- Legendary fashion designer Gianni Versace cited Don Johnson and his alter-ego Sonny Crockett as inspirations. Versace once said: "The first person I dressed in Miami was Don Johnson.".
- Beat out Nick Nolte, Jeff Bridges, Richard Dean Anderson, Mark Harmon, Larry Wilcox and Gary Cole for the role of Sonny Crockett on Miami Vice (1984).
- Was given a Ferrari Testarossa by Enzo Ferrari as an appreciation of his work on Miami Vice (1984).
- Was the cause of much media frenzy and an uproar when he didn't wear socks to a meeting with then U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Johnson said in his defense: "I've always said that for me, a sports jacket over a t-shirt is good enough for meeting anyone, except the Queen. As for the socks, well, I must confess that I simply don't own a pair anymore. See, I live in Miami.".
- Co-wrote a two-hour movie with his neighbor Hunter S. Thompson. The movie was not picked up, but CBS bought and turned the story into Nash Bridges (1996).
- In the 1970s, he co-wrote songs with former The Allman Brothers Band guitarist/singer Dickey Betts, several of which were recorded by the band.
- During pre-production of Miami Vice (1984), he wanted Sonny Crockett to be "more of a cowboy", and suggested "a lot of denim, V-neck sweaters and cowboy boots". He was really unsure about how the heavy use of pastel and bright colors would fit the macho, no-nonsense persona of his character, but producer Michael Mann and costume designer Jodie Lynn Tillen managed to convince him. They saw Crockett more in the lines of a beach bum. Johnson relented and as a result became one of the biggest fashion symbols of the 1980s.
- Was considered for the role of John McClane in Die Hard (1988), which went to Bruce Willis.
- He often arrived on the set of Miami Vice (1984) in his own powerboat, called "My Vice".
- He and Tom Cruise were the premier faces of the Ray Ban brand of sunglasses during the 1980s. None of them took part in any official campaigns, but simply by clever product placement strategies both helped boost Ray Ban's sales enormously. Johnson wore many different models on Miami Vice (1984), most notably a pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarers (Model L2052, Mock Tortoise) which increased sales of Ray Ban's to 720,000 units in 1984 alone.
- Good friends with Bruce Willis, Kevin Costner, Sylvester Stallone, Robert Wagner, Jack Nicholson and Nick Nolte.
- Was considered for the role of Edward Deline on Las Vegas (2003), which went to James Caan.
- Before having great success on Miami Vice (1984), he appeared on The Dating Game (1965) as one of the "three eligible bachelors" and was not chosen.
- Was considered for the lead role of Eliot Ness in The Untouchables (1987). The role went to his good friend Kevin Costner, which turned out to be his breakthrough role.
- Is a devotee of the culture of Vietnam and he owns a small island off the south coast. He honeymooned there with his wife, Kelley, in May 1999.
- Wellcraft allowed him to design his own offshore powerboat, the Scarab Excel 43 ft. Don Johnson Signature Series, and he raced a similar one.
- In 1985, during the height of Miami Vice (1984), he had made a trip to Germany to personally order a 959 Porsche from the factory in Stuttgart.
- The creators of Miami Vice (1984) were originally against casting him. Before the series, he had starred in four failed television pilots.
- Scored three hits on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts with "Heartbeat" (US #6, 1986), "Heartache Away" (US #56, 1986) and the Barbra Streisand duet "Til I Loved You" (US #25, 1989).
- Came up with the idea for Las Vegas (2003), and was planning to produce and star on the series himself. The series was going to be called "Casino Eye".
- Auditioned for the role of Michael Knight on Knight Rider (1982), which went to David Hasselhoff.
- Children: Atherton Grace Johnson (born December 28, 1999), Jasper Breckenridge Johnson (born June 6, 2002), and Deacon James Johnson (born April 29, 2006) with Kelley Phleger; Dakota Johnson (born October 4, 1989) with Melanie Griffith; Jesse Johnson (born December 7, 1982) with Patti D'Arbanville.
- Got his big break into stardom by starring in the controversial off-Broadway play "Fortune and Men's Eyes", which was directed by and starred Sal Mineo. The play, which featured a realistic rape scene in a men's prison, generated plenty of press reviews due to the once taboo subject of homosexuality in the arts.
- Robert Wagner served as best man at his wedding to Kelley Phleger.
- Was considered for the role of Michael Cheritto in Heat (1995), which went to Tom Sizemore.
- He accidentally knocked Branscombe Richmond unconscious with a billiard ball, while filming the pool hustling scene in Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991).
- To maintain his perpetual two-day stubble on Miami Vice (1984), he shaved with a sideburn trimmer.
- Won the 1988 APBA Offshore World Cup in the Superboat class.
- Galco designed a special shoulder holster especially for him to use on Miami Vice (1984). This was called the "Miami Classic". In the Galco Gunleather headquarters, there is a large display that contains the Miami Vice shoulder holster rig that Johnson wore, accompanied by an autographed photo of him.
- Made his professional debut in the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, in "Your Own Thing", a rock musical modeled after William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night". Made five pilots for NBC early in his career that were all rejected.
- Was considered for the role of Horatio Caine on CSI: Miami (2002), which went to David Caruso.
- His first marriage was to a dancer in Kansas in 1968. His second marriage took place in Los Angeles in 1973. Both marriages were annulled.
- Auditioned for the role of Sonny Crockett on Miami Vice (1984) while he was in Miami working on a low-budget film about Vietnam called Cease Fire (1985).
- Best known by the public for his starring roles as Detective Sonny Crockett on Miami Vice (1984), and the title character on Nash Bridges (1996).
- Attended and graduated from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas (1971).
- Popular Finnish music group Don Johnson Big Band is named after him.
- Ex-son-in-law of Tippi Hedren and Peter Griffith.
- Has a family in Colorado with whom he used to celebrate Christmas.
- Has been romantically linked to Pamela Des Barres, Sally Sheridan, Cybill Shepherd, Barbra Streisand, Uma Thurman, Kari Whitman, Jeanne Anderson, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Tanya Tucker, Lynn Whitfield, Nancy Pfister, Donna Rice, Danielle Staub, Donya Fiorentino, Jennifer Connelly, Susan Sarandon, Tracy Richman, Alexandra Kabi, Yasmine Bleeth, Sofia Cucci, Claire Yarlett and Elizabeth Perkins.
- He was exempt from the draft during the Vietnam War.
- He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television at 7080 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on July 26, 1996.
- He is the first actor to use a Glock handgun in any media.
- Considers himself to be done with police series, but does not rule out joining a series "if it were international in scope and global in nature".
- In the late 1980s, he was working on a film project titled "The Pro", which he hoped to direct. According to Johnson, Jack Nicholson was going to star as the Pro - a wizard who brings a boy into the world of professional golfing.
- Was the director's first choice for the role of Tom Wingo in The Prince of Tides (1991), which went to Nick Nolte.
- Attended and graduated from Wichita South High School in Wichita, Kansas (1967).
- Was considered for the role of Francis Dollarhyde in Manhunter (1986), which went to Tom Noonan.
- Developing sports themed television series with Ron Shelton (2008).
- Is mentioned in Walter Kirn's novel "Thumbsucker".
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