Johnson’s story was the centerpiece of a 2001 Texas Monthly article that delved into how he became known as “the most sought-after professional killer in Houston,” with his undercover operations leading to over sixty arrests. Back in 1981, Johnson moved to Houston with the dream of entering the University of Houston’s doctoral program in psychology. Unfortunately, when he wasn’t accepted, he pivoted and took a job as an investigator for the district attorney’s office.
In 1989, Johnson stumbled upon what he would call his “true calling.” A 37-year-old lab technician named Kathy Scott approached a bail bondsman, saying she needed a hitman to kill her husband. The bail bondsman reported this to the police, and his bosses had a clear message: “Gary, you’re our hit man.” From then on, whenever the police heard from an informant that someone was looking to hire a hitman, they would call Johnson. The informant would set up a meeting between Johnson and the person looking to arrange a murder. Wired for sound, Johnson’s job was to get the person to clearly articulate their desire to have someone killed and then pay him for the job.
“He’s the perfect chameleon,” said prominent Houston lawyer Michael Hinton in the Texas Monthly piece. “Gary is an amazing performer who can become whoever he needs to be in any situation. He never gets flustered, and he never says the wrong thing. He has this incredible ability to convince people, whether they’re rich or poor, successful or not, that he’s the real deal. He fools them every time.” Skip Hollands worth, who wrote the article, described Johnson as “one of the greatest actors of his generation, so talented that he can perform on any stage and with any kind of script.”
The Netflix film “Hit Man” takes inspiration from Johnson’s story, using his name and the general idea of his undercover work as a fake contract killer. However, some parts of the movie are purely fictional. For example, director Richard Linklater noted that “the real Gary used slight disguises, but nothing like what you see in the film.” Instead, actor Glen Powell, who plays Johnson, “pushed all of that to the max,” creating a more dramatized version of Johnson’s undercover exploits.
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