Local Artist Profile: Frank E. Johnson

In Park City, you never know who you will meet riding up a chair lift, hitting a golf ball, or walking the dog. Olympians, celebrities, and filmmakers might cross your path on any given day without you even knowing it. Cameraman and Director Frank Johnson is one of those types.

Frank left the U.S. Air Force in 1970 as a well-trained motion picture cameraman. He moved to Hollywood to film documentary and corporate projects. He worked for Billy Graham’s World Wide Pictures where he was hired to travel the globe to document Graham’s crusades and Walt Disney where he shot  America the Beautiful, a film presentation for Disneyland.

After making several action films in The Philippines, Stephen Cannell Productions hired Frank for network television shows. If you saw The Greatest American Hero, Hunter, The A-Team, or Wiseguy, you've seen Frank's work. In Mexico, he filmed The Predator’s second unit action scenes with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and that project led to Touched by An Angel filmed here in Utah.

Touched by an Angel, was a six year run for Frank. “My wife, Sheri and I loved Park City, so when the show shut down, we decided to make it our home. The hustle and bustle of Los Angeles was wearing thin and we preferred the lifestyle of Park City.”

Once the Park City Film Studio was completed in 2015, it gave Frank a place to base his company and develop projects locally. “Utah has nice tax incentive which helped bring my current project, a documentary of Hall of Fame Wrestler, Bruno Sammartino, in for production in Park City. If Utah increased their incentives it could bring large feature films and television series to the Park City Film Studio.”

The future of the Studio remains to be seen, but watch out for more information about new Frank E. Johnson projects coming to screens near you in the near future.