Screen Heartthrob Van Johnson Dies

"I was on the Onassis yacht with Winston Churchill. He got his canvas out and so did I. He was working away, and he growled at me, `Don't just sit there and stare! Get some paint and splash it on!'"

In this Feb. 9, 1963 file photo, actor Van Johnson, right, poses with actress Janet Leigh during the...

In this Feb. 9, 1963 file photo, actor Van Johnson, right, poses with actress Janet Leigh during the filming of "Wives and Lovers." Family friend Wendy Bleiweiss says Johnson died Friday at the Tappan Zee Manor, an assisted living center, in Nyack, N.Y. He was 92. (AP Photo/ Donn Brinn, file)

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He was born Charles Van Dell Johnson on Aug. 25, 1916, in Newport, R.I., where his father was a real estate salesman. From his earliest years he was fascinated by the touring companies that played in Newport theaters, and after high school he announced his intention to try his luck in New York. He arrived in 1934 with $5 and his belongings packed in a straw suitcase.

Johnson's tour of casting offices landed him nothing but chorus jobs. He went to Hollywood for a bit in the movie of "Too Many Girls," then was signed to a Warner Bros. contract.

"First the zenith, then the nadir," Johnson recalled. "Warner Bros. dropped me after `Murder in the Big House.'"

The discouraged young actor was about to return to New York when Ball, whom he knew on "Too Many Girls," invited him to dinner at Chasen's restaurant.

"Lucille tried to cheer me up, but I just couldn't seem to laugh," he said in a 1963 interview. "Suddenly she said to me, `There's Billy Grady over there; he's MGM's casting director. I'm going to introduce you, and at least you're going to act like you're the star I think you will be.'"

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Associated Press writer Bob Thomas in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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