Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's «Golden Boy,» also known as Van Johnson, was born Charles Van Dell Johnson on August 25, 1916 in Newport, Rhode Island. He was the only child of Loretta (neé Snyder), a housewife from a Pennsylvania Dutch background, and Charles E. Johnson, a plumber and later real-estate salesman of Swedish descent. From the beginning, the free-spirited Loretta felt miserable in her marriage to Charles, a tough-minded, pragmatic man who valued thrift over material comfort. The arrival of a son merely added more pressure to the young couple's dismal relationship, and ultimately drove Loretta to alcoholism. When Van was only three years old, Loretta abandoned the family and fled to Brooklyn, New York in pursuit of a livelier and more fulfilled existence. Van would not see her mother again until he was in his late teens. Commenting on his parents' divorce years later, Van said, « I was too young to comprehend it then and today I deliberately don't try .» LEFT: