BEN JOHNSON - DOCUMENT SIGNED 10/29/1971 CO-SIGNED BY: MARVIN SCHWARTZ - HFSID 253171

BEN JOHNSON
The actor signs an agreement to appear in the 1973 film Kid Blue.
Document signed: "Ben Johnson", 2 pages, 8½x11. Beverly Hills, California, 1971 October 29. Also signed by "Marvin Schwartz". First and last page of 19 page document, signed on page 19. Johnson signs a letter of agreement to portray "Sheriff John Simpson" in a photoplay tentatively entitled, "Dime Box." He is to be paid $5,000 per week for not less than six weeks, from a date commencing on a date to be designated subsequently by Marvin Schwartz Productions. Johnson did appear in the film mentioned here, set in "Dime Box, Texas" and re-titled Kid Blue for its release in 1973. The winner of the 1971 Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Sam the Lion in The Last Picture Show, Ben Johnson (1918-1996) was a former ranch hand and rodeo performer before starting in films as a wrangler, stuntman and double for such stars as John Wayne, Gary Cooper and James Stewart. After being cast in such features as Mighty Joe Young (1949), Rio Grande (1950) and Wagon Master (1950), Johnson left Hollywood to return to the rodeo in 1953, but soon returned to movies, appearing in more than 300 films over his career. The star of such films as Shane (1953), Cheyenne Autumn (1964), The Wild Bunch (1969), Chisum (1970), The Sugarland Express (1974) and Radio Flyer (1992), Johnson was also an early TV performer, appearing on shows, primarily Westerns, from 1956-1986. In 1996 he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame. MARVIN SCHWARTZ produced several films in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including The War Wagon (1967), 100 Rifles (1969) and Welcome Home, Soldier Boys (1972). He won an Emmy for his screenplay of the TV movie, Tribes (1970). Binder and staple holes at top edges. Otherwise, fine condition.