Her famous, alarmed delivery in 1978 of a single word: “Michael!” introduced audiences worldwide to not only the evil which lurked in the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois, but also heralded the arrival of arguably the most famous villain in all of slasher cinema.
Forty-two years later, Sandy Johnson, the actress who emoted that line, and the woman who portrayed Michael Myers’ first victim in John Carpenter’s classic film Halloween, recently spoke with HalloweenMovies.com in regards to the role, its impact on her life, and in discovering so many years later a celebrity she didn’t know existed.
Sandy Johnson as “Judith Myers” in John Carpenter’s Halloween
Born in 1954 in San Antonio, Texas, Johnson demonstrated at an early age an interest in the arts, particularly in dance, and that interest would eventually lead her (as it has many) to the bright lights of Hollywood, CA, and eventually to John Carpenter, Debra Hill and to the world of Halloween.
“I loved modern dance, and I loved choreographing,” Johnson told us on the phone when we chatted with her last month, “and once I’d moved to LA I also started to take acting lessons at some of the (acting) studios, which led to some commercial bookings, and later to a few movies. So, it kind of developed from my passion for dance, really.”
Of her memories of the time period, one of the most divisive in American history (marked by the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War and subsequent antiwar protests, as well as the second wave of feminism), Johnson recalled, “Those were crazy times. They certainly affected me, as I was kind of a wild kid, and my mom was struggling, so she didn’t keep a really good watch on me. My best friend was kind of in the same boat, so we did our own thing. They were fun times. There were parties everywhere, the parks were filled with Love-ins, and there was impromptu music. That whole era was certainly set apart, and it was an interesting time in which to live. And Hollywood? That was certainly different than it is today.”
Sandy Johnson in the 70s
According to Johnson, there was more on her mind during her early days in Hollywood however than simply the nightlife. With her father soon ailing, Johnson spurred herself into the world of print modelling, and eventually in 1974 to Playboy, in order to assist him with the financial burden of his medications.
“My father was very sick with cancer,” she recalled, “and I was still going to school and working at chicken places and stuff, just trying to make ends meet. My dad needed money for medicine, and there was a drug called Laetrile available in Mexico, and he kind of wanted to try it. He wasn’t doing well at all, so I needed to make money to help him out. So, I just started doing any kind of modelling I could find, and that’s how my pictorial in Playboy came about. A friend of mine said, ‘You know you might try them; they pay well.’ So, that’s what I did, and they accepted me. So, all of it really initially was just in order to make money for my dad. Unfortunately, the drugs weren’t successful, and he didn’t last long. But by then of course, I was heavily involved in Hollywood and the entertainment industry, so I stayed with it.”
Playmate of the Month for Playboy’s June 1974 issue, Johnson said of her centerfold spread, her experience with Playboy and its impact on her burgeoning acting career, “At the time nudity wasn’t that big of a deal, and it had become acceptable. A lot of the big stars were doing it in their movies, and it kind of changed everything. So, I found that Playboy was actually helpful for my career, and as I was also being represented by their agency, if film productions were particularly looking for someone who didn’t have a problem with doing nude scenes, they’d reach out to the agency, and through them they’d find me.”
Sandy Johnson, Playmate of the Month, June 1974
As the 70s marched on, Johnson’s first two feature film bookings came via Al Silliman Jr.’s 1978 3-D film The Surfer Girls and the comedic Jokes My Folks Never Told Me, but it would be the third film in which she appeared that would forever etch her name in cinematic history: her role of “Judith Myers” in John Carpenter’s Halloween.
“There were several people there,” Johnson recalled of her audition for the film. “It may have taken place in one of the houses they used for the movie, and they had the living room set up as an office. I remember them telling me the story of the film, and of what parts they were looking to cast. They had me read some lines, and do some screaming, which I remember thinking was strange because we were in a residential neighborhood! And then it wasn’t very long after, maybe the next day, that I got a call from the agency informing me that I had been cast in the role of Judith.”
As a fan of genre, she was thrilled at the booking.
“I love horror films,” effused Johnson. “It’s what I’d do with my friends as a young person during sleep overs. Horror films are what we watched!”
With principal photography of Halloween taking place during the spring of 1978, Johnson recalled of her time on set, in what was the soon-to-become infamous Myers house (then located at 707 Meridian Avenue in South Pasadena, CA), “My scene was to be the last shot of production, even though it would be the first one in the finished film, and they needed to make the house look new, so the art department was busy fixing things up. Painting the walls and cleaning windows and those kinds of things. And I remember that after several rehearsals that we did that scene in maybe two or three takes. I also remember it being a really long shot, and that everyone was really excited about the new (Panaglide) camera which they were using.”
Of Carpenter’s direction of her and co-star David Kyle, who played her rather shall we say ‘premature’ boyfriend in what is perhaps one of the fastest off screen lovemaking session in all of film history (one minute and eleven seconds to be exact), Johnson offered, “John and (producer and co-writer) Debra (Hill) did some play acting in order to block the scenes for us, especially for the murder scene, in regards to how they wanted the angles. For the stuff downstairs I just remember John saying, “Make it playful, kind of teasing and carefree, like a 60s kind of vibe.”
As for Johnson’s interaction on set with young lead Jamie Lee Curtis, “I remember that she was very nice,” Johnson said. “Jamie was in the production trailer with me at some point, which was used for wardrobe and make-up and just about everything else, and I remember that whoever was scrubbing the (FX) blood off of me after my takes was pretty rough, and it was a sensitive area. So, I was not really thrilled with the pain involved, and Jamie must have noticed this because she said, ‘Would you like me to help with that?’ I said, ‘Yes,’ and I just remember that she was much gentler. It was a kind gesture.”
Premiering in October of 1978, Johnson remembered of first seeing the modestly budgeted Halloween, a film which took some time and word of mouth during its regional rollout to evolve into one of the most successful independent productions of all time, “It was at a theatre in LA. The whole cast was there, but it wasn’t what you’d consider a ‘premiere’ because it was way too small a movie for that of course. I doubt if there was any press or anything. But I remember it scared the hell out of me. It was a very scary movie. And to see it on the big screen! And I had not been in a horror film before, so that was scary to see yourself get murdered up there, but it was also cool.”
As with most things, Johnson moved on with her life, unaware of the juggernaut which the film would become, something which she wouldn’t truly be aware of until decades later.
“I was busy making other films, taking classes, and carrying on a romance,” said Johnson of her life on the direct heels of Halloween. “I had a lot going on! And you know, I just made the film and then went onto the next thing. Yeah, I had no idea. And then of course I became a teacher and got my PHD. I was just focused on other stuff. So, it wasn’t like I was Googling ‘Halloween’ or anything, although I am sure that if I had I would have been shocked!”
Her eventual realization of Halloween and its enduring popularity came via a text message in 2018, a full forty years after shooting her scene in the Carpenter classic.
“It was kind of late at night, and I was playing Words With Friends with my sister, and I got a text from someone that read, ‘Are you the Sandy Johnson from Halloween?” At the time I hadn’t thought of Halloween in decades, and I replied, ‘Yes, who is this?’ It turned out that it was Rick Henriques, who is now my representation and booking agent, and he had been apparently looking for me for nine or ten years! I guess so were several other agents, but he just happened to be the one that was relentless, and who finally found me. So, he started telling me how Halloween had become a big film, and that I had thousands of followers, and I was just sitting there thinking, ‘I am dreaming for sure. None of this is real.’ But it turned out that it was real, and it is awesome.”
Sandy Johnson and date attend the premiere of David Gordon Green’s Halloween
Johnson’s first appearance on the horror convention circuit took place that October at the Halloween-themed event H40: Forty Years of Terror, held at the Pasadena Convention Center, itself located merely miles from where she shot the now infamous opening of Halloween.
“I’d never been to any convention like that!” recalled Johnson. “I was totally unaware that there were horror conventions or anything like them, so I just like walked into that place as a newbie. They sat me down in front of a banner, told me what I’d need to do, and then the doors opened up, and it was like, ‘Oh, my god!’ The people! I mean there were thousands of them just pouring in, and the line went on for as far as I could see. I just couldn’t even believe it, and I loved meeting all of them. It was just really fun.”
Writer’s note: this interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
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Follow Sandy Johnson on her Instagram @unicornsandyj
