View source for Rafer Johnson

{{Short description|American decathlete and actor (1934–2020)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2015}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name           = Rafer Johnson
| image          = Rafer Johnson.jpg 
| caption        = Johnson in 2016 
| full_name      = Rafer Lewis Johnson
| birth_date     = {{birth date |1934|8|18}}
| birth_place    = [[Hillsboro, Texas]], U.S.
| death_date     = {{death date and age|2020|12|2|1934|08|18}}
| death_place    = [[Sherman Oaks]], [[California]], U.S.
| headercolor    = lightsteelblue
| height         = {{convert|1.90|m|ftin|abbr=on|order=flip}}
| weight         = {{convert|91|kg|lb|abbr=on|order=flip}}
| sport          = Athletics
| event          = Decathlon
| spouse         = {{marriage|Elizabeth Thorsen|1971}}
| club           = Southern California Striders, Anaheim
| pb             = 100 m – 10.3 (1957)<br />220 yd – 21.0 (1956)<br />400 m – 47.9 (1956)<br />110 mH – 13.8 (1956)<br />HJ – 1.89 m (1955)<br />PV – 4.09 m (1960)<br />LJ – 7.76 m (1956)<br />SP – 16.75 m (1958)<br />DT – 52.50 m (1960)<br />JT – 76.73 m (1960)<br />Decathlon – 8392 (1960)<ref name=sr>{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/jo/rafer-johnson-1.html |title=Rafer Johnson |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417121426/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/jo/rafer-johnson-1.html |archive-date=2020-04-17}}</ref>
| alma_mater     =
| show-medals    = yes
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalCountry|{{USA}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1960 Summer Olympics|1960 Rome]]|[[Athletics at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Men's decathlon|Decathlon]]}}
{{MedalSilver|[[1956 Summer Olympics|1956 Melbourne]]|[[Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's decathlon|Decathlon]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Pan American Games]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1955 Pan American Games|1955 Mexico City]]|[[Athletics at the 1955 Pan American Games|Decathlon]]}}
}}

'''Rafer Lewis Johnson''' (August 18, 1934 – December 2, 2020) was an American [[decathlon|decathlete]] and film and television [[actor]]. He was the 1960 Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon, having won silver in 1956. He had previously won a gold at the [[1955 Pan American Games]]. Johnson was the U.S. team's flag bearer at the 1960 Olympics and lit the [[Olympic flame|Olympic cauldron]] at the [[1984 Summer Olympics]].

In 1968, Johnson, football player [[Rosey Grier]], and journalist [[George Plimpton]] tackled [[Sirhan Sirhan]] moments after he had [[Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy|fatally shot Robert F. Kennedy]].

After he retired from athletics, Johnson turned to acting, sportscasting, and public service and was instrumental in creating the California [[Special Olympics]]. His acting career included appearances in ''[[The Sins of Rachel Cade]]'' (1961), the [[Elvis Presley]] film ''[[Wild in the Country]]'' (1961), ''[[Pirates of Tortuga]]'' (1961), ''[[None but the Brave]]'' (1965), two [[Tarzan]] films with [[Mike Henry (American football)|Mike Henry]], ''[[The Last Grenade]]'' (1970), ''[[Soul Soldier]]'' (1970), ''[[Roots: The Next Generations]]'' (1979), the James Bond film ''[[Licence to Kill]]'' (1989), and ''[[Think Big (film)|Think Big]]'' (1990).

==Biography==
Johnson was born in [[Hillsboro, Texas]] on August 18, 1934.{{efn|Some sources give his birth year as 1935, but his family has stated that is incorrect.<ref name=AP-Mercury/>}}<ref name=":1">{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=Jill |last2=Almasy |first2=Steve |title=Rafer Johnson, 1960 Olympic decathlon champion, dies at 86 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/02/us/rafer-johnson-obit-spt-intl/index.html |work=[[CNN]] |date=December 2, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Moritz |first=Charles |year=1962 |page=222 |title=Current Biography 1961 |url=https://archive.org/details/currentbiogr196100mori/ |location=New York |publisher=H.W. Wilson}}</ref> His family moved to [[Kingsburg, California]], when he was aged nine.<ref name=":2">{{cite book |title=The Best That I Can Be: an Autobiography |first=Rafer |last=Johnson |location=New York |publisher=Doubleday |year=1998 |page=24 |url=https://archive.org/details/bestthaticanbeau00john/page/23/mode/2up?q=in+1946 |quote=I’m sure that in 1946 no one thought twice when they heard that another family named Johnson had moved into town; it was the most common name in Kingsburg. |url-access=registration |isbn=978-0-3854-8760-3 |access-date=2021-10-04}}</ref> For a while, they were the only black family in the town.<ref name=SI>{{cite magazine |url=http://joeposnanski.si.com/2010/08/02/rafer-johnson-and-the-power-of-10/?xid=cnnbin&hpt=Sbin |title=Rafer Johnson and the Power of 10 |first=Joe |last=Posnanski |magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]] |date=August 2, 2010 |access-date=August 2, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100805001455/http://joeposnanski.si.com/2010/08/02/rafer-johnson-and-the-power-of-10/?xid=cnnbin&hpt=Sbin |archive-date=August 5, 2010 |df=mdy-all |author-link=Joe Posnanski}}</ref> A versatile athlete, he played on [[Kingsburg High School]]'s [[Association football|soccer]], [[baseball]] and [[basketball]] teams. He was also elected class president in both junior high and high school.<ref name=SI /> The summer between his sophomore and junior years in high school (age 16), his coach Murl Dodson drove Johnson 24 miles (40&nbsp;km) to Tulare and watched [[Bob Mathias]] compete in the 1952 U.S. Olympic decathlon trials.<ref name="Rivals"/>  Johnson told his coach, "I could have beaten most of those guys."<ref name=SI /> Dodson and Johnson drove back a month later to watch Mathias's victory parade. Weeks later, Johnson competed in a high school invitational decathlon and won the event. He also won the 1953 and 1954 California state high school decathlon meets.<ref name="Rivals">{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SPRj9R73tA0C&dq=%22In+July+1952%2C+between+his+sophomore+and+junior+years%2C+Dodson+drove+Johnson+twenty-five+miles+to+nearby+Tulare%22&pg=PA8 |title=Rivals: Legendary Matchups That Made Sports History |editor1-first=David K. |editor1-last=Wiggins |editor2-first=R . Pierre |editor2-last=Rodgers |chapter=Chapter 1 – The Purest of Rivalries: Rafer Johnson, C.K. Yang, and the 1960 Olympic Decathlon |pages=8–9 |first=Joseph M. |last=Turrini |location=Fayetteville |publisher=University of Arkansas Press |year=2010|isbn=9781610753494 }}</ref>

In 1954, as a freshman at the [[University of California, Los Angeles]] (UCLA), his progress in the event was impressive; he broke the [[world record]] in his fourth competition.<ref name=SI /> He pledged [[Pi Lambda Phi]] fraternity, America's first non-sectarian fraternity, and was class president<ref name=SI /> at UCLA. In 1955, in [[Mexico City]], he won the title at the [[1955 Pan American Games|Pan American Games]].<ref name=":1" />

Johnson qualified for both the decathlon and the [[long jump]] events for the [[1956 Summer Olympics]] in [[Melbourne]]. However, he was hampered by an injury and forfeited his place in the long jump. Despite this handicap, he managed win silver in the decathlon behind compatriot [[Milt Campbell]]. It would turn out to be his last defeat in the event.<ref name="SI" />

Due to injury, Johnson missed the 1957 and 1959 seasons (the latter due to a car accident), but he broke the world record in 1958 and again in 1960.<ref name="AP-Mercury"/> The crown to his career came at the [[1960 Summer Olympics]] in [[Rome]]. His most serious rival was [[Yang Chuan-Kwang]] (C. K. Yang) of [[Republic of China|Taiwan]]. Yang also studied at UCLA; the two trained together under UCLA track coach [[Elvin C. Drake|Elvin C. "Ducky" Drake]] and had become friends. In the decathlon, the lead swung back and forth between them. Finally, after nine events, Johnson led Yang by a small margin, but Yang was known to be better in the final event, the 1500&nbsp;m. According to ''The Telegraph'' (UK), "legend has it" that Drake gave coaching to both men, with him advising Johnson to stay close to Yang and be ready for "a hellish sprint" at the end, and advising Yang to put as much distance between himself and Johnson before the final sprint as possible.<ref name=Telegraph2012>{{cite news |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/olympicsvideo/great-olympic-moments/9346841/Rafer-Johnson-beats-Yang-Chuan-kwang-Olympic-decathlon-1960.html |title=Great Olympic Moments: UCLA friends Rafer Johnson and Yang Chuan-kwang make decathlon history in 1960 |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |location=London |first=Jon |last=Henderson |date=26 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120726182940/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/olympicsvideo/great-olympic-moments/9346841/Rafer-Johnson-beats-Yang-Chuan-kwang-Olympic-decathlon-1960.html |archive-date=July 26, 2012}}</ref><ref name=Maraniss2008>{{cite book |title=Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World |first=David |last=Maraniss |location=New York |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2008 |page=301 |url=https://archive.org/details/rome1960olympics00mara/page/301 |quote=<!-- quote="At that moment, Drake was like a master chess player competing against himself.  He saw the whole board and was making the best moves for both sides". --> "At that moment, (Coach Elvin 'Ducky') Drake was like a master chess player competing against himself. He saw the whole board and was making the best moves for both sides." |isbn=978-1-4165-3407-5}}</ref>

Johnson ran his personal best at 4:49.7 and finished just 1.2 sec slower than Yang, winning the gold by 58 points with an Olympic record total of 8,392 points. Both athletes were exhausted and drained and came to a stop a few paces past the finish line leaning against each other for support.<ref name=Telegraph2012/> With this victory, Johnson ended his athletic career.<ref name=":1" />

At UCLA, Johnson also played basketball under legendary coach [[John Wooden]] and was a starter for the [[UCLA Bruins men's basketball|Bruins]] on their [[1958–59 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team|1958–59 team]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://spotlight.ucla.edu/alumni/rafer-johns_olym/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080118085622/http://www.spotlight.ucla.edu/alumni/rafer-johns_olym/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 18, 2008 |title=Rafer Johnson — Olympic gold medalist and UCLA dad |journal=UCLA Spotlight |last=Padilla |first=Mike |date=October 1, 2005 |access-date=2021-10-04}}</ref> Wooden considered Johnson a great defensive player, but sometimes regretted holding back his teams early in his coaching career, remarking, "imagine Rafer Johnson on the [[fast break|[fast] break]]."<ref name=SI />

Johnson was selected by the [[Los Angeles Rams]] in the 28th round (333rd overall) of the [[1959 NFL draft]] as a running back.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1959 Los Angeles Rams Draftees |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/ram/1959_draft.htm |access-date=2020-12-07 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> Johnson was also selected as a guard by the [[Los Angeles Jets]] as one of their two territorial selections in the inaugural 1961 [[American Basketball League (1961–1962)|ABL]] draft alongside [[Gary Phillips (basketball)|Gary Phillips]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Bradley|first=Robert D.|title=The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts|year=2013|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810890695}}, pg. 69</ref> However, he would never play for either Los Angeles based team or in either professional sports league.

[[File:Rafer Johnson 1960.jpg|thumb|Johnson at the [[1960 Summer Olympics]]]]
While training for the 1960 Olympics, his friend [[Kirk Douglas]] told him about a part in ''[[Spartacus (film)|Spartacus]]'' that Douglas thought might make him a star: the Ethiopian gladiator Draba, who refuses to kill Spartacus (played by Douglas) after defeating him in a duel. Johnson read for and got the role, but was forced to turn it down because the [[Amateur Athletic Union]] told him it would make him a professional and therefore ineligible for the Olympics under the rules of the time.  The role eventually went to another UCLA great, [[Woody Strode]].<ref name="SI" /> In 1960, Johnson began acting in [[motion pictures]] and working as a sportscaster. He made several film appearances, mostly in the 1960s. Johnson worked full-time as a sportscaster in the early 1970s. He was a weekend sports anchor on the local NBC affiliate in Los Angeles, [[KNBC]], but seemed uncomfortable in that position and eventually moved on to other things.<ref name=":3">{{cite web |title=Rafer Johnson Timeline |url=https://la84.org/rafer-johnson-timeline/ |access-date=2020-12-07 |website=LA84 Foundation |language=en-US |archive-date=December 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203185004/https://la84.org/rafer-johnson-timeline/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Johnson worked on the [[1968 United States presidential election|presidential election]] [[Robert F. Kennedy 1968 presidential campaign|campaign]] of [[United States Senate|United States Senator]] [[Robert F. Kennedy]], and on June 5, 1968, with the help of [[Rosey Grier]] and [[George Plimpton]], he apprehended [[Sirhan Sirhan]] immediately after Sirhan had [[Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy|assassinated]] Kennedy at the [[Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles)|Ambassador Hotel]] in [[Los Angeles|Los Angeles, California]]. Kennedy died the following day at [[Good Samaritan Hospital (Los Angeles)|Good Samaritan Hospital]]. Johnson discussed the experience in his autobiography, ''The Best That I Can Be'' (published in 1999 by Galilee Trade Publishing and co-authored with Philip Goldberg).<ref name=":2" />
[[File:Special Olympics with Rafer Johnson.jpg|thumb|Johnson at the 1972 Special Olympics]]
Johnson served on the organizing committee for the first [[Special Olympics]] competition in [[Chicago]] in 1968, hosted by Special Olympics founder, [[Eunice Kennedy Shriver]] and the next year he led the founding of the California Special Olympics.<ref name=AP-Mercury>{{cite news |first=Beth |last=Harris |date=December 2, 2020 |title=Rafer Johnson, Olympic champ who helped subdue RFK's assassin, dies at 86 |language=en-US |newspaper=[[The Mercury News]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/12/02/rafer-johnson-olympic-champ-who-helped-subdue-rfks-assassin-dies-at-86 |access-date=2020-12-02}}</ref> Johnson, along with a small group of volunteers, founded California Special Olympics in 1969 by conducting a competition at the [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]] for 900 individuals with intellectual disabilities. Following the first California Games in 1969, Johnson became one of the original members of the board of directors. The board worked together to raise funds and offer a modest program of swimming and track and field. In 1983, Rafer ran for President of the Board to increase Board participation, reorganize the staff to most effectively use each person's talents, and expand fundraising efforts. He was elected president and served in the capacity until 1992, when he was named chairman of the Board of Governors.<ref>{{cite web |date=2020-12-02 |title=Remembering Rafer Johnson |url=https://www.specialolympics.org/stories/news/remembering-rafer-johnson |access-date=2020-12-02 |website=Special Olympics |language=en}}</ref>

=== Family ===
Johnson married Elizabeth Thorsen in 1971. They had two children and four grandchildren.<ref>{{cite news |last=Goldstein |first=Richard |date=2020-12-02 |title=Rafer Johnson, Winner of a Memorable Decathlon, Is Dead |language=en-US |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/02/sports/olympics/rafer-johnson-dead.html |access-date=2020-12-04 |issn=0362-4331 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Johnson's brother [[Jimmy Johnson (cornerback)|Jimmy]] was a member of the [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]] and his daughter [[Jenny Johnson Jordan|Jennifer]] competed in [[beach volleyball]] at the [[2000 Olympic Games]] in [[Sydney]] following her collegiate career at UCLA.<ref name=sr/> His son [[Joshua Johnson (javelin thrower)|Joshua Johnson]] followed his father into track and field and had a podium finish in the javelin throw at the [[USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships]].<ref>[http://www.iaaf.org/news/news/jacobs-and-washington-on-track-for-repeat-in Jacobs and Washington on track for repeat in Paris – USA Champs Day Three]. IAAF (2003-06-22). Retrieved on 2015-07-02.</ref>

Johnson participated in the [[Art of the Olympians]] program.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://artoftheolympians.org/artists/rafer-johnson/ |title=Be the best you can be: Rafer Johnson |website=Art of the Olympians |access-date=2021-10-04 |archive-date=December 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206183913/http://artoftheolympians.org/artists/rafer-johnson/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Death===
Rafer Johnson died after suffering a stroke on December 2, 2020, in Sherman Oaks, California. He was 86.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last=Wilson |first=Scott |date=2020-12-02 |title=Rafer Johnson, the Olympic gold medalist who helped bring the games to L.A., has died |url=https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2020-12-02/rafer-johnson-dead |access-date=2020-12-04 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Achievements==
[[File: Olympische Spelen te Rome Opening USA vlaggendrager, Bestanddeelnr 911-5404.jpg|thumb|235px|Johnson at the [[1960 Summer Olympics]] in Rome]]

Johnson was named ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'''s [[Sportsman of the Year]] in 1958<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/1998/sportsman/1958/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010626043234/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/1998/sportsman/1958/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 26, 2001 |title=Sportsman of the Year |magazine=Sports Illustrated |access-date=August 11, 2013}}</ref> and won the [[James E. Sullivan Award]] as the top amateur athlete in the United States in 1960, breaking that award's color barrier. In 1962, he received the Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org |publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]] |url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#sports}}</ref> He was chosen to ignite the [[Olympic Flame]] during the opening ceremonies of the [[1984 Summer Olympics]] in [[Los Angeles]], becoming the first Black athlete in Olympic history to do so.<ref name=SI /> In 1994, he was elected into the first class of the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame.<ref name=":3" />

In 1998, Johnson was named one of [[ESPN]]'s 100 Greatest North American Athletes of the 20th Century. In 2006, the [[NCAA]] named him one of the 100 Most Influential Student Athletes of the past 100 years.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060407002223/http://web1.ncaa.org/cent/mostInfluential.jsp "100 Most Influentical Student-Athletes"]. NCAA</ref> On August 25, 2009, [[Governor Schwarzenegger]] and [[Maria Shriver]] announced that Johnson would be one of 13 [[California Hall of Fame]] inductees in [[The California Museum]]'s yearlong exhibit. The induction ceremony was on December 1, 2009, in [[Sacramento]], California.<ref>{{cite web |title=California Hall Fame Inductee Special Olympics Founder Editorial Stock Photo – Stock Image |url=https://www.shutterstock.com/editorial/image-editorial/usa-california-hall-of-fame-dec-2009-8304272p |access-date=2020-12-07 |website=Shutterstock Editorial |language=en}}</ref> Johnson was a member of [[The Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C.]] National Intercollegiate All-American Football Players Honor Roll.<ref>{{cite web |date=February 8, 2013 |title=75th Annual Awards Dinner |url=http://pigskinclub.com/images/PigskinClub-75thAnniversary-Final-compressed.pdf |website=The Pigskin Club of Washington. Inc.}}</ref>

Rafer Johnson Junior High School in [[Kingsburg, California]] is named in his honor, as are Rafer Johnson Community Day School and Rafer Johnson Children's Center, both in [[Bakersfield, California]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Homepage |url=https://www.kesd.org/rafer |access-date=2020-12-07 |website=Rafer Johnson Jr. High |language=en}}</ref> The latter school, which has classes for special education students from the ages of birth-5, also puts on an annual Rafer Johnson Day. Every year Johnson himself spoke at the event and cheered on hundreds of students with special needs as they participated in a variety of track and field events.<ref>{{cite news |date=2020-12-02 |title=Olympic champion Rafer Johnson had ties to Kern County, including being namesake of Bakersfield school |url=https://www.kget.com/news/local-news/olympic-champion-rafer-johnson-had-ties-to-kern-county-including-being-namesake-of-bakersfield-school/ |access-date=2020-12-07 |work=[[KGET-TV|KGET News]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2010, Johnson received the Fernando Award for Civic Accomplishment from the Fernando Foundation and in 2011, he was inducted into the Bakersfield City School District Hall of Fame. Additionally, Rafer acted as the athletic advisor to [[Dan Guerrero]], Director of Athletics at UCLA. He was Inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2016.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hall of Fame Inductees |url=https://www.ttfca.org/inductees |website=Texas Track and Field Coaches Association |access-date=2021-10-04}}</ref>

In November 2014, Johnson received the Athletes in Excellence Award from [[The Foundation for Global Sports Development]], in recognition of his community service efforts and work with youth.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.teamusa.org/News/2014/November/21/Eight-Olympians-Paralympians-Named-Athletes-in-Excellence |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141212101140/http://www.teamusa.org/News/2014/November/21/Eight-Olympians-Paralympians-Named-Athletes-in-Excellence |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 12, 2014 |title=Eight Olympians, Paralympians Named Athletes In Excellence |newspaper=Team USA |last=Fullerton |first=Laurie |date=November 21, 2014 |access-date=2021-10-04}}</ref>

In 2005, Johnson was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) degree from [[Whittier College]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.whittier.edu/alumni/poetnation/honorary |title=Honorary Degrees |website=Whittier College |access-date=2020-02-12}}</ref>

==Filmography==

=== Actor ===
* ''[[The Sins of Rachel Cade]]'' (1960) – Kosongo
* ''[[Sergeant Rutledge]]'' (1960) - uncredited
* ''[[Wild in the Country]]'' (1961) – Davis
* ''[[Pirates of Tortuga]]'' (1961) – John Gammel
* ''[[The Alfred Hitchcock Hour]]'' (1963) (Season 2 Episode 8: "The Cadaver") - Ed Blair
* ''[[None but the Brave]]'' (1965) – Private Johnson
* ''[[Daniel Boone (1964 TV series)|Daniel Boone]]'' (1965) (Season 2 Episode 4: "My Name Is Rawls") – Rawls  
* ''[[Tarzan and the Great River]]'' (1967) – Barcuma, Afro-Brazilian leader of the Jaguar Cult
* ''[[Tarzan and the Jungle Boy]]'' (1968) – Nagambi, villain who hinders Tarzan's search for the Jungle Boy
* ''[[The Last Grenade]]'' (1970) – Joe Jackson
* ''[[Soul Soldier]]'' (1970) – Private Armstrong
* ''[[The Games (film)|The Games]]'' (1970) – Commentator
* ''[[Mission Impossible]]'' (1971) – Jack Tully
* ''[[Roots: The Next Generations]]'' (1979)
* ''[[Licence to Kill]]'' (1989) – Mullens
* ''[[Think Big (film)|Think Big]]'' (1990) – Johnson
Source:<ref>{{cite web |title=Rafer Johnson |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/95947%7C126833/Rafer-Johnson |access-date=2020-12-04 |website=[[Turner Classic Movies]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Rafer Johnson |url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/rafer-johnson/credits/170722 |access-date=2020-12-03 |website=[[TV Guide]] |language=en}}</ref>

=== Production roles ===
* [[Billie (1965 film)|''Billie'']] (1965, technical advisor)
* ''[[The Black Six]]'' (1973, associate producer)

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |title=Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed The World |last=Maraniss |first=David |author-link=David Maraniss |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-4165-3408-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/rome1960olympics00mara}}
* {{cite book |title=The Best That I Can Be: An Autobiography |last=Johnson |first=Rafer |publisher=Doubleday |year=1998 |isbn=0-3854-8760-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/bestthaticanbeau00john}}

==External links==
* {{Team USA Hall of Fame|new_id=rafer-johnson|old_id=Rafer-Johnson|archive=20230720071659}}
* {{Olympics.com|org_archive=20160920170818}}
* [http://www.olympic.org/videos/los-angeles-1984-opening-ceremony Video clip from 1984 Summer Olympics, including Rafer Johnson lighting the Olympic Flame] at [[Olympic.org]]
* {{Olympedia}}
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{Find a Grave|219248877}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-sports|oly}}
{{succession box
| before = [[Don McDermott]]
| title = [[Standard-bearer|Flagbearer]] for {{USA}}
| years = [[1960 Summer Olympics|Rome 1960]]
| after = [[Bill Disney]]
}}
{{succession box
| title = [[List of people who have lit the Olympic Cauldron|Final Olympic torchbearer]]
| before = [[Sanda Dubravčić]]
| after = [[Robyn Perry]]
| years = [[1984 Summer Olympics|Los Angeles 1984]]
}}
{{succession box
| title = [[List of people who have lit the Olympic Cauldron|Final Summer Olympic torchbearer]]
| before = [[Sergei Belov]]
| after = Chung Sun-Man, Sohn Mi-Chung<br />and [[Kim Won-Tak]]
| years = [[1984 Summer Olympics|Los Angeles 1984]]
}}
{{succession box
| title = [[Track & Field Athlete of the Year]]
| before = {{flagicon|FRG}} [[Martin Lauer]]
| after = {{flagicon|USA}} [[Ralph Boston]]
| years = 1960
}}
{{s-ach|rec}}
{{succession box
| before = {{flagicon|USA}} [[Bob Mathias]]
| title = [[Decathlon#Records|Men's decathlon world record holder]]
| years = June 11, 1955 – May 18, 1958
| after = {{flagicon|URS}} [[Vasili Kuznetsov (athlete)|Vasili Kuznetsov]]
}}
{{succession box
| before = {{flagicon|URS}} [[Vasili Kuznetsov (athlete)|Vasili Kuznetsov]]
| title = [[Decathlon#Records|Men's decathlon world record holder]]
| years = July 28, 1958 – May 17, 1959
| after = {{flagicon|URS}} [[Vasili Kuznetsov (athlete)|Vasili Kuznetsov]]
}}
{{succession box
| before = {{flagicon|URS}} [[Vasili Kuznetsov (athlete)|Vasili Kuznetsov]]
| title = [[Decathlon#Records|Men's decathlon world record holder]]
| years = July 9, 1960 – April 28, 1963
| after = {{flagicon|TPE}} [[Yang Chuan-Kwang]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year navbox}}
{{SI Sportsman of the Year}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Rafer}}
[[Category:1934 births]]
[[Category:2020 deaths]]
[[Category:American men decathletes]]
[[Category:Male actors from California]]
[[Category:Male actors from Texas]]
[[Category:Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1955 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:World record setters in the sport of athletics]]
[[Category:James E. Sullivan Award recipients]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:UCLA Bruins men's basketball players]]
[[Category:UCLA Bruins men's track and field athletes]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Fresno County, California]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Texas]]
[[Category:Olympic cauldron lighters]]
[[Category:People from Hillsboro, Texas]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field)]]
[[Category:People from Kingsburg, California]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Track & Field News Athlete of the Year winners]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1955 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Burials at Pacific View Memorial Park]]
[[Category:Actors from Fresno County, California]]