How this veteran Hollywood producer overcame cancer; growing up in a segregated Middletown
Ryan Cormier- Charles Floyd Johnson, a former Middletown attorney, has had a successful Hollywood career spanning over 50 years, including 22 years on "NCIS."
- Johnson, now 84, co-authored "A Gathering of Voices," a book about his experiences growing up in segregated Middletown and his battle with pancreatic cancer.
- He credits his optimism and spirituality for helping him overcome challenges, including a recent cancer diagnosis.
- Johnson's career began after being inspired by watching television at his parents' soda fountain, the only one on the block with a TV.
It was 54 years ago when a young attorney from Middletown made headlines in The News Journal for leaving law behind in search for a career in Hollywood.
It was a gamble that paid off handsomely for Charles Floyd Johnson, who has carved out an impressive career as a television producer on a string of hits over his more than five decades behind the camera, including his current 22-year run on "NCIS." Past long-running jobs include "Magnum P.I.," "The Rockford Files," "Quantum Leap" and "Jag."
Johnson grew up in a segregated Middletown, went to college on Long Island, New York, and then got his law degree at Howard University ― all before deciding to immerse himself in the entertainment world out west.
Johnson, now 84, is the co-author of a new book, "A Gathering of Voices," an anthology from The Longwood Writers Workshop, a California-based group of six Black writers. The foreword is by Phylicia Rashad.
We spoke with Johnson, also a co-producer alongside George Lucas on the 2012 film "Red Tails," about some of the stories in his book about growing up in a segregated Middletown, his recent battle with pancreatic cancer and how he has overcome challenges in his life.
Question: What was it like growing up in Middletown in the '40s and '50s?
Answer: My parents owned a soda fountain and I got the bug to want to be in entertainment when I was like 8 or 9 because it was the only place on the block with a television. So I would come after school and watch acting and a lightbulb went off. And somehow, I eventually made it all work.
Were there any performers you were drawn to?
What fascinated me was that there were segregated programs as well. There was a show called "Beulah." Another called "Amos 'n' Andy." They were very stereotypical. Those were the African American images at the time. There were also 15-minute shows by entertainers Nat King Cole, Hazel Scott and Billy Daniels. But we also had The Everett Theatre in town. We would go as kids ― it was segregated ― and the white adults were in the orchestra down below and the kids were in the balcony. And a long metal bar separated us. I saw a lot of movies there and sometimes things just stick.
What was segregated life like in Middletown for you?
It's interesting. You just kind of accepted it. That was the lifestyle: never the twain shall meet. I lived on Lockwood Street where the east end of the street was African Americans and the west was white families. We would go to different schools. We lived separate lives. Went to separate churches. But Middletown wasn't heavily problematic in terms of violence or hatred. It was just a way of life, but it wasn't idyllic. I'm just happy that I grew up in Delaware and not Alabama.
You were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer just at the beginning of the pandemic and write about it in the book.
When you hear you have pancreatic cancer, you think, "Oh my God. How many days or how many months do I have?" Because it can be a death sentence. But I got lucky with early detection and the surgery worked. I lost a lot of weight. Lost my hair. It was quite something. My hair came back. It's gray, but it's back. And then there's a lot of physical therapy.
So you find this out just before turning 80. And the whole experience is pretty traumatic. How did you get through it? How do you get through tough times in life?
I've always been an optimistic person. So I just felt I had to face it head-on. I was petrified through a lot of it. But I faced it thinking: What will be will be. If I followed orders, maybe I could be one of the lucky ones.
Where do you look for or find inspiration when you need it?
I'm very spiritual. When I grew up in Delaware, there was a church on my street [Trinity AME Church] and at one point, my grandfather, Orange Johnson, was a minister there. So I grew up with faith, and I never lost that. I always felt that we have a destiny. You have to believe in a greater power, or you should, at least. It helped me get through a lot.
Have a story idea? Contact Ryan Cormier of Delaware Online/The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier) and X (@ryancormier).