Carl Johnston, Developer of Cinemax, Dies
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SAN DIEGO — Carl Willis Johnston, who helped develop the wide-screen development systems known as Cinemax and Imax, died Friday of congestive heart failure at Clairemont Community Hospital. He was 67.
Johnston had lived in San Diego since November. Before that he had lived in Quail Valley and also in Orange County and the San Gabriel Valley.
Through his work at Robert Woltz Associates of Newport Beach, Johnston helped develop the Cinemax and Imax systems that are widely used in movie theaters today. He also built race cars and land- and wind-sailing vehicles.
He was married for 40 years to Jeanne Rathmann Johnston. They were divorced in 1985. He is survived by his son, Jon Carl Johnston; two stepdaughters, Candy Johnston of El Toro and Gail Johns of Huntington Marina, and four grandchildren.
Services for immediate family members will be held Monday in San Diego. Donations may be made to the American Heart Assn.
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