Founder Of Afro Sheen George E. Johnson Dies At 99

Founder Of Afro Sheen George E. Johnson Dies At 99. Many in this generation may not remember George E. Johnson, but you may have used his hair products throughout the years. And, if you wore a natural bush back in the 70s, then you used Ultra Sheen products. More importantly, whether you used the Ultra Sheen or not, you may remember the commercials.

Black Hair Care Pioneer and ‘Soul Train’ Sponsor George E. Johnson Dies at 99

George E. Johnson Sr., the visionary Chicago entrepreneur who revolutionized the Black beauty industry and broke historic racial barriers on Wall Street, has passed away at the age of 99. According to his family, Johnson died of a respiratory illness on July 6, 2026, at his home in Chicago.

“His family released a statement celebrating his “extraordinary legacy of entrepreneurship, faith, perseverance, philanthropy and family.”

From Sharecropper’s Cabin to Beauty Empire

According to Black Enterprise, George was born in a Mississippi sharecropper’s cabin in 1927.  And he raised by a single mother on Chicago’s South Side; Johnson’s journey is a quintessential story of perseverance. After dropping out of high school in the 11th grade to help support his family, he found a job working in the lab of Samuel Fuller, an early Black cosmetics entrepreneur.

It was there that Johnson developed the “Ultra Wave” hair relaxer for men. Armed with a $250 loan and a blessing from his mentor, Johnson and his first wife, Joan Johnson, co-founded Johnson Products Company in 1954.

Afro Sheen Ad 5

As the market shifted, the company expanded from men’s products to women’s hair care with Ultra Sheen. Later, during the late 1960s and 1970s, Johnson embraced the “Black Is Beautiful” movement. Rather than resisting the shift toward natural hair, he launched Afro Sheen, an iconic brand that celebrated Black pride, style, and identity with modern, glamorous advertising.

Breaking Barriers on Wall Street and Media

Under Johnson’s leadership, Johnson Products Company achieved a monumental milestone in 1971 when it became the first Black-owned company to be listed on the American Stock Exchange.

Beyond manufacturing, Johnson understood the power of representation and distribution. In 1971, Johnson Products became the exclusive national sponsor for Don Cornelius’s dance and music show, Soul Train. The sponsorship catapulted the show from a local Chicago program into a national cultural institution, cementing Afro Sheen’s place in millions of Black households across America.

A Legacy of Uplifting the Community

Johnson’s business philosophy was driven by a desire to uplift others; as he wrote in his memoir, his motto was not “live and let live” but rather “live and help live.”

• In 1964, he co-founded Independence Bank, which grew into one of the nation’s largest Black-owned banks, providing crucial capital to Black consumers and businesses denied service by traditional financial systems.

• He established the George E. Johnson Foundation and Educational Fund, which funded scholarships and charitable programs for African Americans.

• Within his own factories, he championed progressive employee benefits ahead of his time, including profit-sharing, tuition reimbursement, and paid maternity leave.

Though he later lost control of Johnson Products Company following a divorce settlement, his blueprint remains the gold standard for cultural marketing and community-oriented entrepreneurship.

Johnson is survived by his wife, Madeline Murphy Rabb, his four children, 10 grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.

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