Don Johnson

**Donald Wayne Johnson** (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer, director, singer, and songwriter.[2]He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series *Miami Vice*, winning a Golden Globe for his work in the role. He also had the eponymous lead role in the 1990s cop series *Nash Bridges*. He has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[3] Johnson was the American Power Boat Association's 1988 World Champion of the Offshore World Cup.[4]

Johnson's first major role was in the 1969 Los Angeles stage production of *Fortune and Men's Eyes,* in which he played Smitty, the lead role. This exposure led to the quickly forgotten film *The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart* (1970, based on a novel by Robert T. Westbrook, son of columnist Sheilah Graham). He continued to work on stage, film and television without breaking out into stardom. His notable films from this period were *Zachariah* (1971), *The Harrad Experiment* (1973), *Lollipop and Roses* (1974), and *A Boy and His Dog* (1975). In 1976, Johnson was roommates with actor Sal Mineo when Mineo was murdered outside their West Hollywood, California apartment.[8]

From 1984 to 1989, after years of struggling to establish himself as a TV actor (in such fare as *Revenge of the Stepford Wives*), and a string of pilots, none of which became a TV series, Johnson landed a starring role as undercover police detective Sonny Crockett in the Michael Mann / Universal Television cop series, *Miami Vice*. The Sonny Crockett character typically wore thousand-dollar Versace and Hugo Boss suits over pastel cotton T-shirts, drove a Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona (really a replica kit on a 1981 Corvette chassis), followed by a Ferrari Testarossa, wore expensive timepieces by Rolex and Ebel, and lived on a 12-metre (40 ft) (later a 42-foot [13 m]) Endeavour yacht with his pet alligator, Elvis. *Miami Vice* was noted for its revolutionary use of music, cinematography, and imagery and its glitzy take on the police drama genre. In the show, his partner was Ricardo Tubbs, played by Philip Michael Thomas. Between seasons, Johnson gained further renown through several TV miniseries, such as the 1985 TV remake of *The Long, Hot Summer*. Johnson later starred in the 1996–2001 CBS-TV police drama *Nash Bridges* with Cheech Marin, Jeff Perry, Jaime P. Gomez and Jodi Lyn O'Keefe. Johnson played the title role of Nash Bridges, an inspector (later promoted to captain) for the San Francisco Police Department. In *Nash Bridges* Johnson was again paired with a flashy convertible car, this time a Curious Yellow 1971 Plymouth Barracuda. In the fall of 2005, he briefly starred in The WB courtroom television drama show *Just Legal* as a jaded lawyer with a very young and idealistic protégé/partner (Jay Baruchel); the show was canceled in October 2005 after just three of the eight produced episodes aired. In January 2007, Johnson began a run in the West End of London production of *Guys and Dolls* as Nathan Detroit.

Johnson also has a role in the Norwegian comedy *Lange Flate Ballær 2* ("Long Flat Balls II"), directed by Johnson's friend Harald Zwart. Johnson did the movie as a favor to Zwart. The movie was launched March 14, 2008 in Norway, with Johnson making an appearance at the premiere. He next appeared in *When in Rome* with Danny DeVito, Anjelica Huston, and Kristen Bell.[9]

Johnson and Jon Heder co-hosted WWE's *Raw* on January 18, 2010.[10]

Johnson had a supporting role in Robert Rodriguez's film *Machete*. Johnson played Von Jackson, "a twisted border vigilante leading a small army." The film was released on September 3, 2010.

In October 2010, he began appearing on the HBO series *Eastbound & Down*, playing Kenny Powers' long-lost father, going by the alias "Eduardo Sanchez". He also reprised his role as Sonny Crockett for a Nike commercial with LeBron James where the NBA player contemplates acting and appears alongside Johnson on *Miami Vice*.[11]

In September 2011, Johnson had a cameo in the comedy *A Good Old Fashioned Orgy* with Jason Sudeikis.[12]

Johnson had a supporting role in the 2012 Quentin Tarantino film, *Django Unchained*, playing a southern plantation owner named Spencer 'Big Daddy' Bennett.[13]

In 2015 Johnson began starring in the ABC prime time soap opera *Blood & Oil*.[14]