"Who said anything about goofing off?"-Van Johnson

Hello, all.

I have no book to post about (yet), and I already did a post on January's Star of the Month, but I just felt like posting something.

So, here's a fun post (not that all of my posts aren't fun for me)!

It's about one of my favorite actors, so I hope you enjoy!

Van Johnson

Born August 25, 1916

Died December 12, 2008

Charles Van Dell Johnson was born in Rhode Island in 1916. He was an only child, and had a troubled childhood. His mother was an alcoholic and left the small family when Johnson was very young, and he never seemed to get along very well with his father. He was known for his cheerful attitude throughout his life, but behind the scenes was said to be easily upset by things and suffered from bouts of melancholy.

Johnson was interested in acting and theater from an early age. He performed for social clubs and other such groups when he was in high school. Once he graduated he concentrated on building a career for himself, moving to New York City in 1935. His first big acting gig was a part in New Faces of 1936 on Broadway. After that he had small chorus jobs, off and on, until he was cast in the movie Too Many Girls in 1939. It was with many thanks to Lucille Ball that Johnson got his first contract with Warner Brothers Studios. His relationship with the studio didn't last long, but helped with publicity. Once he was finished with Warner, he gained a lasting contract with MGM.

Johnson starred in around 35 major motion pictures for MGM from 1943-1954. His first big film role with the studio was in A Guy Named Joe (1943), but some of his other well known roles were Marcus Macauley in The Human Comedy (1943), Ted Lawson in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944), Andrew Larkin in In the Good Old Summertime (1949), Daniel Pierce in Invitation (1952), and Charles Wills in The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954).

Johnson's career didn't end when he left MGM, however. He went on to star in around 18 more movies, and was a part of 21 television productions. It is believed that he started the idea/tradition of "sitcom-walk on" appearances when he made a cameo appearance on the I Love Lucy Show in 1955.

Johnson was married to actress Eve Abbott from 1947 to 1968. The couple had only one child, a daughter named Schuyler (which is one of my favorite names....but only if I pronounce it.Which I supposedly do incorrectly). He stayed active in his career until 1992, when he went into retirement. Van Johnson died of natural causes in 2008, at the age of 92.

Now, I picked a movie starring Van Johnson (and alot of other people), which he made during his time at MGM.

Battleground

1949

Starring Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy, and James Whitmore

Battleground is a WWII film that tells the true story of the 101st Airborn Division. The soldiers are in Bastogne, Belgium. They were sent to the frontlines to try and cut off a suspected German attack. There is a change of location several times, until the troops end up on the outskirts of town, in the woods. They are attacked at dawn, and over the next couple of days, the small division finds themselves surrounded, low on ammunition, and soon low in numbers as men get wounded and killed. There is a snow storm, and the weather conditions prohibit transport planes from delivering supplies. But the group perseveres until they can be relieved, earning themselves the nickname "Battered Bastards of Bastogne." The siege of Bastogne is a victory for the American troops.

There are several remarkable things about the movie Battleground. One is that it is considered to be the first significant film about WWII that was released shortly after the war. Also, 20 veterans from the 101st Airborn Division were called in to help train all the actors, and they acted as extras on the movie set. The movie is excellent, and received a good deal of recognition for portraying a very vulnerable side to the soldiers.The movie won 2 Academy Awards.

That's all for today!

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