Johnny Mack Brown

Johnny Mack Brown, an outstanding athlete and western movie star, was born in Dothan on September 1, 1904. Johnny Mack was one of nine children born to John Henry and Hattie McGillivray Brown. The Brown family home was located on South Saint Andrews Street, just a few blocks south of this marker. He excelled as an athlete at Dothan High School and was an All-American halfback at the University of Alabama. It was his performance during Alabama’s 1926 Rose Bowl victory over the University of Washington that propelled Alabama into the football spotlight and Johnny Mack into a Hollywood movie career., Johnny Mack made his first film in 1927 and went on to appear in 165 movie productions, including several on television. He acted with movie greats as Mary Pickford, Mae West, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford and others. During the years 1940-1950, he consistently ranked in the Top 10 in popularity polls of movie stars. Johnny Mack Brown is listed in the National Collegiate Football Hall of Fame, Rose Bowl Hall of Fame, Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, Alabama Stage and Screenwriters Hall of Fame, World Cowboy Gun Spinners Hall of Fame and received the Golden Boot Award from the Motion Picture and Television Fund. Johnny Mack Brown died in 1974.