Van the Man

The great Van Johnson (1916-2008) has died at age 92. He's worth commemorating for at least two reasons --

Primarily, his portrayal of PFC Holley, the central character in Battleground, perhaps the best WWII movie ever made. I typically watch Battleground around this time each year, and was just getting ready to pop in the DVD when I heard the news. There are, of course, a number of great WWII films (and plenty of lousy ones), but Battleground stands out for its believable and eye-level portrayal of a band of brothers (before the Band of Brothers) during a difficult turn in the war. I particularly like how it molds each of the characters into distinct, identifiable, and (most importantly) genuine roles with whom it's easy to connect.

If you haven't seen Battleground, rent, borrow, buy or steal it NOW (okay, don't steal it).

The second reason is a little-known fact -- Van Johnson was actually given serious consideration for the lead role in WWII television classic, Hogan's Heroes. Don't ask me how I know this; just trust me...

His full credits are here. RIP.