Larry Johnson | |
---|---|
Born |
Ft. Benning, Georgia, United States |
June 11, 1947
Died | January 21, 2010 Redwood City, California, United States |
(aged 62)
Other names | L. A. Johnson |
Occupation | Film and music producer |
Larry Alderman (L. A.) Johnson (June 11, 1947 – January 21, 2010) was an American film and music producer, director, and editor best known for his long association with musician Neil Young.
Born in Ft. Benning, Georgia to a military family, this self-described "military brat" attended Peekskill Military Academy and Rutgers University. While at Peekskill Military Academy, his creative skills and "good ear" for music were well respected. He served as a band leader and drum major. Johnson became involved in filmmaking in the late 1960s and was originally one of the East Coast guerilla documentary filmmakers that emerged in that era. Part of a New York scene that also included Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, editor Thelma Schoonmaker, L.M. Kit Carson and others, they brought a street-wise sensibility and engaged political bent to their work that reflected the turbulent era of the late Sixties.
Johnson lengthy career includes stints as producer, director, editor, sound recordist, cinematographer, and production manager. Beginning his career as a sound recordist, he was nominated for an Academy Award in 1971 for Best Sound for his location recording, mixing and sound design on the feature documentary, and also was involved as an assistant to director Michael Wadleigh.
In the following year, Marjoe, an expose of the evangelist-con man Marjoe Gortner, was released in which Johnson was the sound recordist. Frequently teamed with veteran cameraman David Myers, in the early 1970s Johnson was frequently associated with TVTV, a band of renegade documentarians who brought a fresh sensibility to the conventions of television documentaries and their work appeared on PBS and gained much critical respect.