Bayard Richard Johnson^[1] (September 9, 1952 – February 10, 2016) was an American screenwriter and film producer. He is best known as the co-writer of Damned River in 1989, The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & Baloo, and Tarzan and the Lost City in 1998.^[2][3]

Early life

Johnson, who was born in Seattle, graduated from the University of Puget Sound, where he studied philosophy and writing.^[2][3]

Career

Johnson's first film was 1989's Damned River, which he co-wrote with John Crowther.^[2] Damned River, which was filmed in Zimbabwe in 1988, remains on Netflix's "top 20 action movies of the 1980s," as of 2016.^[3] Together with Matthew Horton, Johnson co-wrote the 1997 film adaptation of The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & Baloo, which was released by TriStar Pictures.^[2] He also co-wrote 1998's Tarzan and the Lost City, loosely based on the Tarzan stories by stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

In 2007, Johnson and actor Bill Duke co-produced Cover, a film which explores the HIV epidemic.^[2] Duke and Johnson also wrote a television series for HBO, which did not air.^[3]

Johnson co-authored the 2013 book, "If You’ve Forgotten the Names of the Clouds, You’ve Lost Your Way: An Introduction to American Indian Thought and Philosophy," with the late Russell Means, an Oglala Lakota Native American rights activist.^[2] Together, John and Means directed, produced and penned Looks Twice, a short film based on a Lakota story.^[3] Johnson's first novel was "Damned Right,"[1] published by Black Ice Books in 1994.

In addition to his writing, Johnson co-founded Mother Nature's Army, a band based in Southern California.^[2]

Death

Johnson died from cancer on February 10, 2016, in Los Angeles, California, on the age of 63.^[2] He was survived by his parents, Richard and Virginia Johnson; his wife, Lyndal; two sons, Colter and Ronan; and three siblings, Douglas, Silver Moon and Alicia.^[2] One of his sons, Colter Johnson, penned and directed the 2015 film, Man in a Cage, which has not yet been released.^[2]