George E. Johnson, who founded Ultra Sheen and Afro Sheen, passed away on Monday at his home in Chicago. He was 99,
The New York Times reported that Madeline Murphy Rabb, his second wife, confirmed that respiratory illness was the cause of death.
“He truly believed business could be a force for good,” the family statement said. “Creating opportunity, strengthening communities, opening doors for others, and demonstrating that success carries with it a responsibility to serve.”
George Ellis Johnson was born on June 16, 1927, in Richton, Miss. At two years old, he moved to Chicago with his mother, Priscilla.
Dropping out of high school in the 11th grade, he became a door-to-door cosmetics salesman. After securing a bank loan of just $250, Johnson launched his own cosmetics business. He secured the loan by telling the loan officer he needed the money for a vacation for his wife.
“I knew this request wouldn’t rattle the loan officer’s belief that he was superior to me. Nor would it challenge his stereotypes of Black men as subservient or unintelligent,” Johnson wrote.
In 1954, he co-founded Johnson Products Company with his first wife, Joan Johnson. The company took up almost 80% of the Black hair care market by 1960. In 1971, the company was the first Black-owned company listed on the American Stock Exchange, now known as NYSE American.
Johnson Products was also the exclusive sponsor of“Soul Train.” Based in Chicago, Johnson’s sponsorship helped the show become a national show running for more than three decades.
Following the couple’s 1989 divorce, Joan gained control of the company. She ultimately sold Johnson Products to the Ivax Corporation in 1993 for a payout of around $32 million (roughly $75 million today). The Johnsons remarried in 1995. Joan passed away in 2019.
Last year, Johnson released his memoir, Afro Sheen, co-written with Hilary Beard.