Actor. He is best remembered for his role of Sam the Lion in "The Last Picture Show" (1971), for which he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Born in Foraker, Oklahoma, his father, Ben Johnson, Sr., was a cattleman and rancher in Osage County, Oklahoma, as well as a champion rodeo steer roper. Naturally, young Ben would follow in the footsteps of his father, learning how to work a ranch and going on the rodeo circuit. Young Ben was soon a rodeo star in his own right. Both he and his father would earn Belt-Buckles together for rodeo team roping. In 1939, he made his first appearance in front of the camera, doing stunt work in the film, "The Fighting Gringo" (1939). In 1940, Producer Howard Hughes hired him to take a herd of horses to California, and to manage the horses upon arrival, for one of the films. As he considered the pay better in California, Ben decided to stick around (in Oklahoma he was paid $30 a month; Hughes paid him $300 a month). He worked for several years as a stunt man, horse wrangler, and film double for such notable stars as John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, and Gary Cooper. He played Cavalryman Travis Tyree in both of John Wayne's Cavalry movies, "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" (1949) and "Rio Grande" (1950). His big break in acting occurred when director John Ford gave him the starring role in "Wagon Master" (1950). Johnson would go on to play supporting roles in such films as "Shane" (1953), "Major Dundee" (1965), "The Wild Bunch" (1969), and "Chisum" (1970). When offered the role of Sam in "The Last Picture Show" (1971), for which he would win an Oscar, he first turned it down because he didn't believe in swearing or in nudity in films. His friend, Director John Ford, got him to change his mind, but only after Ben got permission to rewrite all of his scenes with the offensive words removed. In 1982, Ben was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, as well as earning a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994. Ben continued to find steady work in films, between continuing his ranching back in Mesa, Arizona.