Van Johnson's dazzling smile, shock of red hair, and suntanned
freckled cheeks made him a movie-star icon. Among teenaged girls in
the 1940s, he was popularized as the bobbysoxer's heartthrob. He
won the nation's heart, too, by appearing in a series of
blockbuster war films - A Guy Named Joe, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo,
Weekend at the Waldorf, and Battleground. Perennially a leading man
opposite June Allyson, Esther Williams, Judy Garland, and Janet
Leigh, he rose to fame radiating the sunshine image
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer chose for him, that of an affable, wholesome
boy-next-door. Legions of adoring moviegoers were captivated by
this idealized persona that generated huge box-office profits for
the studio. However, Johnson's off-screen life was not so sunny.
His mother had rejected him in childhood, and he lived his adult
life dealing with sexual ambivalence. A marriage was arranged with
the ex-wife of his best friend, the actor Keenan Wynn. During the
waning years of Hollywood's Golden Age, she and Johnson lived amid
the glow of Hollywood's A-crowd. Yet their private life was charged
with tension and conflict. Although morose and reclusive by nature,
Johnson maintained a happy-go-lucky facade, even among co-workers
who knew him as a congenial, dedicated professional. Once free of
the golden-boy stereotype, he became a respected actor assigned
stellar roles in such acclaimed films as State of the Union,
Command Decision, The Last Time I Saw Paris, and The Caine Mutiny.
With the demise of the big studios, Johnson returned to the stage,
where he had begun his career as a song-and-dance man. After this,
he appeared frequently in television shows, performed in
nightclubs, and became the legendary darling of older audiences on
the dinner playhouse circuit. Johnson (1916-2008) spent his
post-Hollywood years living in solitude in New York City. This
solid, thoroughly researched biography traces the career and
influence of a favorite star and narrates a fascinating, sometimes
troubled life story.
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