Barton Robert Johnson (born December 13, 1970)[1] is an American actor, best known for his role as Coach Jack Bolton in the High School Musical film series.[2] He was exposed to the TV and film industry at a young age and began his career in the mid-1990s. His film debut was My Family in 1995. He has also appeared in recurring roles on TV shows Hyperion Bay, Lifetime's The Client List, and Hawaii Five-0. He also appeared in the 2018 adaptation of Little Women.

Bart Johnson
Johnson in 2009
Born
Barton Robert Johnson

(1970-12-13) December 13, 1970 (age 53)
Alma materYale University
OccupationActor
Years active1993–present
Spouse
(m. 1999)
Children3

Early life

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Johnson was born in Hollywood, California,[3] one of seven children. Their mother Charlene Johnson is a television hairstylist,[4] and so Bart spent much of his early childhood on television sets such as The Brady Bunch, Mork and Mindy, and Charlie's Angels.[5] At the age of 15, he moved from California to Utah, where he graduated from Wasatch High School.[6] His family converted a flour mill near Park City, Utah into the Johnson Mill Bed & Breakfast, which Johnson later purchased from his parents.[7] His first acting experience was a production of West Side Story.[6] Johnson attended college at the University of Utah as a pre-med student before deciding to transfer to Yale University's drama program.[8]

Career

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Johnson first appeared in film with My Family in 1995. He then had guest roles on the following TV shows: Diagnosis Murder (1995), Walker, Texas Ranger (1997), Sunset Beach (1997), Jag (1997, 2004), and Babylon 5 (1998). From 1998 to 1999,[2] he appeared on The WB's television show Hyperion Bay as local bully Nelson Tucker.[8]

He is well known for his role as the High School Musical series' Coach Jack Bolton, the father of the main protagonist Troy Bolton (Zac Efron). He was invited to audition by director Kenny Ortega, who became a family friend after Johnson's mother's work as a hair stylist on the set of Newsies. Ortega persuaded executives to accept Johnson for the role after he auditioned with little background knowledge on his role.[5]

Johnson had a recurring role on the TV series The Client List for Lifetime as Beau Berkhalter[3] as well as on Gortimer Gibbon's Life On Normal Street for Amazon, alongside his wife Robyn Lively and their three children.[9] He starred in a Hallmark movie, The Christmas Spirit, alongside Nicollette Sheridan.[10] Johnson also appeared in the 2013 vampire comedy Vamp U.[11] He portrayed Senator Gordon H. Smith[12] in The Saratov Approach, a film based on the 1998 kidnapping of LDS missionaries in Saratov, Russia.[13] He has worked on multiple projects with his brothers, including a short film about the brothers' adventures in Mexico entitled "The Run," as well as "Waffle Street," an independent movie filmed in Lehi, Utah.[4] He appeared alongside wife Robyn Lively and actress Katee Sackhoff in the independent film Lockdown (later renamed A Deadly Obsession)[14] in 2011.[15] In 2018, he played Papa March in a modern-day adaptation of Little Women.[16] In 2020, he appeared as Siena Agudong's character's father on Hawaii Five-0.[17]

Johnson is the owner of the Johnson Mill Bed & Breakfast in Midway, Utah, near Park City, Utah. According to a 2008 website article WorkHomeYou.com, Redbook determined it to be one of the four most romantic in the country.[5] In 2012, it was awarded the AAA Four Diamond Award.[18] Johnson converted the bed and breakfast into a treatment center for those recovering from drug addictions.[7]

Personal life

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Johnson with wife Robyn Lively

Johnson's brothers, Adam and Brad, also work in film. He is married to actress Robyn Lively, sister of actresses Blake Lively and Lori Lively and actors Eric Lively and Jason Lively. Bart and Robyn have three children: daughter Kate and sons Baylen and Wyatt Blake.[19] In 2019, he accompanied his son Baylen on a humanitarian trip to Samoa, where they joined a group of youth to build a classrooms for two weeks.[20] He and wife Robyn Lively are practicing members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[21]

Filmography

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Year Film Role Notes
1993 Crossroads Frosty Television series (Episode "The Last Roundup")
1994 Saved by the Bell: The New Class Clint Television series (Episode "Back at the Ranch")
1995 Diagnosis: Murder Officer Black Television series (Episode "A Blast from the Past")
My Family Young Officer
Thunder Alley Buzzard Boy Television series (Episode "Buzz Off, Buzzard Boy")
1997 The Date Biff
Sunset Beach Man Television series
Clueless Shnerv Mchnick Television series (Episode "I'm in with the Out Crowd")
Walker, Texas Ranger Wyatt McLain Television series (Episode "The Fighting McLains")
JAG Lt. Johnson Television series (Episode "Impact")
1998 Babylon 5 Ranger Television series (Episode "The Paragon of Animals")
1998–1999 Hyperion Bay Nelson Tucker Television series
2003 Tremors Jared Mack Television series (Episode "Water Hazard")
2004 CSI: Miami Matt Bolton Television series (Episode "Blood Moon")
JAG Army Specialist Ray Scanlon Television series (Episode "Camp Delta")
Strong Medicine Jake Matousak Television series (Episode "Foreign Bodies")
2006 High School Musical Coach Jack Bolton Television movie
Eve Anthony Television series (Episode "Diva Day Care")
Simon Says Garth
2007 Happy Valley Doug
Taking Five Mark Thompson
Daddy Day Camp Phil Jacobs
High School Musical 2 Coach Jack Bolton Television movie
Las Vegas Barry Bertowski Television series (Episode "Head Games")
2008 Desertion Daniel
Murder.com Garner
High School Musical 3: Senior Year Coach Jack Bolton
Animals Vaughn
"The Run" Scott Short film; also writer and director
2009 The Harsh Life of Veronica Lambert Terry
Evil Angel Jeff Morgan
The Cell 2 Skylar
Locker 13 Eugene MacClemore
The Yankles Sledge Dixon
2010 Monster Mutt Jeff Taylor
Beautiful Wave
Stuck
The Saratov Approach Senator Gordon H. Smith
2012 6 Bucks and a Bottle of Water As himself Documentary internet film; also producer
2014 Saints and Soldiers: The Void Captain Derrick Davis
2015 Gortimer Gibbons' Life on Normal Street Will Fuller/Bucky Fuller
Hoxsey
NCIS Dean Hudson Television series (Episode "Incognito")
2017 Small Town Crime Carl Nevile
2018 Little Women Papa March
All American Coach Hanson; football booster Television series (Episode “All Eyez On Me”)
2021 Once I Was Engaged Curt Carrington
2022 9-1-1: Lone Star Stanley Television series (Episode “Spring Cleaning”)
2023 High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Bart Johnson/Coach Bolton Recurring role (season 4)
2024 Someone Like You Dr. Jim Allen

References

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  1. ^ "Celebrity birthdays for Dec. 13". The Canadian Press. December 5, 2014.
  2. ^ a b Hunter, J. Michael (2012). Mormons and Popular Culture: The Global Influence of an American Phenomenon. ABC-CLIO, LLC. p. 240. ISBN 9780313391675.
  3. ^ a b "Cast | The Christmas Spirit". Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Haddock, Sharon (September 30, 2014). "Utah family into film, acting, directing and producing movies". Deseret News. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Santorelli, Dina (2008). "Celebrity Interview: Actor and Bed & Breakfast Small Business Owner Bart Johnson". WorkHomeYou.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2016. Johnson owns the Johnson Mill Bed & Breakfast in Midway, Utah, which Redbook magazine recently named 'one of the 4 most romantic inns in the country'.
  6. ^ a b Wilson, Anne (August 25, 2007). "'HSM' actor's Utah ties run deep". The Salt Lake Tribune. ProQuest 282099487. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Hallowell, Billy. "INCREDIBLE: Hollywood Actor Is Helping Save Drug Addicts' Lives". insider.pureflix.com. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Youngren, Jason (September 19, 1998). "Johnson Travels from Midway to 'Hyperion Bay'". The Salt Lake Tribune. ProQuest 288812340. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  9. ^ "Robyn Lively Now: Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  10. ^ Kiesewetter, John (October 5, 2013). "Hallmark turns town into movie set". Cincinnati Enquirer. ProQuest 1439527996. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  11. ^ "Sorority Girls Suck! ...in the Horror Comedy 'VAMP U'". PR Newswire. February 7, 2013. ProQuest 1284726775. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  12. ^ "The Saratov Approach". Metacritic. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  13. ^ Linden, Sheri (January 9, 2014). "The Saratov Approach: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  14. ^ "A Deadly Obsession". John Stimpson | Director | Writer | Editor. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  15. ^ Melanson, Alana (December 4, 2011). "Lancaster college on 'Lockdown'". Sentinel & Enterprise. ProQuest 910886519. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  16. ^ "Pinnacle Peak to Release Modern Retelling of Timeless Family Story "Little Women" In Theaters Sept. 28: Lea Thompson Leads Cast as Classic Literary Work Celebrates 150 Years". PR Newswire. June 4, 2018. ProQuest 2055096037. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  17. ^ Rorke, Robert (March 6, 2020). "'Hawaii Five-0' star Katrina Law says filming finale was 'super-emotional'". New York Post. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  18. ^ "AAA gives diamond awards for Utah hotels, restaurants". The Salt Lake Tribune. February 2, 2012. ProQuest 919556923. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  19. ^ "Robyn Lively and Bart Johnson welcome son Wyatt Blake". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  20. ^ Mayron, Sapeer (April 6, 2019). "American Actor building classrooms in Samoa". Samoa Observer. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  21. ^ Haddock, Sharon (July 30, 2009). "Hollywood, Studio City wards offer aspiring stars refuge". Deseret News. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
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