Chubby Johnson was born Charles Rutledge Johnson on August 13, 1903 in Terre Haute, Indiana. Johnson made a living as a journalist and did not become a movie actor until he was in his forties, making his debut in the Randolph Scott oater "Abeline Town" in support of Scott, Ann Dvorak, and Edgar Buchanan. He continued to practice his craft as a member of the press, serving as a radio announcer as well as pounding the keys as a columnist, until he was nearly 50. Chubby appeared in the 1950 Errol Flynn hoss opera "Rock Mountain" as part of an army of quirky character actors, including Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams and Slim Pickens. Chubby then quit the Fourth Estate for a Hollywood career.

When Republic Pictures sought a replacement for Eddy Waller to play side kick to B-movie cowboy star Allan Lane in the Rocky Lane series. Chubby filled in for most of 1951-52. Chubby also starred in the TV series "Sky King" as ranch foreman Jim Bell. The low-budget series, a spin-off from a five-year-old radio show in which individual episodes were made for approximately $9,000 each, ran on NBC from Sept 16, 1951 until Oct 26, 1952. The series was then picked up by ABC, which ran the same NBC episodes from November 8, 1952 until September 12, 1954. A season of new episodes was aired in 1955.

Chubby freelanced as a character actor after these stints on the boob tube, appearing in support of James Stewart in the Anthony Mann classic "Bend of the River" (1952), and in their "The Far Country" (1954), which also featured character actor par excellence Walter Brennan, the movies' first triple-Oscar threat. Chubby then went on to appear in support of Doris Day in "Calamity Jane" (1953), Audie Murphy in "Gunsmoke" (1953), Ronald Reagan in "Law and Order" (1953), Barbara Stanwyck and Ronnie again in "Cattle Queen of Montana (1954), and James Cagney in "Tribute to a Bad Man" (1956), one of the legend's rare forays into the western.

Other stars Chubby supported were Richard Chamberlain and Claude Rains in "Twilight of Honor," the 1963 trial film that won the ill-fated Nick Adams a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination, James Garner in "Support Your Local Sheriff" (1969), and Burt Reynolds in his audacious debut as a big-screen star as the eponymous "Sam Whiskey" (1969). He also appeared uncredited in the classic "High Noon" (1952).

After appearing as a regular in the short-lived TV series "Frontier Doctor" (1958), Chubby appeared as Concho on another TV western, "Temple Houston," which starred Jeffrey Hunter. He also guested on many other TV westerns, including "Bonanza," "Gunsmoke" and "The Rifleman."

Chubby Johnson continued to appear in films until 1969, with "Sam Whiskey" serving as the nightcap to his career. He died on Halloween Day 1974 from complications from a leg infection.

Sam Whiskey (1969) .... Carl Powell (Denver blacksmith)
Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) .... Brady
The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin (1967) (uncredited) .... First haircut man
Cyborg 2087 (1966) .... Uncle Pete
... aka Man from Tomorrow
7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964) .... Fat Cowboy
... aka The Secret World of Dr. Lao
Twilight of Honor (1963) (uncredited) .... Jailer
... aka The Charge Is Murder (UK)
"Temple Houston" (1963) TV Series .... Concho
The Firebrand (1962) .... Tampico

"Frontier Doctor" (1958) TV Series .... Sheriff (1958)
... aka Man of the West (USA: syndication title)
... aka Unarmed (USA: syndication title)
Gunfire at Indian Gap (1957) .... Samuel
Drango (1957) .... Zeb
The River's Edge (1957) .... Wiskers
The True Story of Jesse James (1957) .... Askew
... aka The James Brothers (UK)
The Young Guns (1956) .... Rongo Jones aka Grandpa
The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) .... Frank Stringer, banjo player
The First Texan (1956) .... Deaf Smith (army scout)
Tribute to a Bad Man (1956) .... Baldy
The Rawhide Years (1955) .... Gif Lessing
Tennessee's Partner (1955) .... Grubstake McNiven
Headline Hunters (1955) .... Ned Powers, city editor
Rage at Dawn (1955) (uncredited) .... Eranimus
... aka Seven Bad Men
Cattle Queen of Montana (1954) .... Nat Collins
The Far Country (1954) .... Dusty (Dawson miner)
The Human Jungle (1954) .... Greenie (reporter)
Overland Pacific (1954) .... Sheriff Blaney
... aka Silver Dollar (USA)
Back to God's Country (1953) .... Shorter
Calamity Jane (1953) .... Rattlesnake
Law and Order (1953) .... Denver Cahoon
Gunsmoke (1953) .... Doc Farrell
... aka A Man's Country (USA)
... aka Roughshod (USA)
Last of the Comanches (1953) .... Henry Ruppert
... aka The Sabre and the Arrow (UK)
"Sky King" (1951) TV Series .... Jim Bell, foreman (1952-1955)
Apache War Smoke (1952) (uncredited) .... Juke
High Noon (1952) (uncredited) .... First old timer on hotel porch
The Treasure of Lost Canyon (1952) .... Baltimore Dan
Here Come the Nelsons (1952) .... Man at Fair
... aka Meet the Nelsons
Bend of the River (1952) .... Cap'n Mello, Riverboat River Queen
... aka Where the River Bends (UK)
Fort Dodge Stampede (1951) .... Skeeter Davis
Fort Worth (1951) .... Sheriff
Wells Fargo Gunmaster (1951) .... Skeeter Davis
The Scarf (1951) (uncredited) .... Feed Store Manager
... aka The Dungeon
Night Riders of Montana (1951) .... Sheriff Skeeter Davis
Westward the Women (1951) (uncredited) .... Jim Stacey, Awaiting Groom
The Raging Tide (1951) .... 'General'
Rocky Mountain (1950) .... Gil Craigie, Stagedriver

Abilene Town (1946) (uncredited) .... Homesteader