, 1993.

Alien Nation: Millennium, Fox, 1996.

The Master Race, 2001.

The Valley of Secrets, TBS, 2002.

Television Miniseries:

V (also known as V: The Original Mini Series), NBC, 1983.

(As Lillian Weezer) V: The Final Battle, NBC, 1984.

Venus Rising, PAX, 2002.

Television Specials:

The Secret of Bigfoot (also known as The Six Million Dollar Man: The Secret of Bigfoot), 1975.

Television Episodes:

"The Final Round," The Incredible Hulk, CBS, 1978.

"Never Give a Trucker an Even Break," The Incredible Hulk, CBS, 1978.

"Married: Parts 1 & 2," The Incredible Hulk, CBS, 1978.

"Prometheus: Parts 1 & 2," The Incredible Hulk, CBS, 1980.

Screenplays:

An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe, 1972.

(And song "Steel Yourself") Steel, Warner Bros., 1997.

Novels:

V: The Second Generation, TOR, 2007.

ADAPTATIONS

The 1979 special The Girl Who Saved the World was based on characters created by Johnson. The film D3: The Mighty Ducks, released by Buena Vista in 1996, was based on a story by Johnson.

OTHER SOURCES

Electronic:

Kenneth Johnson Official Site,http://www.kennethjohnson.us, August 10, 2007.

About this article

Johnson, Kenneth 1942- (Ken Johnson, Lillian Weezer)

Updated About encyclopedia.com content Print Article