Charles Van Dell Johnson (August 25, 1916 â€" December 12, 2008) was
an American film, television, theatre and radio actor, singer, and
dancer. He was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during and after
World War II.Johnson was the embodiment of the "boy-next-door
wholesomeness" which made him a popular Hollywood star in the 1940s
and 1950s, playing "the red-haired, freckle-faced soldier, sailor, or
bomber pilot who used to live down the street" in MGM films during the
war years, with such films as Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, A Guy Named
Joe, and The Human Comedy. He made occasional World War II films
through the end of the 1960s, and he played a military officer in one
of his final feature films in 1992. At the time of his death in
December 2008, he was one of the last surviving matinee idols of
Hollywood's "golden age".Johnson was born in Newport, Rhode Island,
the only child of Loretta (née Snyder) and Charles E. Johnson, a
plumber and later a real-estate salesman. His father was born in
Sweden and came to the United States as a young child, and his mother
had Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. His mother was allegedly an alcoholic
who left the family when he was a child, and he was not close to his
father.Johnson performed at social clubs in Newport while in high
school. He moved to New York City after graduation in 1935 and joined
the off-Broadway review Entre Nous.
an American film, television, theatre and radio actor, singer, and
dancer. He was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during and after
World War II.Johnson was the embodiment of the "boy-next-door
wholesomeness" which made him a popular Hollywood star in the 1940s
and 1950s, playing "the red-haired, freckle-faced soldier, sailor, or
bomber pilot who used to live down the street" in MGM films during the
war years, with such films as Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, A Guy Named
Joe, and The Human Comedy. He made occasional World War II films
through the end of the 1960s, and he played a military officer in one
of his final feature films in 1992. At the time of his death in
December 2008, he was one of the last surviving matinee idols of
Hollywood's "golden age".Johnson was born in Newport, Rhode Island,
the only child of Loretta (née Snyder) and Charles E. Johnson, a
plumber and later a real-estate salesman. His father was born in
Sweden and came to the United States as a young child, and his mother
had Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. His mother was allegedly an alcoholic
who left the family when he was a child, and he was not close to his
father.Johnson performed at social clubs in Newport while in high
school. He moved to New York City after graduation in 1935 and joined
the off-Broadway review Entre Nous.
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