Julanne Johnston (May 1, 1900 – December 26, 1988) was an American

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

actress.

Biography

Johnston was born and educated in Indianapolis, Indiana; then her family moved to Hollywood, where she took dancing lessons at the Denishawn School and acted with

Neely Dickson Neely Dickson (May 19, 1877 – January 25, 1946) was an American theater impresario, drama teacher, and founder of the Hollywood Community Theater (1917–1922) and its subsequent school. Early life and education She was born Nelie May Dicks ...

's Hollywood Community Theatre for two years. She also attended the

Hollywood School for Girls The Women's Club of Hollywood, also known as the Hollywood Club LA, serves as a social and philanthropic organization with close connections to the local film industry. The historic women's club sits on the former campus of the Hollywood School ...

. Johnston began her career as a solo dancer and toured with

Ruth St. Denis Ruth St. Denis (born Ruth Dennis; January 20, 1879 – July 21, 1968) was an American pioneer of modern dance, introducing eastern ideas into the art and paving the way for other women in dance. She was inspired by the Delsarte advocate Gene ...

during summer vacations from school. In 1924, she was selected to be a WAMPAS Baby Star.

Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor and filmmaker best known for being the first actor to play the masked Vigilante Zorro and other swashbuckler film, swashbu ...

saw Johnston dance in a theater before the premiere of his film ''Robin Hood'', and this exposure resulted in his signing her to be the leading lady in '' The Thief of Bagdad'', with

Anna May Wong Wong Liu Tsong (January 3, 1905 – February 3, 1961), known professionally as Anna May Wong, was an American actress, considered the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood, as well as the first Chinese American actress to gain internat ...

in 1924. The same year, she was on

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...

's yacht the ''

Oneida Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida N ...

'' during the weekend in November 1924 when film director and producer Thomas Ince later died of apparent heart failure (many conspiracy theories exist about Ince's death). Johnston retired from acting in 1934.

Personal life

Johnston married David W. Rust, and they lived in Detroit, Michigan. They had one child, David Wendell Rust. Johnston lost her 62-year-old husband and her 29-year-old son within the space of six years. She died in

Grosse Pointe, Michigan Grosse Pointe is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 5,678. Grosse Pointe is an eastern suburb of Metro Detroit along La ...

, at the age of 88. Her remains were buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit.

Partial filmography

* ''

Youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...

'' (1917, uncredited) * '' Better Times'' (1919) * '' Miss Hobbs'' (1920) - Millicent Farey * ''Fickle Women'' (1920) - Janie Cullison * ''Seeing It Through'' (1920) - Janice Wilson * '' The Young Rajah'' (1922) - Dancing Girl (uncredited) * '' Madness of Youth'' (1923) - The Dancer * '' The Brass Bottle'' (1923) * ''Tea: With a Kick!'' (1923) - Gwen Van Peebles * '' The Thief of Bagdad'' (1924) - The Princess * '' Garragan'' (1924) * '' The City of Temptation'' (1925) - Wanda Menkoff * '' Big Pal'' (1925) - Helen Truscott * ''

The Big Parade ''The Big Parade'' is a 1925 American silent war drama film directed by King Vidor, starring John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, Hobart Bosworth, Tom O'Brien, and Karl Dane. Written by World War I veteran Laurence Stallings, the film is about an ...

'' (1925) - Justine Devereux (uncredited) * ''

The Prude's Fall ''The Prude's Fall'' is a 1925 British silent drama film directed by Graham Cutts and starring Jane Novak, Julanne Johnston, and Warwick Ward. The film was shot at Islington Studios, produced by a company that would soon develop into Gains ...

'' (1925) - Sonia Roubetsky * ''Captain Fearless'' (1925) * '' Pleasures of the Rich'' (1926) - Phyliss Worthing * '' Aloma of the South Seas'' (1926) - Sylvia * '' Dame Chance'' (1926) - Gail Vernon * '' Twinkletoes'' (1926) - Lilac * '' Venus of Venice'' (1927) - Jean * ''Die selige Exzellenz'' (1927) - Vanda Mekoff * '' Good Time Charley'' (1927) - Elaine Keene * '' Her Wild Oat'' (1927) - Miss Whitley * '' The Whip Woman'' (1928) - Mme. Haldane * '' Name the Woman'' (1928) - Nina Palmer * '' The Olympic Hero'' (1928) - Mary Brown * ''

Oh, Kay! ''Oh, Kay!'' is a musical with music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and a book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse. It is based on the play ''La Présidente'' by Maurice Hennequin and Pierre Veber. The plot revolves around the adve ...

'' (1928) - Constance Appleton * '' Synthetic Sin'' (1929) - Member of Frank's Gang #5 * ''

The Younger Generation ''The Younger Generation'' is a 1929 sound part-talkie American drama film directed by Frank Capra and starring Ricardo Cortez. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical scor ...

'' (1929) - Irma Striker (uncredited) * '' Prisoners'' (1929) - Lenke * '' Smiling Irish Eyes'' (1929) - Goldie Devore * ''

The Show of Shows ''The Show of Shows'' (the title shown as ''Show of Shows'' in the actual film and in the advertising) is a 1929 American sound ( All-Talking) pre-Code musical revue film directed by John G. Adolfi and distributed by Warner Bros. The all-t ...

'' (1929) - Performer in 'Ladies of the Ensemble' Number * '' General Crack'' (1929) - Court Lady * '' Strictly Modern'' (1930) - Aimee Spencer * '' Golden Dawn'' (1930) - Sister Hedwig * ''

Madam Satan ''Madam Satan'' or ''Madame Satan'' is a 1930 American pre-Code musical comedy film in black and white with Multicolor sequences. It was produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starred Kay Johnson, Reginald Denny, Lillian Roth, and ...

'' (1930) - Miss Conning Tower * ''

Stepping Sisters ''Stepping Sisters'' is a 1932 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code comedy film directed by Seymour Felix and starring Louise Dresser, Minna Gombell and Jobyna Howland.Solomon p.331 Plot A trio of former burlesque dancers now living in high soc ...

'' (1932) - Minor Role (uncredited) * ''

Midnight Club ''Midnight Club'' is a series of arcade-style racing video games developed by Rockstar San Diego and published by Rockstar Games. ''Midnight Club'' is similar to the '' Midtown Madness'' series (previously developed by Angel Studios), with a f ...

'' (1933, uncredited) * ''

Morning Glory Morning glory (also written as morning-glory) is the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose taxonomy and systematics remain in flux. These species are distributed across numerous genus, gene ...

'' (1933, uncredited) * ''

Bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...

'' (1934, uncredited) * ''

The Scarlet Empress ''The Scarlet Empress'' is a 1934 American historical drama film starring Marlene Dietrich and John Lodge about the life of Catherine the Great. It was directed and produced by Josef von Sternberg from a screenplay by Eleanor McGeary, loosely b ...

'' (1934) - Catherine's Lady-in-Waiting (uncredited) * ''

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

'' (1934, uncredited)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Julanne 1900 births 1988 deaths Actresses from Indianapolis American film actresses American silent film actresses 20th-century American actresses Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Detroit)