Johnson's father, Alfred (Alf) Jönsson, was born in Veinge, Halland, Sweden, on February 7, 1864.

Johnson's mother, Emilie Mathilda Jönsdotter, was born in Gothenburg, Västra Götaland, Sweden, on June 3, 1867.

[2] At age 24, Emilie Jönsdotter departed for America and reached Ellis Island in New York Harbor, on September 24, 1891.

[4] According to the 1900 census, the Johnson family rented a large house on Bush Street in San Francisco, California.

[7] Johnson attended Oakland High School, then studied architecture at the University of California, Berkeley.

"[8] In 1912, 18-year-old Johnson began a motorcar journey through the picturesque Niles Canyon in the San Francisco Bay Area.

In September 1912, Anderson offered to give the 18-year-old an entry-level job as an assistant cameraman, paying $8.50 per week (equivalent to $258 in 2022 or $13,400 yr).

Johnson, now Essanay's latest "most handsome actor,"[13] received his first movie credit on "What Came to Bar Q" in January 1914 when he was 19 years old.

The last film Johnson, now 20, made for Essanay, was the short Western, "Broncho Billy's Jealousy" released on June 27, 1914.

[14] The main factors fueling the talent exit were Essanay's inability to produce feature-length movies and the company's decline in revenue.

He would share top billing with Marguerite Clayton for making the feature films – The Birthmark and The Black Heart.

Laemmle also believed that even though the pairing with Davenport had been financially successful, the films didn't have the screen chemistry he had sought.

He completes his WWI draft registration but claims exception due to a "Nervous heart" and "Chronic stomach trouble.

At the end of 1917, Emory and Ella Hall were cast together playing husband and wife in – "My Little Boy" The film was released in December 1917.

Emory ended 1919 with a role in the successful Alias Mike Moran featuring Wallace Reid and Ann Little.

In 1920, Emory acted in five films, including Polly of the Storm Country, sharing top billing with Mildred Harris.

Emory also acted with and often shared top billing with the following leading ladies: Marguerite Clayton, Dorothy Davenport, Louise Lovely, Mary Pickford, Constance Talmadge, Ethel Clayton, Margarita Fischer, Mildred Harris, Ella Hall, Eileen Percy, Bebe Daniels, Bessie Love and Betty Compson.

First, the independent actor started the year with a March release of Don't Doubt Your Wife, sharing top billing with Leah Baird.

[47][48][49] Emory finished the year with the sixth film under the FBO contract – the September release of Life's Greatest Game.

Emory Johnson, engaged by Tiffany to direct "The Third Alarm" on the strength of his silent film of the same title for FBO, has been off the picture since the first day's shooting.

Martin Cohn, the editorial supervisor at Tiff, is finishing it, although direction credit will go to Johnson, beside a piece of the picture.

[72] The movies Emory Johnson's completed or planned to start for poverty row studios had one common thread—the would-be remakes of previous successful silent films.

Liabilities are $4,500, and assets are $480.Perhaps one factor leading to this bankruptcy could be an attempt to reduce the financial obligations towards Ella and the children.

On June 13, 1917, the President of Universal Film Manufacturing Company – Carl Laemmle, held a gala for his employees.

So I'm in neither picture nor marriage" From 1924 onwards, the couple had engaged in highly publicized disputes revolving around alimony payments, child support, visitation rights, and living arrangements.

Ella had difficulty reconciling her emotions regarding Emory's status as an only child and what she perceived as his excessive attachment to his mother.

The divorce between Alfred Emory Johnson, 36, and Ella Augusta Hall, 34, was finalized in Los Angeles, California.

He rented a first-floor studio in a rooming house on North Ellsworth Street in San Mateo, California.

[81] Shortly after 8 pm on Wednesday, March 30, 1960, a neighbor living directly above Emory's first-floor studio smelled smoke.

[83] Emory Johnson chose interment in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Daisy Columbarium, located in Glendale, California.