Justine Johnstone

Biography

Justine Johnstone began life as Gustina Johnson in 1895, born to an austere Scandinavian immigrant family in New Jersey whose 'Viking' roots instilled a profound respect for both the stage and the written word. Growing up in the vibrant cultural hub of Hoboken, she was a childhood playwright who once harbored a quiet ambition to become a librarian—a dream she eventually traded for the theater because, as she put it, librarians lacked the freedom to 'jump and dance.' Her ascent started with her striking Nordic features, which earned her $7 a week as a model before she was discovered by press agent Walter Kingsley. Adopting the name Justine Johnstone, she made her Broadway debut at fifteen in the 1910 production of 'The Blue Bird.' After a 1911 stint in the prestigious but short-lived 'Hell/Temptations/Gaby' at the Folies-Bergère, she pivoted to academia, enrolling in the Emma Willard School. Supported by a platonic benefactor and nicknamed 'Ju-Jo' by the class of 1914, she returned to the spotlight with a refined intellect. By 1917, she was a Ziegfeld Follies star earning $75 a week alongside Marion Davies and headlining Lee Schubert’s 'Over the Top.' Despite being hailed as 'the girl who owns Broadway,' she grew weary of the stereotype that beauty precluded intelligence. She moved into cinema during the 1920s, appearing in films such as 'Blackbirds,' 'Never the Twain Shall Meet,' and 'Nothing But Lies.' In 1919, she married producer Walter Wanger, whose career would include 'The Sheik' (1921), 'Stagecoach' (1939), and 'Cleopatra' (1963). However, disillusioned by the industry and her husband’s infidelities, she retired in 1926 to pursue a second career in science. Starting in 1927, she audited pharmacology at Columbia University, eventually co-authoring the landmark 1931 study 'Influence of Velocity on the Response to Intravenous Injections' with doctors Samuel Hirschfeld and Harold Thomas Hyman. Their discovery of 'speed shock' led to the invention of the modern IV drip. Even after moving to Los Angeles in 1931 for Wanger’s role at Columbia Pictures, she continued her research at Caltech, becoming an authority on syphilis and cancer. Following a 1938 divorce from the 'surly' Wanger, she raised two adopted sons as a single mother and became a dedicated feminist and anti-blacklist activist. Described in 1941 as 'white-haired, serene, and happy,' she lived a guarded life until her death from heart failure in 1982 at age 87, leaving a legacy of scientific innovation and a final request for no obituaries.