Rafer Johnson, Date of Birth, Place of Birth

Rafer Johnson

American decathlete

Date of Birth: 18-Aug-1935

Place of Birth: Hillsboro, Texas, United States

Profession: actor, athletics competitor

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Leo

Rafer Lewis Johnson (born August 18, 1935) is an American former decathlete and film actor.
He was the 1960 Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon, having won silver in 1956.
He had previously won a gold in the 1955 Pan American Games.
He was the USA team's flag bearer at the 1960 Olympics and lit the Olympic flame at the Los Angeles Games in 1984. In 1968 he, football player Rosey Grier, and journalist George Plimpton tackled Sirhan Sirhan moments after he had fatally shot Robert F.
Kennedy. After he retired from athletics, Johnson turned to acting, sportscasting and public service and was instrumental in creating the California Special Olympics.
His acting career included appearances in The Sins of Rachel Cade (1961), the Elvis Presley film Wild in the Country (1961), Pirates of Tortuga (1961), None but the Brave (1965), two Tarzan films with Mike Henry, The Last Grenade (1970), Soul Soldier (1970), Roots: The Next Generations (1979), the James Bond film Licence to Kill (1989), and Think Big (1990).