Van Johnson
Actor/Artist
THE LEGEND
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Born Charles Van Dell Johnson in Newport Rhode Island on August 25, 1916. Van was the only child of Loretta (née Snyder) and Charles E. Johnson.
Early in his life Van set his heart on becoming an actor. After graduating from Rodger High School Van worked for his father but his urge to act was so strong that he left to New York where he landed a job as a chorus boy for the musical New Faces. Van went on to perform in Eight Men of Manhattan, To Many Girls as well as in Paljoey where he was the understudy for Gene Kelly.
In 1941, MGM signed Van to a longtime contract. Van went on to star in 125 films but it was Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo that made him a bona fide superstar. Van was such a huge box office success that in 1945 and 1946 his box office earnings garnered him the number two and number three box office rankings in the U.S., respectively.