http://countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php?title=Van_Johnson&feed=atom&action=historyVan Johnson - Revision history2024-03-29T09:26:49ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.19.0http://countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php?title=Van_Johnson&diff=22553&oldid=prevWjhonson at 01:56, 3 November 20102010-11-03T01:56:11Z<p></p>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>[[Category:Movies and Television]]</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>[[Category:Movies and Television]]</div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div><ins style="color: red; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">[[Category:GLBT]]</ins></div></td></tr>
</table>Wjhonsonhttp://countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php?title=Van_Johnson&diff=20490&oldid=prevWjhonson at 23:01, 14 December 20082008-12-14T23:01:18Z<p></p>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Charles Van Dell "Van" Johnson (25 Aug 1916 - 12 Dec 2008), U.S. actor most well known for his roles as a boy-next-door type in movies from the '40s and '50s for MGM and Columbia Pictures.<br></div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Charles Van Dell "Van" Johnson (25 Aug 1916 - 12 Dec 2008), U.S. actor most well known for his roles as a boy-next-door type in movies from the '40s and '50s for MGM and Columbia Pictures.<br></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="background: #ffa; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>:This article writen and copyright 2008 by Will Johnson, [mailto:wjhonson@aol.com wjhonson@aol.com], Professional Genealogist, All Rights Reserved.  If you'd like to comment on it, you may email me.  You may cite this article as "Van Johnson, by Will Johnson, at Countyhistorian.com, 2008".</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>:This article writen and copyright 2008 by Will Johnson, [mailto:wjhonson@aol.com wjhonson@aol.com], Professional Genealogist, All Rights Reserved.  If you'd like to comment on it, you may email me.  You may cite this article as "Van Johnson, by Will Johnson, at Countyhistorian.com, 2008"<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">.  See also my version of this article at Knol.com [http://knol.google.com/k/will-johnson/van-johnson-a-biography/4hmquk6fx4gu/48 here]</ins>.</div></td></tr>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Charles "Van" Johnson was born in Newport, [[Rhode Island]], the son of Loretta Snyder and her husband Charles E Johnson, a Swedish immigrant. Charles' mother, an alcoholic, left the family when Charles was a child.<br></div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Charles "Van" Johnson was born in Newport, [[Rhode Island]], the son of Loretta Snyder and her husband Charles E Johnson, a Swedish immigrant. Charles' mother, an alcoholic, left the family when Charles was a child.<br></div></td></tr>
</table>Wjhonsonhttp://countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php?title=Van_Johnson&diff=20489&oldid=prevWjhonson at 22:56, 14 December 20082008-12-14T22:56:16Z<p></p>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>:This article writen and copyright 2008 by Will Johnson, [mailto:wjhonson@aol.com wjhonson@aol.com], Professional Genealogist, All Rights Reserved.  If you'd like to comment on it, you may email me.  You may cite this article as "Van Johnson, by Will Johnson, at Countyhistorian.com, 2008".</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>:This article writen and copyright 2008 by Will Johnson, [mailto:wjhonson@aol.com wjhonson@aol.com], Professional Genealogist, All Rights Reserved.  If you'd like to comment on it, you may email me.  You may cite this article as "Van Johnson, by Will Johnson, at Countyhistorian.com, 2008".</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="background: #ffa; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Charles "Van" Johnson was born in Newport, Rhode Island, the son of Loretta Snyder and her husband Charles E Johnson, a Swedish immigrant.<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">&nbsp; </del>Charles' mother, an alcoholic, left the family when Charles was a child.<br></div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Charles "Van" Johnson was born in Newport, <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">[[</ins>Rhode Island<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">]]</ins>, the son of Loretta Snyder and her husband Charles E Johnson, a Swedish immigrant. Charles' mother, an alcoholic, left the family when Charles was a child.<br></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="background: #ffa; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Van went to New York City where he appeared in Leonard Sillman's annual revue "New Faces of 1936". In 1939 he had a part in the Broadway show "Too Many Girls" starring Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">. And </del>repeated his role in the 1940 film version. Warner Brothers first put Van on contract but dropped him after several months. At this time, <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">he </del>former co-star Lucille Ball introduced him to an MGM casting director and he was signed there. While there he made several films including at least one in which he was the principal star. He was built-up as the all-American boy-next-door in several pictures, and at one time was a major draw for movie patrons. Among others, he played opposite June Allyson, [http://www.countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php/Elizabeth_Taylor Elizabeth Taylor] and Esther Williams. He also appeared with [http://www.countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php/Roddy_McDowall Roddy McDowell] in "The White Cliffs of Dover".<br></div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Van went to New York City where he appeared in <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">[[</ins>Leonard Sillman<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">]]</ins>'s annual revue "New Faces of 1936". In 1939 he had a part in the Broadway show "Too Many Girls" starring Desi Arnaz and <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">[[</ins>Lucille Ball<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">]], and </ins>repeated his role in the 1940 film version. Warner Brothers first put Van on contract but dropped him after several months. At this time, <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">his </ins>former co-star Lucille Ball introduced him to an MGM casting director and he was signed there. While there he made several films including at least one in which he was the principal star. He was built-up as the all-American boy-next-door in several pictures, and at one time was a major draw for movie patrons. Among others, he played opposite June Allyson, [http://www.countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php/Elizabeth_Taylor Elizabeth Taylor] and Esther Williams. He also appeared with [http://www.countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php/Roddy_McDowall Roddy McDowell] in "The White Cliffs of Dover".<br></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div><td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Van_Johnson_in_The_Last_Time_I_Saw_Paris_trailer.JPG</td></tr></table></div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div><td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Van_Johnson_in_The_Last_Time_I_Saw_Paris_trailer.JPG</td></tr></table></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="background: #ffa; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Van had just signed a seven-year deal with MGM, when in 1943 he was involved in an auto accident which almost killed him. With him in the car were his closest friends Keenan Wynn (1916-1986) and Keenan's wife Eve Abbott (1914-2004). Eve was a former stage actress, and Keenan was a television and film actor at the time. (Keenan Wynn was also the son of Ed Wynn (1886-1966), the actor most famous perhaps today, as "Uncle Albert" in the film "Mary Poppins" with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.) Four years later, Eve and Keenan divorced and on the same day she married Van. Eve and Van had one child, a girl Schuyler. Van Johnson was however fundamentally gay, the marriage, according to Eve had been engineered by Louis B Meyer who refused to renew Keenan's contract unless Eve married Van Johnson, to dispel rumors that Van was gay. By this marriage, Van also became the stepfather to Edmund "Ned" Wynn and Tracy Keenan Wynn.<br></div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Van had just signed a seven-year deal with MGM, when in 1943 he was involved in an auto accident which almost killed him. With him in the car were his closest friends Keenan Wynn (1916-1986) and Keenan's wife Eve Abbott (1914-2004). Eve was a former stage actress, and Keenan was a television and film actor at the time. (Keenan Wynn was also the son of Ed Wynn (1886-1966), the actor most famous perhaps today, as "Uncle Albert" in the film "Mary Poppins" with <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">[[</ins>Julie Andrews<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">]] </ins>and Dick Van Dyke.) Four years later, Eve and Keenan divorced and on the same day she married Van. Eve and Van had one child, a girl Schuyler. Van Johnson was however fundamentally gay, the marriage, according to Eve had been engineered by Louis B Meyer who refused to renew Keenan's contract unless Eve married Van Johnson, to dispel rumors that Van was gay. By this marriage, Van also became the stepfather to Edmund "Ned" Wynn and Tracy Keenan Wynn.<br></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div><br></div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div><br></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="background: #ffa; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>During the war, he starred in the film "Two Girls and a Sailor" opposite June Allyson, and Gloria DeHaven. Van left MGM to join Columbia and appeared in several pictures there.  This time period saw two of his most memorable appearances, in 1954 opposite Gene Kelly in "Brigadoon" and in 1957 as the title character in the Pied Piper of Hamelin. He also appeared with Humphrey Bogart in "The Caine Mutiny". Starring vehicles for Van dried up, and he was consigned to playing sidekicks, neighbors and supporting roles, he also made sporadic appearances on television shows as a guest star for several years.<br></div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>During the war, he starred in the film "Two Girls and a Sailor" opposite June Allyson, and Gloria DeHaven. Van left MGM to join Columbia and appeared in several pictures there.  This time period saw two of his most memorable appearances, in 1954 opposite <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">[[</ins>Gene Kelly<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">]] </ins>in "Brigadoon" and in 1957 as the title character in the Pied Piper of Hamelin. He also appeared with <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">[[</ins>Humphrey Bogart<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">]] </ins>in "The Caine Mutiny". Starring vehicles for Van dried up, and he was consigned to playing sidekicks, neighbors and supporting roles, he also made sporadic appearances on television shows as a guest star for several years.<br></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div><br></div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div><br></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Van and Eve seperated in 1961, but would not divorce until some years later in 1968. Van would later state that, "Eve wiped me out in the ugliest divorce in Hollywood history". After some years of retirement, he made a brief comeback in the mid-1980s touring with La Cage aux Folles.<br></div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Van and Eve seperated in 1961, but would not divorce until some years later in 1968. Van would later state that, "Eve wiped me out in the ugliest divorce in Hollywood history". After some years of retirement, he made a brief comeback in the mid-1980s touring with La Cage aux Folles.<br></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="background: #ffa; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Van lived his last years in a nursing facility in the small village of Nyack, New York where he died of natural causes at the age of 92.&nbsp; He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6600 Hollywood Boulevard.<br></div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Van lived his last years in a nursing facility in the small village of Nyack, <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">[[</ins>New York<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">]] </ins>where he died of natural causes at the age of 92.&nbsp; He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6600 Hollywood Boulevard.<br></div></td></tr>
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</table>Wjhonsonhttp://countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php?title=Van_Johnson&diff=20488&oldid=prevWjhonson at 22:51, 14 December 20082008-12-14T22:51:53Z<p></p>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Charles Van Dell "Van" Johnson (25 Aug 1916 - 12 Dec 2008), U.S. actor most well known for his roles as a boy-next-door type in movies from the '40s and '50s for MGM and Columbia Pictures.<br></div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Charles Van Dell "Van" Johnson (25 Aug 1916 - 12 Dec 2008), U.S. actor most well known for his roles as a boy-next-door type in movies from the '40s and '50s for MGM and Columbia Pictures.<br></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div><ins style="color: red; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">:This article writen and copyright 2008 by Will Johnson, [mailto:wjhonson@aol.com wjhonson@aol.com], Professional Genealogist, All Rights Reserved.  If you'd like to comment on it, you may email me.  You may cite this article as "Van Johnson, by Will Johnson, at Countyhistorian.com, 2008".</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div><ins style="color: red; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Charles "Van" Johnson was born in Newport, Rhode Island, the son of Loretta Snyder and her husband Charles E Johnson, a Swedish immigrant.&nbsp; Charles' mother, an alcoholic, left the family when Charles was a child.<br></div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Charles "Van" Johnson was born in Newport, Rhode Island, the son of Loretta Snyder and her husband Charles E Johnson, a Swedish immigrant.&nbsp; Charles' mother, an alcoholic, left the family when Charles was a child.<br></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div><br></div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div><br></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="background: #ffa; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Van went to New York City where he appeared in Leonard Sillman's annual revue "New Faces of 1936".<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">&nbsp; </del>In 1939 he had a part in the Broadway show "Too Many Girls" starring Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball.<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">&nbsp; </del>And repeated his role in the 1940 film version.<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">&nbsp; </del>Warner Brothers first put Van on contract but dropped him after several months.<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">&nbsp; </del>At this time, he former co-star Lucille Ball introduced him to an MGM casting director and he was signed there.<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">&nbsp; </del>While there he made several films including at least one in which he was the principal star.<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">&nbsp; </del>He was built-up as the all-American boy-next-door in several pictures, and at one time was a major draw for movie patrons.<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">&nbsp; </del>Among others, he played opposite June Allyson, <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline"><a href="</del>http://www.countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php/Elizabeth_Taylor<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">"></del>Elizabeth Taylor<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline"></a> </del>and Esther Williams.<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">&nbsp; </del>He also appeared with <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline"><a href="</del>http://www.countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php/Roddy_McDowall<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">"></del>Roddy McDowell<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline"></a> </del>in "The White Cliffs of Dover".<br></div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Van went to New York City where he appeared in Leonard Sillman's annual revue "New Faces of 1936". In 1939 he had a part in the Broadway show "Too Many Girls" starring Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. And repeated his role in the 1940 film version. Warner Brothers first put Van on contract but dropped him after several months. At this time, he former co-star Lucille Ball introduced him to an MGM casting director and he was signed there. While there he made several films including at least one in which he was the principal star. He was built-up as the all-American boy-next-door in several pictures, and at one time was a major draw for movie patrons. Among others, he played opposite June Allyson, <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">[</ins>http://www.countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php/Elizabeth_Taylor Elizabeth Taylor<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">] </ins>and Esther Williams. He also appeared with <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">[</ins>http://www.countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php/Roddy_McDowall Roddy McDowell<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">] </ins>in "The White Cliffs of Dover".<br></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div><td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Van_Johnson_in_The_Last_Time_I_Saw_Paris_trailer.JPG</td></tr></table></div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div><td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Van_Johnson_in_The_Last_Time_I_Saw_Paris_trailer.JPG</td></tr></table></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="background: #ffa; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Van had just signed a seven-year deal with MGM, when in 1943 he was involved in an auto accident which almost killed him.<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">&nbsp; </del>With him <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">at that time </del>were his closest friends Keenan Wynn (1916-1986) and Keenan's wife Eve Abbott (1914-2004).<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">&nbsp; </del>Eve was a former stage actress, and Keenan was a television and film actor at the time.<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">&nbsp; </del>(Keenan Wynn was also the son of Ed Wynn (1886-1966), the actor most famous perhaps today, as "Uncle Albert" in the film "Mary Poppins" with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.)<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">&nbsp; </del>Four years later, Eve and Keenan divorced and on the same day she married Van.<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">&nbsp; </del>Eve and Van had one child, a girl Schuyler.<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">&nbsp; </del>Van Johnson was however fundamentally gay, the marriage, according to Eve had been engineered by Louis B Meyer who refused to renew Keenan's contract unless Eve married Van Johnson.<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">&nbsp; </del>By this marriage, Van also became the stepfather to Edmund "Ned" Wynn and Tracy Keenan Wynn.<br></div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Van had just signed a seven-year deal with MGM, when in 1943 he was involved in an auto accident which almost killed him. With him <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">in the car </ins>were his closest friends Keenan Wynn (1916-1986) and Keenan's wife Eve Abbott (1914-2004). Eve was a former stage actress, and Keenan was a television and film actor at the time. (Keenan Wynn was also the son of Ed Wynn (1886-1966), the actor most famous perhaps today, as "Uncle Albert" in the film "Mary Poppins" with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.) Four years later, Eve and Keenan divorced and on the same day she married Van. Eve and Van had one child, a girl Schuyler. Van Johnson was however fundamentally gay, the marriage, according to Eve had been engineered by Louis B Meyer who refused to renew Keenan's contract unless Eve married Van Johnson<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">, to dispel rumors that Van was gay</ins>. By this marriage, Van also became the stepfather to Edmund "Ned" Wynn and Tracy Keenan Wynn.<br></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div><br></div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div><br></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="background: #ffa; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>During the war, he starred in the film "Two Girls and a Sailor" opposite June Allyson, and Gloria DeHaven.<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">&nbsp; </del>Van left MGM to join Columbia and appeared in several pictures there<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">, including </del>two of his most memorable appearances, in 1954 opposite Gene Kelly in "Brigadoon" and in 1957 as the title character in the Pied Piper of Hamelin.<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">&nbsp; </del>He also appeared with Humphrey Bogart in "The Caine Mutiny".<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">&nbsp; </del>Starring vehicles for Van dried up, and he was consigned to playing sidekicks, neighbors and supporting roles, he also made sporadic appearances on television shows as a guest star for several years.<br></div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>During the war, he starred in the film "Two Girls and a Sailor" opposite June Allyson, and Gloria DeHaven. Van left MGM to join Columbia and appeared in several pictures there<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">.  This time period saw </ins>two of his most memorable appearances, in 1954 opposite Gene Kelly in "Brigadoon" and in 1957 as the title character in the Pied Piper of Hamelin. He also appeared with Humphrey Bogart in "The Caine Mutiny". Starring vehicles for Van dried up, and he was consigned to playing sidekicks, neighbors and supporting roles, he also made sporadic appearances on television shows as a guest star for several years.<br></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div><br></div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div><br></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="background: #ffa; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Van and Eve seperated in 1961, but would not divorce until some years later in 1968.<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">&nbsp; </del>Van would later state that, "Eve wiped me out in the ugliest divorce in Hollywood history".<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">&nbsp; </del>After some years of retirement, he made a brief comeback in the mid-1980s touring with La Cage aux Folles.<br></div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Van and Eve seperated in 1961, but would not divorce until some years later in 1968. Van would later state that, "Eve wiped me out in the ugliest divorce in Hollywood history". After some years of retirement, he made a brief comeback in the mid-1980s touring with La Cage aux Folles.<br></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div><br></div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div><br></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Van lived his last years in a nursing facility in the small village of Nyack, New York where he died of natural causes at the age of 92.&nbsp; He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6600 Hollywood Boulevard.<br></div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Van lived his last years in a nursing facility in the small village of Nyack, New York where he died of natural causes at the age of 92.&nbsp; He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6600 Hollywood Boulevard.<br></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div><ins style="color: red; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">[[Category:California]]</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div><ins style="color: red; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">[[Category:New York]]</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div><ins style="color: red; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">[[Category:Movies and Television]]</ins></div></td></tr>
</table>Wjhonsonhttp://countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php?title=Van_Johnson&diff=20487&oldid=prevWjhonson at 04:56, 14 December 20082008-12-14T04:56:42Z<p></p>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Charles Van Dell "Van" Johnson (25 Aug 1916 - 12 Dec 2008), U.S. actor most well known for his roles as a boy-next-door type in movies from the '40s and '50s for MGM and Columbia Pictures.<br></div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Charles Van Dell "Van" Johnson (25 Aug 1916 - 12 Dec 2008), U.S. actor most well known for his roles as a boy-next-door type in movies from the '40s and '50s for MGM and Columbia Pictures.<br></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Van went to New York City where he appeared in Leonard Sillman's annual revue "New Faces of 1936".&nbsp; In 1939 he had a part in the Broadway show "Too Many Girls" starring Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball.&nbsp; And repeated his role in the 1940 film version.&nbsp; Warner Brothers first put Van on contract but dropped him after several months.&nbsp; At this time, he former co-star Lucille Ball introduced him to an MGM casting director and he was signed there.&nbsp; While there he made several films including at least one in which he was the principal star.&nbsp; He was built-up as the all-American boy-next-door in several pictures, and at one time was a major draw for movie patrons.&nbsp; Among others, he played opposite June Allyson, <a href="http://www.countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php/Elizabeth_Taylor">Elizabeth Taylor</a> and Esther Williams.&nbsp; He also appeared with <a href="http://www.countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php/Roddy_McDowall">Roddy McDowell</a> in "The White Cliffs of Dover".<br></div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Van went to New York City where he appeared in Leonard Sillman's annual revue "New Faces of 1936".&nbsp; In 1939 he had a part in the Broadway show "Too Many Girls" starring Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball.&nbsp; And repeated his role in the 1940 film version.&nbsp; Warner Brothers first put Van on contract but dropped him after several months.&nbsp; At this time, he former co-star Lucille Ball introduced him to an MGM casting director and he was signed there.&nbsp; While there he made several films including at least one in which he was the principal star.&nbsp; He was built-up as the all-American boy-next-door in several pictures, and at one time was a major draw for movie patrons.&nbsp; Among others, he played opposite June Allyson, <a href="http://www.countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php/Elizabeth_Taylor">Elizabeth Taylor</a> and Esther Williams.&nbsp; He also appeared with <a href="http://www.countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php/Roddy_McDowall">Roddy McDowell</a> in "The White Cliffs of Dover".<br></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div><ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline"><td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Van_Johnson_in_The_Last_Time_I_Saw_Paris_trailer.JPG</td></tr></table></ins></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Van had just signed a seven-year deal with MGM, when in 1943 he was involved in an auto accident which almost killed him.&nbsp; With him at that time were his closest friends Keenan Wynn (1916-1986) and Keenan's wife Eve Abbott (1914-2004).&nbsp; Eve was a former stage actress, and Keenan was a television and film actor at the time.&nbsp; (Keenan Wynn was also the son of Ed Wynn (1886-1966), the actor most famous perhaps today, as "Uncle Albert" in the film "Mary Poppins" with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.)&nbsp; Four years later, Eve and Keenan divorced and on the same day she married Van.&nbsp; Eve and Van had one child, a girl Schuyler.&nbsp; Van Johnson was however fundamentally gay, the marriage, according to Eve had been engineered by Louis B Meyer who refused to renew Keenan's contract unless Eve married Van Johnson.&nbsp; By this marriage, Van also became the stepfather to Edmund "Ned" Wynn and Tracy Keenan Wynn.<br></div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;"><div>Van had just signed a seven-year deal with MGM, when in 1943 he was involved in an auto accident which almost killed him.&nbsp; With him at that time were his closest friends Keenan Wynn (1916-1986) and Keenan's wife Eve Abbott (1914-2004).&nbsp; Eve was a former stage actress, and Keenan was a television and film actor at the time.&nbsp; (Keenan Wynn was also the son of Ed Wynn (1886-1966), the actor most famous perhaps today, as "Uncle Albert" in the film "Mary Poppins" with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.)&nbsp; Four years later, Eve and Keenan divorced and on the same day she married Van.&nbsp; Eve and Van had one child, a girl Schuyler.&nbsp; Van Johnson was however fundamentally gay, the marriage, according to Eve had been engineered by Louis B Meyer who refused to renew Keenan's contract unless Eve married Van Johnson.&nbsp; By this marriage, Van also became the stepfather to Edmund "Ned" Wynn and Tracy Keenan Wynn.<br></div></td></tr>
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</table>Wjhonsonhttp://countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php?title=Van_Johnson&diff=20486&oldid=prevWjhonson at 04:55, 14 December 20082008-12-14T04:55:16Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div><div style="margin: 5px 10px; display: inline; float: right;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Van_Johnson_in_The_Last_Time_I_Saw_Paris_trailer.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Van_Johnson_in_The_Last_Time_I_Saw_Paris_trailer.JPG" border="0"></a></div><br />
Charles Van Dell "Van" Johnson (25 Aug 1916 - 12 Dec 2008), U.S. actor most well known for his roles as a boy-next-door type in movies from the '40s and '50s for MGM and Columbia Pictures.<br><br />
<br><br />
Charles "Van" Johnson was born in Newport, Rhode Island, the son of Loretta Snyder and her husband Charles E Johnson, a Swedish immigrant.&nbsp; Charles' mother, an alcoholic, left the family when Charles was a child.<br><br />
<br><br />
Van went to New York City where he appeared in Leonard Sillman's annual revue "New Faces of 1936".&nbsp; In 1939 he had a part in the Broadway show "Too Many Girls" starring Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball.&nbsp; And repeated his role in the 1940 film version.&nbsp; Warner Brothers first put Van on contract but dropped him after several months.&nbsp; At this time, he former co-star Lucille Ball introduced him to an MGM casting director and he was signed there.&nbsp; While there he made several films including at least one in which he was the principal star.&nbsp; He was built-up as the all-American boy-next-door in several pictures, and at one time was a major draw for movie patrons.&nbsp; Among others, he played opposite June Allyson, <a href="http://www.countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php/Elizabeth_Taylor">Elizabeth Taylor</a> and Esther Williams.&nbsp; He also appeared with <a href="http://www.countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php/Roddy_McDowall">Roddy McDowell</a> in "The White Cliffs of Dover".<br><br />
<br><br />
Van had just signed a seven-year deal with MGM, when in 1943 he was involved in an auto accident which almost killed him.&nbsp; With him at that time were his closest friends Keenan Wynn (1916-1986) and Keenan's wife Eve Abbott (1914-2004).&nbsp; Eve was a former stage actress, and Keenan was a television and film actor at the time.&nbsp; (Keenan Wynn was also the son of Ed Wynn (1886-1966), the actor most famous perhaps today, as "Uncle Albert" in the film "Mary Poppins" with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.)&nbsp; Four years later, Eve and Keenan divorced and on the same day she married Van.&nbsp; Eve and Van had one child, a girl Schuyler.&nbsp; Van Johnson was however fundamentally gay, the marriage, according to Eve had been engineered by Louis B Meyer who refused to renew Keenan's contract unless Eve married Van Johnson.&nbsp; By this marriage, Van also became the stepfather to Edmund "Ned" Wynn and Tracy Keenan Wynn.<br><br />
<br><br />
During the war, he starred in the film "Two Girls and a Sailor" opposite June Allyson, and Gloria DeHaven.&nbsp; Van left MGM to join Columbia and appeared in several pictures there, including two of his most memorable appearances, in 1954 opposite Gene Kelly in "Brigadoon" and in 1957 as the title character in the Pied Piper of Hamelin.&nbsp; He also appeared with Humphrey Bogart in "The Caine Mutiny".&nbsp; Starring vehicles for Van dried up, and he was consigned to playing sidekicks, neighbors and supporting roles, he also made sporadic appearances on television shows as a guest star for several years.<br><br />
<br><br />
Van and Eve seperated in 1961, but would not divorce until some years later in 1968.&nbsp; Van would later state that, "Eve wiped me out in the ugliest divorce in Hollywood history".&nbsp; After some years of retirement, he made a brief comeback in the mid-1980s touring with La Cage aux Folles.<br><br />
<br><br />
Van lived his last years in a nursing facility in the small village of Nyack, New York where he died of natural causes at the age of 92.&nbsp; He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6600 Hollywood Boulevard.<br></div>Wjhonson