Arnold Johnson (actor)

Arnold Herbert Johnson (November 15, 1921 – April 10, 2000) was an American actor who played the lead role in the film Putney Swope (1969); in the film, his voice was dubbed by Robert Downey, Sr., allegedly because Johnson could never remember his lines. Johnson appeared in Shaft (1971) as Cul, a friend of John Shaft and the owner of a shoeshine parlor. He also played a role in the film My Demon Lover (1987) and had roles in Rocky (1976) and Menace II Society (1993), as Thomas, the religious Christian grandfather of the lead character Caine (played by Tyrin Turner).

Examples of his television work include recurring roles as George "Hutch" Hutton in Sanford and Son and as Fletcher, Mother Winslow's second husband, on the sitcom Family Matters. He guest-starred as Uncle Buddy in a Christmas episode of The Jeffersons, titled "George Finds a Father". He also guest-starred as Hubert Johnson on Good Times in the episode titled "A Place to Die".

Johnson died in Los Angeles, California at the age of 78.[1]