More Van

Mark your calendars -- Van Johnson's 88th birthday is coming up on August 25.

And to mark the occasion, I have written Mr. Johnson a fan letter. And yes, I am incredibly polite and address it to Mr. Johnson. I feel that both my youth and the fact that I don't really know him require the more formal address.

Some fun excerpts:

after seeing some of your films, I was interested in learning more about your life, both in and outside of the movies, but there isn’t much about you. I did manage to find a biography (Van Johnson: MGM’s Golden Boy), but it was mostly second and third hand information. Have you ever considered writing an autobiography? I’ve read quite a few of them by your contemporaries – Esther Williams, Mickey Rooney, Ava Gardner, Lana Turner – and I’ve found that autobiographies are always more interesting because they have the first person point of view, rather than the biographer drawing conclusions from interviews and other sources of information. But, I do also understand that, despite being a celebrity, you have a right to your privacy. Just know that if you were to write your memoirs, I’d definitely buy a copy.

It must have been an exciting time to be part of the studio system, back in the early 1940s at MGM. And to be able to meet all the other movie stars of the time! I’ve never had any aspirations towards acting (that’s why I’m a librarian!), but I can understand why you wanted to get autographs after starting at MGM. And speaking of autographs, do you think that you could send me yours? I’m enclosing a self-address stamped envelope for your convenience, and I would very, very much appreciate it if you wouldn’t mind.

[...]

From reading about you, I have one burning question: Why red socks? From what I was able to find about them, you wore them for a conversation starter. What kind of conversation did they spark?

Hopefully, I'll get answers to my questions and an autograph. I'm not big on autographs, but I would love, love, love to get his autograph. And it's either write a flattering letter, or buy one off of Ebay. And I don't want to pay for it! Well, except for postage.

If I get a response, it'll be scanned and posted here!