ACTOR
Van Johnson
- Known for
- The Caine Mutiny (1954), Rich Man, Poor Man (1976), Killer Crocodile (1989)
22 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
Van Johnson is an actor best known for The Caine Mutiny, Rich Man, Poor Man and Killer Crocodile.
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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 a month in support. He responded that she had not helped raise him, so although he was willing to give her money, she had no legal right to support; the matter was eventually settled out of court, with Johnson agreeing to pay her four hundred dollars a month.
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His wife Eve was first married to Keenan Wynn. She married Johnson the very day she divorced Wynn, only four hours after the divorce was finalized. Johnson had spent more than a month recovering at the Wynns' home after a nearly fatal car accident (Keenan was his best friend), and word reached Louis B. Mayer that sparks were flying. The film mogul saw the relationship as a way to dispel rumors circulating about Johnson's sexuality. Despite Mayer's earlier matchmaking attempts (arranging dates with Gloria DeHaven, June Allyson and even Sonja Henie, with no romantic connection), only Evie Wynn appealed to him. Although they did genuinely fall in love, Mayer cemented the arrangement by granting Keenan unusual career concessions: a better contract, no standard twelve-week layoffs and better roles… all areas that would benefit him and his children. According to her son Ned Wynn, she later left him for his male tennis instructor.
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