Editing Arte Johnson (section)

===Early television and film roles===
Johnson appeared three times in the 1955–1956 [[CBS]] sitcom ''[[It's Always Jan]]'', starring [[Janis Paige]] and [[Merry Anders]]. In 1956 a young Arte Johnson appeared in season 3, episode 22, of ''[[Make Room for Daddy]]'' in an episode called "Who Can Figure Kids", where he sang and danced. In 1958 he joined the cast of the short-lived [[NBC]] sitcom ''[[Sally (1957 TV series)|Sally]]''. On that program he played Bascomb Bleacher, Jr., the son of a co-owner of a [[department store]], portrayed by [[Gale Gordon]]. He played Ariel Lavalerra in the 1960 film ''[[The Subterraneans (film)|The Subterraneans]]'', an adaptation of [[Jack Kerouac]]'s [[The Subterraneans|1958 novel of the same name]]. In 1960 and 1961, he appeared in three episodes of [[Jackie Cooper]]'s military sitcom/drama series ''[[Hennesey]]'', also on CBS. In ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' he played Mr. Bates in the episode "A Secret Life" (1962). He was cast in an episode of [[Frank Aletter]]'s sitcom ''[[Bringing Up Buddy]]''. He also appeared in an episode of ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'' titled "The Whole Truth" (1961).

Before his big breakthrough in ''Laugh-In'', Johnson was cast for a guest role as Corporal Coogan in the anthology series ''[[GE True]]'' ("The Handmade Private," 1962). He played a bumbling navy cameraman on an episode of ''[[McHale's Navy]]'' in the first season and ''[[The Andy Griffith Show]]'' as a hotel clerk in the episode "Andy and Barney in the Big City" (also 1962). He was a member of the regular cast of the 1962–1963 situation comedy ''[[Don't Call Me Charlie!]]'', portraying Corporal Lefkowitz. Johnson appeared in a comedic role as Charlie, a boom-microphone operator who demonstrates to [[Jack Benny]] how to tell a joke properly, on ''[[The Jack Benny Program]]'' that aired on October 2, 1964. The joke performed in the sketch was the "ugly baby" story, later associated with [[Flip Wilson]]. He made a guest appearance on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s sitcom, ''[[Bewitched]]'' as [[Samantha (Bewitched)|Samantha]]'s ([[Elizabeth Montgomery]]) Cousin Edgar in the final episode of the first season, airing on June 2, 1965. Also in 1965, Johnson played a rare dramatic supporting role in the film ''[[The Third Day (1965 film)|The Third Day]]'' as Lester Aldrich, who turns out to be the downtrodden husband of the sleazy nymphomaniac Holly.

Johnson appeared in one of the final episodes of ABC's ''[[The Donna Reed Show]]'' in 1966. He was cast in the satirical [[James Coburn]] film ''[[The President's Analyst]]'' (1967), in which he gave a comically chilling performance as a federal agent with a blindly obedient "orders are orders" mentality. He appeared in the Season 3 episode of ''[[Lost in Space]]'' titled "Princess of Space" (1968). Johnson also starred in an episode of [[Rod Serling]]'s ''[[Night Gallery]]'' titled "The Flip-Side of Satan" (1971).