Johnson, Osa

Johnson, Osa

▪ American explorer, filmmaker and author
née  Osa Helen Leighty 
born March 14, 1894, Chanute, Kan., U.S.
died Jan. 7, 1953, New York, N.Y.

      American explorer, filmmaker, and writer who, with her husband, made a highly popular series of films featuring mostly African and South Sea tribal groups and wildlife.

      In 1910 Osa Leighty married adventurer and photographer Martin E. Johnson. For two years they played the vaudeville circuit with an exhibit of photographs Martin Johnson had taken in the South Seas while accompanying Jack London (London, Jack) on his voyage of the Snark. By 1912 the couple had accumulated the funds to return to the South Sea islands and make a motion picture record of cannibal and head-hunting tribesmen. Thenceforward they alternated lengthy photographic trips into the field with lecture and exhibition tours at home. They were in the Solomon and New Hebrides (now Vanuatu) islands in 1914, North Borneo (now Sabah, East Malaysia) in 1917–19 and again in 1935, and various parts of Africa in 1921–22, 1923–27, 1928–29, and 1933–34. In the field Martin Johnson was the principal photographer, and Osa was guard, hunter, and pilot. They made motion picture records of wildlife for the American Museum of Natural History and gathered much valuable geographic and ethnological information.

      Their motion pictures, which were highly successful in commercial distribution, included Jungle Adventures (1921), Head Hunters of the South Seas (1922), Trailing African Wild Animals (1923), Simba, the King of Beasts (1928), Across the World (1930), Wonders of the Congo (1931), Congorilla (1932), Baboons (1935), and Borneo (1937), along with numerous short features. They also collaborated on several books: Cannibal-Land (1922), Camera Trails in Africa (1924), Lion (1929), Congorilla (1931), and Over African Jungles (1935). On her own Johnson wrote Jungle Babies (1930) and Jungle Pets (1932).

      After her husband's death in February 1937, Johnson continued the work they had begun together. In that year she led a large expedition from the motion picture studio Twentieth Century-Fox into the African bush to film sequences for the movie Stanley and Livingstone. She produced four more films on her own—Jungles Calling (1937), I Married Adventure (1940), African Paradise (1941), and Tulagi and the Solomons (1943)—and wrote Osa Johnson's Jungle Friends (1939), the nonfiction best-seller I Married Adventure (1940), Pantaloons: The Story of a Baby Elephant (1941), Four Years in Paradise (1941), Snowball, the Baby Gorilla (1942), Bride in the Solomons (1944), and Tarnish: The True Story of a Lion Cub (1945). She also designed a line of accurately detailed animal toys for the National Wildlife Federation.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Osa Johnson — Osa Johnson, nacida Osa Helen Leighty (14 de marzo de 1894 Kansas 7 de enero de 1953) fue una aventurera, naturalista y fotógrafa estadounidense que junto al que fuera su primer marido (se casó en 1910), Martin Johnson, recorrió las Islas Salomón …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Osa — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. {{{image}}}   Sigles d une seule lettre   Sigles de deux lettres > Sigles de trois lettres …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Johnson (Familienname) — Johnson ist ein Familienname. Herkunft und Bedeutung Johnson ist eine patronymische Namensbildung, abgeleitet vom englischen Vornamen John (deutsch: Johannes). Namensträger Inhaltsverzeichnis A B C D E F G H I J K L …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Osa Johnson — Martin et Osa Johnson Pour les articles homonymes, voir Johnson et Martin Johnson. Martin Johnson, né le 9 octobre 1884, décédé le 13 janvier 1937, et son épouse Osa Johnson, née Leighty, le 14 mars 1894, décédée le… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Osa Leighty — Martin et Osa Johnson Pour les articles homonymes, voir Johnson et Martin Johnson. Martin Johnson, né le 9 octobre 1884, décédé le 13 janvier 1937, et son épouse Osa Johnson, née Leighty, le 14 mars 1894, décédée le… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Osa Johnson — Para otros usos de este término, véase Osa (desambiguación). Osa Johnson, nacida Osa Helen Leighty (Kansas, 14 de marzo de 1894 7 de enero de 1953) fue una aventurera, naturalista y fotógrafa estadounidense que junto al que fuera su primer marido …   Wikipedia Español

  • Osa (desambiguación) — El térmiso Osa puede referirse a: El Monte Osa de Grecia, mencionado en la mitología griega. Osa, concejo de la provincia de Navarra (España). Osa Mayor o Ursa Major, constelación del hemisferio norte. Osa Menor o Ursa Minor, constelación tamibén …   Wikipedia Español

  • OSA — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom.   Sigles d’une seule lettre   Sigles de deux lettres > Sigles de trois lettres   Sigles de quatre lettres …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Johnson — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Johnson (littéralement : fils de Jean ) est un patronyme anglo saxon parfois utilisé comme toponyme Sommaire 1 Patronymes …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Martin and Osa Johnson — For other people named Martin Johnson, see Martin Johnson (disambiguation) I Married Adventure by Osa Johnson Martin Johnson (October 9, 1884 – January 13, 1937) and his wife Osa Johnson (née Leighty, March 14, 1894 – January 7, 1953) were… …   Wikipedia

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