Van Johnson: MGM’s Golden Boy (Hollywood Legends Series) | 
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Product Description
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 façade 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. Ronald L. Davis is the author of Hollywood Beauty: Linda Darnell and the American Dream, John Ford: Hollywood's Old Master, and Duke: The Life and Image of John Wayne. He is a professor of history at Southern Methodist University and the general editor of University Press of Mississippi's Hollywood Legends Series.
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Customer Reviews:
• Van Johnson:mgm's Golden Boy 14 September, 2005
Having been of fan of this actor for years, it was a pleasure to read a book that was filled with information about his life. The book was a fair and balanced look at the actor's life. I learned a great deal about his early years in Rhode Island and how he became an actor. Since there are so few books about Van Johnson out there, this is a good one to read.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2N09YBL90PH3I
• Not The Van I Know - A Hack Job On A Friend & Good Man 28 April, 2005
As a screenwriter and friend of Van Johnson, I have knowledge of this man in both professional & private settings. Now living on opposite ends of the country, we see very little of each other, but stay in contact by phone & e-mail. The last time my wife & I saw the Johnson's was in Las Vegas where Van had a showing of his paintings at the MGM Grand. First of all, rumors of homosexuality are false. Placing that tag on good looking actors is considered a Hollywood pasttime whose victims have been Cary Grant, Randolf Scott, Howard Hughes to Tom Cruise & Keanu Reeves. Van is a warm, non-judgmental, kind and humorous human being. All this and more besides being an outstanding actor when given the right role(Caine Mutiny). His personal and family problems are similiar to the crosses people in all walks of life have to bear. Yet, Van has always rebounded with hope & eternal optimism. This is a great guy with limitless good qualities. Approaching 90, that twinkle in his eyes remains ever present.
- Reviewed by customer ID: AM61WPMZE2DHV
• I'm Amazed At The Man 29 November, 2008
The writing was well done. I was surprised to find Van Johnson was such a sad man, HE kept himself walled off from family and potential friends. His indifference to his daughter, was the sadest of all, he missed an opportunity for almost unconditional love. I'll still enjoy his movies, but pity the man.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1DF3U1TKGXS4H
• An Unfair Accounting 28 January, 2006
Although I was born about the time of Van Johnson's rising star, being a movie buff of ole films, I have enjoyed his movies so much through the years. His warmth and boy next door charm seemed to always add something very special to the movies he was in. Having read Ronald Davis's accounting of his life, however, left me feeling very frustrated at times over Mr. Davis' determination to state Van Johnson's sexual preference with the very slimmest of evidence to back it up. He begins the book and ends it with the same proposition, and because I did not find his book so well researched or definitive, I think the jury is still out on this one. Ronald Davis' writing often seemed like fan magazine articles pieced together. Having loved Van Johnson for many years as a screen star, I am sad that there is not more out there of greater quality to read on his life.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1Z25H5C0A8N7V
• Look Past The Agenda To See Van. 13 July, 2008
Van Johnson had a successful career as an actor for many decades. He started out in theater when he moved from his single-parent home (with his father) in Newport to the bright lights of New York. He struggled for a long time before making any impression, but it was his winning smile and decent musical abilities that brought him to Hollywood. Although not initially signed there, MGM became his home. He quickly became a star when a horrible car accident almost left him dead. His bravery throughout his reconstructive surgery endeared him to young female audiences. Unable to go to war, Johnson fought at home by playing countless soldiers on film. When MGM dismantled, he wandered from movie to movie, but found solace in dinner theater and big productions.
It is difficult to write books about people who are still alive, not only because you run the risk of your book being incomplete, but also because the subjects might not want certain information to be published. Ronald Davis argues that Johnson and his friends did not want this book released because he asserts that Johnson is homosexual, but that in the interest of protecting fact, Davis published it anyway. It seems that proving Johnson's sexual orientation is a project for Davis, and it is constantly brought up throughout the book, but the arguement is weak and unconvincing.
I will say, however, that in spite of this annoying agenda, the book does a good job of exploring Johnson's life and movies. It is informative and interesting and relies on many quotes from Johnson's ex-wife Eve, her son Ned Wynn, and from Johnson's own interviews over the years. Everyone has bad times, so it would be unrealistic to think that in his own life, Johnson is as squeeky clean as the boys he played in the movies, but this book is mostly positive about him. It does not hail him as a movie icon, but simply as a pleasant star from MGM's golden era. Fans seeking information about him will not be left unsatisfied.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A37S3ACL57LN62
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