GEORGANN JOHNSON - the "Rich Lady" to the Midnight Cowboy, and mom to "Dr. Quinn"

She was one of those performers you saw over and over…and never knew by name.

In the few obits that have appeared on Georgann Johnson, writers scrambled to find some reason why people might want to read about her. One paper’s headline under her name was “played RICH LADY in ‘Midnight Cowboy.’” Er, yes, famous film. She did, what exactly, and for what, less than a minute?

Another paper listed her main credit as “Playing the Mom to ‘Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.’” Hmmm, anyone remember that show? Anyone own the DVD set on that one? But there you go, the point for many a working actor is WORK. You work. You memorize your lines, show up on time, and you work. And she did. She probably didn’t get a lot of fan mail, but I’m sure she was quite a celebrity in her neighborhood.

She began her career as a songwriter. Her big break was when Peggy Lee sang one of her tunes on the obscure “Songs for Sale” show hosted by Steve Allen. Steve was impressed with her as a personality more than a songwriter, though, and helped her break into TV acting.

She worked with James Dean (“Life Sentence” 1953) and Paul Newman (“Bang the Drum Slowly” 1956) and Tony Randall (she played his wife on several seasons of “Mr. Peepers.”) She worked in a variety of shows still easy to find in re-run and on DVD including “Dr. Kildare” and “The Fugitive.” She also appeared on Broadway in several shows including “Room Service” with Jack Lemmon and “Critic’s Choice” with Henry Fonda.

She co-starred with Jason Robards (scene seen below) in a TV movie, the nuclear holocaust drama “The Day After.” Yes, she could’ve written a book about what it was like to work with all these stars, and what the “golden age” of TV was like…and the blacklist, which prevented her husband Stanley Prager from finding work. Prager died in 1972, and her second marriage was to a Superior Court judge in L.A., Jack Tanner. He died in 2008.

The character actress really didn’t have much to do in “Midnight Cowboy.” Her character didn’t even have a name, just “Rich Lady.” If you thought she was the one who banged Jon Voight and then got upset when he asked her for payment, no, that was Ms. Miles, not Ms. Johnson. Ms. Johnson merely encountered him on the street and thought him ridiculous.

Georgann graduated to mother roles…mother to Sharon Gless in “The Trials of Rosie O’Neil” and mother to Jane Symour on “Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.” She worked on soap operas, and even turned up on “Thirtysomething” “Archie Bunker’s Place” “Three’s Company” and “Seinfeld.” She missed getting to 92…her birthday was August 15, 1926.