Van Johnson

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For the American racing driver, see Van Johnson (racing driver). For the American politician, see Van R. Johnson.
Van Johnson
Johnson in 1947
Born
Charles Van Dell Johnson

(1916-08-25)August 25, 1916
Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.
DiedDecember 12, 2008(2008-12-12) (aged 92)
Nyack, New York, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1935–1992
Spouse
Eve Lynn Abbott Wynn
​
​
(m. 1947; div. 1968)​
Children1 daughter, 2 stepsons, including Tracy Keenan Wynn[1]

Charles Van Dell Johnson (August 25, 1916[citation needed]  – December 12, 2008) was an American film, television, theatre and radio actor. He was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during and after World War II.

Johnson was described as the embodiment of the "boy-next-door wholesomeness" which made him a popular Hollywood star in the 1940s and 1950s,

matinee idols of Hollywood's "golden age".[3]

Early life

Johnson was born in Newport, Rhode Island, the only child[4] of Loretta (née Snyder) and Charles E. Johnson, a plumber and later a real-estate salesman. His father was born in Sweden and came to the United States as a child, and his mother had Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry.[4] His mother was allegedly an alcoholic who left the family when he was a child, and he was not close to his father.[5]

Career

Van Johnson's hand prints in front of The Great Movie Ride at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park

Johnson performed at social clubs in Newport while in high school. He moved to New York City after graduation in 1935 and joined the off-Broadway revue Entre Nous.[4]

Broadway

Johnson toured New England in a theater troupe as a substitute dancer, but his acting career began in earnest in the Broadway revue New Faces of 1936. He returned to the chorus after that and worked in summer resorts near New York City.[6] In 1939, director and playwright George Abbott cast him in Rodgers and Hart's Too Many Girls in the role of a college boy and as understudy for all three male leads. He had an uncredited role in the film adaptation of Too Many Girls, which costarred Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, then Abbott hired him as a chorus boy and Gene Kelly's understudy in Pal Joey.[7]

Warner Bros.

Johnson was about to move back to New York when Lucille Ball took him to

Warner Brothers put him on contract at $300 a week. He was cast as a cub reporter opposite Faye Emerson in the 1942 film Murder in the Big House. His eyebrows and hair were dyed black for the role.[8]
Johnson's all-American good looks and easy demeanor were ill-suited to the gritty movies that Warner made at the time, and the studio dropped him at the expiration of his six-month contract.

MGM

Johnson was soon signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The studio provided him with classes in acting, speech, and diction.[9] He then had an uncredited part as a soldier in Somewhere I'll Find You (1942). He attracted attention in a small part in The War Against Mrs. Hadley (1942), and this encouraged MGM to cast him in their long-running series Dr. Kildare. These films had starred Lew Ayres as Dr. Kildare and Lionel Barrymore as Dr. Gillespie; Ayres' career was hurt due to being a conscientious objector, so the series focused on Dr. Gillespie mentoring new doctors. Johnson played Dr. Randall Adams in Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant (1942).

MGM then cast Johnson as Mickey Rooney's soldier brother in The Human Comedy (1943), a huge hit. He returned as Randall Adams in Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case (1943) and was in uniform again for Pilot No. 5 (1943). He had a small role as a reporter in Madame Curie (1943).[10]

A Guy Named Joe and stardom

Johnson's big break was in A Guy Named Joe starring Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne, in which he played a young pilot who acquires a deceased pilot as his guardian angel. Midway through the movie's production in 1943, Johnson was involved in a serious car accident that left him with a metal plate in his forehead and a number of scars on his face that the plastic surgery of the time could not completely correct or conceal; he used heavy makeup to hide them for years. MGM wanted to replace him in A Guy Named Joe, but Tracy insisted that he be allowed to finish the picture, despite his long absence. The film was a huge hit, earning a profit of over a million dollars and Johnson was launched as a star.[11]

Johnson's injuries from the car accident exempted him from service in World War II. Many other actors were serving in the armed forces, so the accident greatly benefited Johnson's career.[4] He later said, "There were five of us. There was Jimmy Craig, Bob Young, Bobby Walker, Peter Lawford, and myself. All tested for the same part all the time." Johnson was very busy, often playing soldiers; he joked of this period, "I remember... finishing one Thursday morning with June Allyson and starting a new one Thursday afternoon with Esther Williams. I didn't know which branch of the service I was in!"[12]

MGM built up Johnson's image as the all-American boy in war dramas and musicals. His first top-billed role in an "A" picture was the musical

3 Men in White
(1944).

Photo of Phyllis Thaxter and Van Johnson from the film, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo 1944

Post-war career peak

Johnson played Ted Lawson in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) which told the story of the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo in April 1942. He played Dr. Adams one last time in Between Two Women (1945). He starred in Thrill of a Romance (1945), a musical with Esther Williams, and Week-End at the Waldorf (1945), a musical remake of Grand Hotel with Lana Turner, Walter Pidgeon, and Ginger Rogers. In 1945, he tied with Bing Crosby as the top box office stars.[3]

He was reunited with Williams in Easy to Wed (1946), a musical remake of Libeled Lady.[13] He supported Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn in State of the Union (1948), and he supported Clark Gable and Pidgeon in the war drama Command Decision (1948).

MGM under Dore Schary

20th Century Fox borrowed Johnson to make the comedy Mother Is a Freshman (1948) with Loretta Young. Back at MGM, he was given a role in the film noir Scene of the Crime (1949). In 1949, he starred with Judy Garland in In the Good Old Summertime, which also marked the first film appearance of Liza Minnelli as Garland's and Johnson's young daughter. He next worked in Battleground (1949), a movie about the Battle of the Bulge produced by MGM's new studio head Dore Schary
.

Johnson continued to star in war dramas after the war ended, including Battleground (1949).

Johnson made the comedy

Jose Ferrer chomp up all the scenery in this maritime courtroom drama, but it's Johnson's character, the painfully ambivalent, not-too-bright Lieutenant Steve Maryk, who binds the whole movie together." Time magazine commented that Johnson "was a better actor than Hollywood usually allowed him to be."[2]

Johnson next teamed with Gene Kelly as the sardonic second lead of Brigadoon (1954).[4] He had the lead in The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954), his last film for MGM. He had a five-year contract with Columbia to make one film a year.[14]

Johnson's critically praised performance in The Caine Mutiny (1954) was his most notable post-MGM role.

Unlike some other stars of that era, Johnson did not resent the restrictions of the studio system. In 1985, he said that his years at MGM were "one big happy family and a little kingdom". "Everything was provided for us, from singing lessons to barbells. All we had to do was inhale, exhale and be charming. I used to dread leaving the studio to go out into the real world, because to me the studio was the real world."[3]

Freelancer

During the 1950s, Johnson continued to appear in films and also appeared frequently in television guest appearances. He appeared as the celebrity mystery guest on

Slander (1956) and Action of the Tiger
(1957).

Johnson appeared as the title character of the highly rated "spectacular," The Pied Piper of Hamelin, a musical version of Robert Browning's poem, set to the music of Edvard Grieg. Featuring Claude Rains in his only singing and dancing role, it aired on November 26, 1957, as part of NBC's week of Thanksgiving specials.[15] The program was so successful it spawned a record album and was repeated in 1958.[16] Syndicated to many local stations, it was rerun annually for many years in the tradition of other holiday specials.

On February 19, 1959, Johnson appeared in the episode "Deadfall" of CBS's Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre in the role of Frank Gilette, a former outlaw falsely charged with bank robbery. He is framed by Hugh Perry, a corrupt prosecutor played by Harry Townes, and Deputy Stover, portrayed by Bing Russell. Convicted of the robbery, Gilette is captured by outlaws while on his way to prison, and the sheriff, Roy Lamont, portrayed by Grant Withers, is killed.[17]

In 1959, Johnson turned down an opportunity to star as Eliot Ness in The Untouchables, which went on to become a successful television series with Robert Stack as Ness.[18]

Johnson guest-starred as Joe Robertson, with June Allyson and Don Rickles, in the 1960 episode "The Women Who" of the CBS anthology series The DuPont Show with June Allyson. In 1961 Johnson traveled to England to star in Harold Fielding's production of The Music Man at the Adelphi Theatre in London. The show enjoyed a successful run of almost a year, with Johnson playing the arduous leading role of Harold Hill to great acclaim. In 1968 he was in the successful MGM film "Yours, Mine and Ours" along with Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda. Johnson also guest-starred on

Emmy Award for that role. In the 1980s, he appeared on an episode of Angela Lansbury's Murder, She Wrote along with June Allyson. He also appeared in a special two-part episode of The Love Boat, "The Musical: My Ex-Mom; The Show Must Go On; The Pest, Parts 1 and 2" which aired on February 27, 1982, and co-starred Ann Miller, Ethel Merman, Della Reese, Carol Channing, and Cab Calloway
.

In the 1970s, after twice fighting bouts of

Wesley Hills, New York.[19]

Personal life

Johnson married former stage actress Eve Abbott (1914–2004) on January 25, 1947, the day after her divorce was finalized from actor Keenan Wynn. Their daughter Schuyler was born in 1948. By this marriage, Johnson gained stepsons Edmond Keenan (Ned) and screenwriter Tracy Keenan Wynn. In a statement by Eve, published after her death at age 90, she said MGM had engineered her marriage to Johnson to cover up his alleged homosexuality. "They needed their 'big star' to be married to quell rumors about his sexual preferences and unfortunately, I was 'It' – the only woman he would marry."[20] Commenting on their complicated relationships, Keenan Wynn's father Ed Wynn said, "I can't keep them straight. Evie loved Keenan. Keenan loves Evie. Van loves Evie. Evie loves Van. Van loves Keenan. Keenan loves Van."[20]

Johnson's biographer Ronald L. Davis writes that it "seems to have been well known in the film capital" that Johnson had homosexual tendencies, but this was never reported or hinted at by newspaper columnists or movie magazine writers during the era when Johnson made movies.

London, United Kingdom, began an affair with a male dancer in the production, according to her son Ned Wynn. He disclosed that Johnson left her "for a man – a boy, really. He's the lead boy dancer."[20] The couple separated in 1961 and their divorce was finalized in 1968.[22][23]

In contrast to his "cheery Van" screen image, Eve claimed that he was morose and moody because of his difficult early life. She reported that he had little tolerance for unpleasantness and would stride into his bedroom and seclude himself at the slightest hint of trouble. He had a difficult relationship with his father growing up, and he was estranged from his daughter at the time of his death.[3]

Later years and death

Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6600 Hollywood Blvd.

Johnson retired from acting in the early 1990s and lived in a penthouse at 405 East 54th Street on Manhattan's East Side. He moved to Tappan Zee Manor in 2002, an assisted living facility in Nyack, New York.[19] He died there on December 12, 2008, at age 92. His remains were cremated.[19][24]

Legacy

Johnson was never nominated for an

Academy Award and, during the height of his career, was noted mainly for his cheerful screen presence. Reflecting on his career after his death, one critic observed that Johnson was "capable of an Oscar-worthy performance, and that's more than most movie stars can claim".[2] For his contribution to the film industry, Johnson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
at 6600 Hollywood Blvd.

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1940 Too Many Girls Chorus boy #41 Adaptation of Broadway musical starring Lucille Ball and featuring Desi Arnaz; uncredited in chorus.
1942 Murder in the Big House Bert Bell
For the Common Defense! Agent Pritchard Short movie.
Somewhere I'll Find You Lieutenant Wade Hall Uncredited.
The War Against Mrs. Hadley Michael Fitzpatrick
Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant Dr. Randall 'Red' Adams
1943 The Human Comedy Marcus Macauley
Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case Dr. Randall 'Red' Adams
Pilot No. 5 Everett Arnold
Madame Curie Reporter
A Guy Named Joe Ted Randall Suffered disfiguring car accident at time of production – see text.
1944 Two Girls and a Sailor John Dyckman Brown III
The White Cliffs of Dover
 		Sam Bennett
3 Men in White
 		Dr. Randall 'Red' Ames
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo Ted W. Lawson
1945 Between Two Women Dr. Randall 'Red' Adams
Thrill of a Romance Major Thomas Milvaine
Week-End at the Waldorf Captain James Hollis
1946 Easy to Wed William Stevens 'Bill' Chandler
No Leave, No Love Sergeant Michael Hanlon
Till the Clouds Roll By Bandleader in Elite Club
1947 High Barbaree Alec Brooke
The Romance of Rosy Ridge Henry Carson
1948 The Bride Goes Wild Greg Rawlings
State of the Union Spike McManus Alternative title: The World and His Wife
Command Decision Technical Sergeant Immanuel T. Evans
1949 Mother Is a Freshman Professor Richard Michaels Alternative title: Mother Knows Best
Scene of the Crime Mike Conovan
In the Good Old Summertime Andrew Delby Larkin M-G-M musical co-starring Judy Garland.
Battleground Holley
1950 The Big Hangover David Muldon
Duchess of Idaho Dick Layne
1951 Grounds for Marriage Dr. Lincoln I. Bartlett
Three Guys Named Mike Mike Lawrence
Go for Broke! Lieutenant Michael Grayson
It's a Big Country Rev. Adam Burch
Too Young to Kiss Eric Wainwright
1952 Invitation Daniel I. "Dan" Pierce
When in Rome Father John X. Halligan
Washington Story Joseph T. Gresham
Plymouth Adventure John Alden
1953 Confidentially Connie Joe Bedloe
Remains to Be Seen Waldo Williams
Easy to Love Ray Lloyd
1954 Siege at Red River Capt. James S. Simmons / Jim Farraday
Men of the Fighting Lady Lt. (JG) Howard Thayer
The Caine Mutiny Lt. Stephen Maryk, USNR
Brigadoon Jeff Douglas
The Last Time I Saw Paris Charles Wills
1955 The End of the Affair Maurice Bendrix
1956 The Bottom of the Bottle Donald Martin / Eric Bell
Miracle in the Rain Pvt 1st class Arthur Hugenon
23 Paces to Baker Street Phillip Hannon
1957
Slander
 		Scott Ethan Martin
Kelly and Me Len Carmody
Action of the Tiger Carson
1959 The Last Blitzkrieg Lt. Hans Von Kroner / Sgt. Leonard Richardson
Subway in the Sky Major Baxter Grant
Beyond This Place Paul Mathry
1960 The Enemy General Allan Lemaire (OSS agent)
1963 Wives and Lovers Bill Austin
1966 The Doomsday Flight Captain Anderson, Pilot TV movie written by Rod Serling about a bomb threat to a plane.
1967 Divorce American Style Al Yearling
1968 Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows Father Chase
Yours, Mine and Ours Warrant Officer Darrel Harrison Family comedy starring Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda.
1969 Eagles Over London Air Marshal George Taylor
The Price of Power President James Garfield Alternative titles: La muerte de un presidente / Texas.
1971 Eye of the Spider Professor Orson Krüger Alternative title: L'occhio del ragno.
1979 The Concorde Affair Captain Scott Alternative title: Concorde Affaire '79.
From Corleone to Brooklyn Lieutenant Sturges Alternative titles: Da Corleone a Brooklyn / The Sicilian Boss.
1980 The Kidnapping of the President Vice President Ethan Richards
1982
Scorpion with Two Tails
 		Mulligan – Joan's father
1985 The Purple Rose of Cairo Larry Wilde Comedy written and directed by Woody Allen.
1988 Laggiù nella giungla Professor
Taxi Killer Police Lt. R. Bradford
1989 Killer Crocodile Judge
1990 Fuga dal paradiso Old Narrator
1991 Delta Force Commando II: Priority Red One Gen. McCailland
1992 Clowning Around Mr. Ranthow
Three Days to a Kill Comm. Howard (final film role)
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1955 I Love Lucy Himself Episode: "The Dancing Star"
1957 The Pied Piper of Hamelin Pied Piper/Truson Television special
1959 Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre Frank Gilette Episode: "Deadfall"
1960 General Electric Theater Jimmy Devlin Episode: "At Your Service"
1960 The Ann Sothern Show Terry Tyler Episode: "Loving Arms"
1965 Ben Casey Frank Dawson Episode: "A Man, a Maid, and a Marionette"
1966 Batman The Minstrel Episodes: "The Minstrel's Shakedown" / "Barbecued Batman?"
1967 The Danny Thomas Hour Charlie Snow Episode: "Is Charlie Coming?"
1968 Here's Lucy Himself Episode: "Guess Who Owes Lucy $23.50?"
1971 The Men from Shiloh Alonzo Episode: "The Angus Killer"
1971 The Doris Day Show Charlie Webb Episodes: "Cousin Charlie" / "The Albatross"
1971 Love, American Style Don Segment: "Love and the House Bachelor"
1972 Maude Henry Episode: "Flashback"
1974 McCloud Dan Kiley Episode: "This Must Be the Alamo"
1974 McMillan & Wife Harry Jerome Episode: "Downshift to Danger"
1974 The Girl on the Late, Late Show TV movie
1976
Rich Man, Poor Man
 		Marsh Goodwin Miniseries
Nominated:
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie
1976 Rich Man, Poor Man Book II Marsh Goodwin Miniseries
1977 Quincy, M.E. Al Ringerman Episodes: "Snake Eyes" (Parts 1 & 2)
1978 The Love Boat Bert Wyler S2 E9 "Her Own Two Feet"
1982 One Day at a Time Gus Webster Episode: "Grandma's Nest Egg"
1982 The Love Boat Various roles Segments: "The Musical" / "My Ex-Mom" / "The Show Must Go On" / "The Pest" / "My Aunt, the Worrier"
1983 The Forgotten Story Perry Miniseries
1983 Tales of the Unexpected Gerry T. Armstrong Episode: "Down Among the Sheltering Palms"
1984–1990 Murder, She Wrote Various roles Episodes: "Hannigan's Wake" / "Menace, Anyone?" / "Hit, Run and Homicide"
1988 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Art Bellasco Episode: "Killer Takes All"
1989 Coming of Age "Red" Pepper Episode: "Pauline et Rouge"

Box office ranking

For a number of years film exhibitors voted Johnson among the most popular stars in the country:

  • 1945 – 2nd (US)
  • 1946 – 3rd (US)
  • 1950 – 18th (US)
  • 1951 – 24th (US)

Stage work

Stage
Year Title
1936 Eight Men in Manhattan
1936 New Faces of 1936
1939 Too Many Girls
1940 Pal Joey
1961–63; 1973 The Music Man
1962 Come On Strong
1963
Bye Bye Birdie
1963; 1971 Damn Yankees
1963 Guys and Dolls
1964 A Thousand Clowns
1965 Mating Dance
1966 On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
1968 Bells Are Ringing
1968 The Great Sebastians
1968; 1971; 1974 There's a Girl in My Soup (play)
1970 Forty Carats
1972; 1974 Help Stamp Out Marriage
1974 6 Rms Riv Vu
1975 Boeing-Boeing
1977 How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
1980 Tribute
1983 No, No, Nanette
1985 La Cage aux Folles
1991
Showboat

Radio appearances

Year Program Episode/source
1944 The Burns and Allen Show NA[25]
1946 Lux Radio Theatre You Came Along[26]
1946
The Jack Benny Show
 Weekend at the ACME Plaza
1952 Cavalcade of America Billy the Kid[27]
1953 Theatre Guild on the Air State Fair[28]
1953 Broadway Playhouse Detective Story[28]

References

Notes

  1. ^ "Van Johnson, film, television and stage star, dies at 92". CNN. December 12, 2008. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Svetkey, Benjamin (December 12, 2008). "Remembering Van Johnson: A classic Hollywood heartthrob". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d Aljean, Harmetz (August 12, 2008). "Van Johnson, Film Actor, Is Dead at 92" The New York Times. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Van Johnson Biography". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
  5. ^ Davis 2001, p. 7.
  6. ^ Davis 2001, p. 27.
  7. ^ Davis 2001, p. 26.
  8. ^ Davis 2001, pp. 41–45.
  9. ^ Davis 2001, pp. 46–47, 56.
  10. ^ Davis 2001, pp. 76–77.
  11. ^ Davis 2001, pp. 63, 67.
  12. ^ Stewart, Patrick (host) (March 23, 1992). "The Lion Reigns Supreme". MGM: When the Lion Roars.
  13. ^ Davis, Ronald L. Van Johnson: MGM's Golden Boy p. 237 citing "Ruth Rowland, "Van, the Man," Movieland 14 (August 1956)"
  14. ^ Pryor, Thomas M. (May 4, 1954). "New 5-Year Pact for Van Johnson: Star Signs With Columbia for One Film Annually". The New York Times. p. 36. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  15. ^ Connolly, Mike (June 20, 1957). "Hollywood Isn't Hurt?". The Desert Sun. Palm Springs. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  16. ^ "The Pied Piper of Hamelin". LP Cover Art. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  17. ^ "Zane Grey Theatre: "Deadfall", February 19, 1959". IMDb. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
  18. ^ Nichols, Michelle (December 12, 2008). "Actor Van Johnson dies, aged 92". Reuters. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  19. ^ a b c Khurram, Saeed (December 13, 2008). "Actor Van Johnson dies in Nyack at 92". The Journal News.
  20. ^ a b c Vallance, Tom. Obituary: Evie Wynn Johnson, Actress and ambitious Hollywood wife The Independent, December 8, 2004.
  21. ^
    ISBN 978-1604737073
    .
  22. ^ Wynn 1990, p. 213.
  23. ^ Wayne 2006, p. 463.
  24. ^ Kuchwara, Michael (December 12, 2008). "Van Johnson, '40s heartthrob, dies at 92". Columbia Missourian. Associated Press. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  25. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  26. ^ "'Lux" Guest". Harrisburg Telegraph. January 5, 1946. p. 15. Retrieved June 26, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  27. ^ Kirby, Walter (December 28, 1952). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 36. Retrieved June 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  28. ^ a b Kirby, Walter (January 4, 1953). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 38. Retrieved June 19, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon

Bibliography

External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Van Johnson.
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