VAN AND SOUP
One of my favorite "movie stars" I worked with at the Meadowbrook, was Van Johnson, a wonderful, kind and caring man. I had a rather large role in a production of "There's a Girl in my Soup." playing the cockney boyfriend of the Girl. It was great fun and I became quite good at the accent after a bit of coaching.
The show was a hit with the critics. In fact, I received an award later in the year as Best All Around Featured Actor from The New Jersey Drama Critics. (Surprise, who knew they were a group.)
At any rate, shortly after the show closed, I received a phone call from Van. It seemed that his agent had booked him in quite a lot of theaters around the country doing "Soup" (sort of a mini-tour). He very kindly asked me to be in the cast as it moved from venue to venue taking which would entail about a year.
I pondered it for a day and called him back and declined. I was young and a little stupid, I daresay.
I just couldn't leave New York for that length of time. I might miss my big break!
So much for the road not taken. I wonder....... Oh well, Van will always have a special place in my heart and I was saddened by his passing a few years ago. As I said, he was a wonderful, kind and caring man. In retrospect, I wish I had been savvy enough to ask about his years at M-G-M and working with Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor, Esther Williams, etc...…...Alas, hind sight has only become a strong suit as I age.
The show was a hit with the critics. In fact, I received an award later in the year as Best All Around Featured Actor from The New Jersey Drama Critics. (Surprise, who knew they were a group.)
At any rate, shortly after the show closed, I received a phone call from Van. It seemed that his agent had booked him in quite a lot of theaters around the country doing "Soup" (sort of a mini-tour). He very kindly asked me to be in the cast as it moved from venue to venue taking which would entail about a year.
I pondered it for a day and called him back and declined. I was young and a little stupid, I daresay.
I just couldn't leave New York for that length of time. I might miss my big break!
So much for the road not taken. I wonder....... Oh well, Van will always have a special place in my heart and I was saddened by his passing a few years ago. As I said, he was a wonderful, kind and caring man. In retrospect, I wish I had been savvy enough to ask about his years at M-G-M and working with Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor, Esther Williams, etc...…...Alas, hind sight has only become a strong suit as I age.
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