Van Johnson

A very likeable guy; you could never imagine him playing a villain. The sort of "boy next door", not like Rees Witherspoon, "the girl next door who can't wait to get out of town"; no, the boy next door who likes living next to you.
He walked heavily with a sort of roll like a sailor, so I could not think of him as a dancer. So I was quite surprised to see his name at the head of an advert for "The Music Man" many years ago in London. This would be after his great successes in Hollywood - on the downward path after great success like many actors who then trod the boards in America and London.
I don't consider him a great actor - I cannot visualise him playing any of the great theatrical roles - but I see him as a second star, a backup actor supporting a greater actor as with Humphrey Bogart in "The Caine Mutiny" and Gene Kelly in "Brigadoon".
His blind detective in "10 Paces to Baker Street" was not mentioned in The Times obituary: I thought that was one of his best roles.
It always struck me that when he spoke it was as if he was about to make a speech, somehow it wasn't a natural way to speak. This too I always felt about Walter Pigeon. The result was that neither could never debase the character they were playing, they were always a trifle grand in their roles. Neither would play tragedy. Nor comedy. They were both themselves. Always. Not dull but it was as if they were afraid of making fools of themselves.