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Burt Johnson is the main antagonist of the Arthur franchise. 

He is a major antagonist in the 1981 film Arthur, the main antagonist of the 1988 film Arthur 2: On the Rocks and a minor antagonist in the 2011 film Arthur, which is a remake of the original film.

In the original films he was played by Stephen Elliott. In the remake, he was played by Nick Nolte, who also played David Banner in HulkFrank Stockburn in The Ridiculous 6Mulgarath in The Spiderwick Chronicles, Inspector Thomas Cray in Nightwatch, and Vincent in Over the Hedge.

Arthur (1981)[]

Burt first appears early in the film, where he tells his future son-in-law, multi-millionaire playboy Arthur Bach, that if he does anything to upset his daughter, he will kill him, claiming to have killed people in the past. Burt's daughter Susan, is deeply in love with Arthur and Burt wants to make sure that the two are married so his daughter can be happy and financially taken care of.

On their wedding day, Arthur tells Burt that he is not going to marry Susan and is in love with a poor woman named Linda. Burt calls Linda a "slut" and attempts to stab Arthur with a cheese knife, though he is prevented by Martha. Burt then leaves the church in a rage, though, unbeknownst to anyone else, he was secretly plotting ways to get back at Arthur for breaking his daughter's heart. 

Arthur 2: On the Rocks[]

Burt has a much larger role in the film's sequel, Arthur 2: On the Rocks, where he is the film's main antagonist. Five years after the events of the first film, Burt has orchestrated a scheme to get even with Arthur for leaving his daughter at the altar. Burt merges his company with Arthur's and orders the family to cut him out of his $750,000,000 fortune. He can have his money and lifestyle back, on one condition: divorce Linda and marry Susan.

Arthur refuses and he and Linda move in with Linda's father, Ralph. Things are going well at first, but Burt is determined to make Susan happy, so he buys the building they are living in and forces Arthur and Linda to leave. The two move into a shabby apartment and Arthur tries to sober up to find a job. Arthur finds work at a hardware store, but Burt buys the store and has Arthur fired. Susan then arrives at Arthur and Linda's apartment and tells Linda that if she really wants what's best for Arthur, then she should leave him. Susan also tells Linda that she can have children, and Linda cannot. 

Determined to get even with the Johnsons, Arthur meets with Burt's enemies that have dirt on him so he can blackmail Burt into getting his money back. Arthur meets with several people whose lives have been ruined by Burt Johnson, and learns of a fraud and extortion scheme that Burt was responsible for. Arthur sneaks onto Burt's yacht and confronts him, demanding that they leave him and Linda alone.

Burt and his friends laugh at Arthur, freely admitting that the allegations are true, but the statute of limitations has expired and the evidence is worthless. Arthur punches Burt in the gut, and Burt attempts to kill Arthur with a revolver. However, realizing that money cannot get her everything, Susan comes to Arthur's side for the first time and tells her father to give Arthur his money back or she will tell her mother about his affairs. Burt reluctantly agrees, and Arthur thanks Susan before leaving to get his life back in order.

Arthur (2011)[]

Burt is the overprotective father of Susan, Arthur's fiancee. Arthur does not love Susan and is only engaged to her because their parents have arranged it. He first meets Arthur under a tense moment, when Arthur accidentally shot Burt in the shoulder by childishly firing a bolt gun in his abandoned office block. Burt is building the offices and he brags to Arthur about how soon the office blocks will be his. Burt is mean to Arthur in the first meeting and he tries to intimidate him. He tries, humorously at first, to shove Arthur's face to a chainsaw, but then he stops being funny when he actually pushes Arthur deliberately to the chainsaw. Fortunately, the chainsaw stops in time and the screaming Arthur is left shocked and disorientated. This is one of Burt's most vicious acts, and he is rough with Arthur during their other meetings.

When Susan's family gets together with Arthur, Susan persuades Arthur to go horse riding with her despite Arthur's intentions not to. Burt roughly shoves Arthur up on the horse despite his protests he is in pain. Burt increasingly makes it clear he wants Susan to marry Arthur despite Arthur's protests Susan has nothing in common with him. At the wedding, Arthur calls it off just before the vows are taken. Susan and Burt attack Arthur, but Vivienne, Arthur's mother, breaks up the fight. It is unknown what became of Burt or Susan afterwards.

Personality[]

Burt is a frightening and intimidating man who is obsessed with making his daughter happy. He is also a vicious bully and he does not let anyone stand in his way of his ambitions. Burt's negative personality traits are especially evident in the original films, where he claimed to have personally killed people before, committing his first murder at age 11. Burt used his ruthless personality to become a billionaire, and then used his wealth to push other people around. In the original films, Burt had committed various other crimes, such as fraud and extortion. He, at one point, floated 10,000 shares of stocks that did not exist so he could profit from a business deal, which ruined the lives of many innocent people. 

Trivia[]

  • In the original films, it is implied Burt is a veteran of the US Navy, possibly having served in the Korean War.
  • While it is true that Burt is a villain, he is not all bad. His love for his daughter and desire for her to be happy was genuine, however overbearing it may have been.
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