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.
He 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.
He is a lifelong Democrat.
He often arrived at the set of "Miami Vice" (1984) in his own power boat, called "My Vice".
In 1985 during the height of Miami Vice, he had made a trip to Germany to personally order a 959 Porsche from the factory in Stuttgart.
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.
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.
Is a cigar aficionado.
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.".
Lives in Los Angeles, California.
Loves the Tuscany area of Italy and has vacationed there often.
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.
Mentioned in Walter Kirn's novel "Thumbsucker".
Popular Finnish music group Don Johnson Big Band is named after him.
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).
Starred in, co-created and owned a percentage of "Nash Bridges" (1996).
The creators of "Miami Vice" (1984) were originally against casting him. Before "Vice," he had starred in four failed TV pilots.
Third child with his wife Kelley, son Deacon, born on April 29, 2006 at a Los Angeles hospital. The baby measured 27.5 inches long and weighed 7 pounds.
To maintain his perpetual two-day stubble on "Miami Vice" (1984), he shaved with a sideburn trimmer.
Was considered for Tom Sizemore's role in Heat (1995).