Lucille Ball was a good friend to him for decades. Van guest-starred on her classic TV show on one of her "trip to Hollywood" episodes where they dueted on the song "How About You?" Ball later insisted he take a prime role in her film Yours, Mine and Ours (1968) with Henry Fonda.
After Van Heflin turned down the role of Elliot Ness on "The Untouchables" (1959) it was offered to Johnson. He turned it down as well.
Daughter Schuyler V. Johnson born January 6, 1948.
He first received top billing in 1944 with Two Girls and a Sailor (1944).
He had skin cancer surgery in 1963.
He made his Broadway debut in 1936 in "New Faces of 1936," (an annual revue that had also introduced Imogene Coca and Henry Fonda in 1934). Van would appear in a total of 7 Broadway shows to date, including the original cast production of "Pal Joey" in 1940-41 and last appearing in "La Cage aux Folles" in 1987.
He was Gene Kelly's understudy in the Broadway production of "Pal Joey".
He was driving to a special screening of Keeper of the Flame (1942) when he was involved in the road accident that left him with a metal plate in his forehead.
His bobbysoxer popularity was such that he was nicknamed "The Voicelss Sinatra.".
His father's name was Charles Johnson, a realtor. His mother's first name was Loretta.
His mother had been a dietitian at MGM.
His mother was born in 1893.
His mother, Loretta Neumann Johnson, was born February 5, 1893. She died January 1978 in Palo Alto, CA.
His mother, Loretta Neumann was an alcoholic who abandoned him as a child. In November 1954, she resurfaced and sued him for nine hundred dollars monthly support. He fought back, saying she did not help raise him so, although he was willing to give her money, she was not entitled to court-ordered support. It was eventually settled out of court and he agreed to pay her four hundred dollars a month.
His wife, Eve, was first married to Keenan Wynn. She married Johnson on the very day of her divorce from Wynn, only four hours after that divorce was finalized. Johnson had spent more a month recuperating from his near-fatal car accident at the Wynn's home (Keenan was his best friend) during his recovery and word got back to Louis B. Mayer that sparks had flown. The film mogul saw this relationship as a way to dispel rumors circulating about Johnson's sexuality. Despite Mayer's earlier attempts at matchmaking (he'd arranged dates with Gloria DeHaven, June Allyson and even Sonja Henie without making a love connection) only Evie Wynn appealed to him. Although they were genuinely in love, Mayer cemented the deal by providing unusual career concessions for Keenan: a better contract, no standard 12-week layoffs, and better roles... all areas that would benefit her and her children. He later left her for her male tennis instructor according to her son, Ned Wynn.
It was Rosalind Russell who helped him overcome his fear of live audiences after goading him into performing in nightclubs. He made his Las Vegas debut in the 1950s.
Referenced in the second episode of "American Horror Story" (2011). Jessica Lange's character says that her husband looked like Van Johnson.
Stepfather of Ned Wynn and Tracy Keenan Wynn.
The scars from the injury received in a car crash described in his biography are very evident in The Caine Mutiny (1954).
Van is referenced in the song "Prehistoric Man" from the musical On the Town (1949).