Lamont Johnson, 88; Director, Local Activist

Lamont Johnson, an Emmy-winning director, known for his sensitive treatment of controversial subjects in made-for-TV movies, including interracial romance, homosexuality and civil rights, died at his home in Monterey on October 24. He was 88.   A former longtime resident in the Paseo Miramar neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, Johnson was an effective activist during the controversy involving Los Liones Canyon during the 1990s.   Proposals for developing the canyon included relocating the Palisades-Malibu YMCA and Kehillat Israel onto the state-owned property. Johnson advocated a botanical garden and produced a 17-minute video on the history of Los Liones and the ambitious project proposed by the Los Liones Botanical Gardens Association.   ’The Los Liones Botanical Gardens Association favors developing the canyon as it was intended,’ Johnson said. The plan included a public-contact facility that would orient visitors to the facilities available throughout the Topanga State Park, a self-guided trail, a botanic garden and arboretum emphasizing native plants, a parking area and a trail head. Much of this plan was ultimately incorporated in the development of Los Liones Gateway Park.   Johnson, who directed more than 150 television shows, miniseries and movies of the week, received 11 Emmy nominations during his 45-year directing career.   He won critical acclaim for ‘My Sweet Charlie’ (1970), a look at tensions in interracial relationships; ‘That Certain Summer’ (1972), one of television’s first attempts to explore homosexuality; and ‘Crisis at Central High’ (1981), about the civil rights movement.   In 1986, he won a directing Emmy for ‘Wallenberg: A Hero’s Story,’ a mini-series about Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who saved the lives of approximately 100,000 Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust. Three years later he won another Emmy for ‘Gore Vidal’s Lincoln,’ starring Sam Waterston, which examined the Civil War through Abraham Lincoln’s eyes as he contended with generals who balked at going into battle and politicians who undermined him.   Johnson is survived by his son, Chris; a daughter, Carolyn Bueno; three grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.