Renowned Socialite George E Johnson Sr, Founder of a Pioneering Black Hair Care Business, Dies
- Popular American businessman and trailblazer George E Johnson Sr has died at the age of 99
- The entrepreneur built a groundbreaking Black-owned hair care empire and achieved several historic business milestones
- His family and prominent figures have celebrated his lasting legacy, inspiring many to reflect on his remarkable life
George E. Johnson Sr., the pioneering American businessman and entrepreneur who built a Black hair care empire, has died at his home in Chicago.
His family confirmed the news to ABC News, saying Johnson passed away on Monday at the age of 99.
Source: Instagram
In a statement, the family expressed their “profound sadness” and celebrated his “extraordinary legacy of entrepreneurship, faith, perseverance, philanthropy, and family.”
Johnson founded Johnson Products Company (JPC) in 1954 on Chicago’s South Side with his late wife, Joan. They began with a $250 loan and what the family described as “an unshakable belief that opportunity should exist for everyone.”
The company went on to manufacture Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen, hair care products that became staples in homes and salons and “a source of pride throughout Black America,” the family noted.
JPC made history as the first national sponsor of Soul Train, the iconic musical variety show, and in 1971 became the first Black-owned business listed and traded on the American Stock Exchange.
“George was a visionary business leader who built a haircare empire, broke barriers on Wall Street, and helped fuel the fight for civil rights,” his family said. “Above all, he was a devoted family man whose example inspired generations and whose legacy of entrepreneurship, community leadership, and philanthropy continues through his descendants today.”
Born in 1927 in Richton, Mississippi, Johnson moved to Chicago as a child. He worked shining shoes and bussing tables to help support his family.
“Those early experiences shaped the values that guided him throughout his life: humility, determination, personal responsibility, and the golden rule: treating everyone the way he wished to be treated, with dignity and respect,” his family added.
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After the news broke, Johnson was honoured by the Obama Centre’s chief executive officer, Valerie Jarrett, who also served as senior advisor to former President Barack Obama.
“I have had the privilege of knowing George Johnson for my entire life. He wasn’t just a brilliant pioneering business leader who broke through countless colour barriers—he was a kind, generous, gentle man whose vision, hard work and determination created opportunities for all those who stand on his shoulders,” Jarrett wrote in an Instagram tribute.
She continued, adding, “We are so proud to have a vibrant space at Home Court on the Obama Presidential Centre campus named in honour of George and Joan Johnson.”
Johnson is survived by his second wife, Madeline Murphy Rabb, along with his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Source: Instagram
Legit.ng earlier reported that Ann Blyth, one of the last surviving stars from Hollywood’s Golden Age, died at the age of 98. ABC’s George Pennacchio reported her passing on Thursday, June 25, noting that she died the previous day from natural causes.
Born Anne Blythe in Mount Kisco, New York, in 1928, she dropped the “e” from her name as her career blossomed.
After her father left the family, Blyth’s mother moved her and her sister to New York City, where Blyth began acting on the radio at just five years old. By nine, she had joined the New York Children’s Opera Company.
“Life was one big struggle then, but mother managed somehow to keep me in parochial school and later in professional school,” Blyth recalled in a 1952 interview with The New York Times. “She provided me with singing and dramatic lessons besides.”
Her Broadway debut came in 1941’s Watch on the Rhine, which toured nationally and even performed for President Franklin D. Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
That tour brought her to Los Angeles, where she signed with Universal and made her film debut in 1944’s Chip Off the Old Block, The Hollywood Reporter reports.
The following year, Blyth was loaned to Warner Bros. for Mildred Pierce, starring opposite Joan Crawford. At just 16 years old, she played Veda, the manipulative daughter whose performance earned her an Academy Award nomination.
“She just blew everybody away,” film noir historian Alan Rode told the Los Angeles Times in 2013. “It’s certainly Joan Crawford’s movie, but she is really the spine of the movie. She is the epitome of the film noir daughter from hell. It’s just an amazing performance that stands the test of time.” Blyth herself once explained her approach: “I always had a terrific imagination and the ability to be somebody else.”
Though a back injury briefly slowed her career, Blyth went on to star in more than two dozen films over the next decade, including The Great Caruso (1951), Rose Marie (1954), and Kismet (1955). She also charmed audiences in Mr Peabody and the Mermaid (1948), playing the mute mermaid.
Hollywood icon James Handy dies at 81
Legt.ng earlier reported that renowned actor James Handy was announced dead after a frightening incident in his home.
Handy was known for his iconic appearances on Top Gun: Maverick, Logan, Jumanji, The Rocketeer and Arachnophobia.
Details surrounding the death of the veteran star left both fans and celebrities in shock as they mourned him.
Source: Legit.ng
