Van Johnson

Description

Charles "Van" Johnson (born August 25, 1916) is an American film and television actor and dancer. <p>Johnson was born in Newport, Rhode Island to Swedish born Charles E. and Loretta Johnson of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. <p>His acting career began in earnest in 1936 in the Broadway revue New Faces of 1936. In 1939, he landed a part in Rodgers and Hart's Too Many Girls in the role of a college boy (after being Gene Kelly's understudy in Pal Joey). RKO then signed him to a short-term contract to star in the film adaptation of the play which became Johnson's film debut. MGM picked up his contract from RKO soon after and cast him in several bit parts. <p>In 1942, while en route to a preview screening for Keeper of the Flame, he was involved in a car crash that left him with a metal plate in his forehead. This left him exempt from service in World War II. After this incident, MGM built up his image as the "all-American boy" by co-starring him in films with June Allyson and Esther Williams,...