Juanita Hansen

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Juanita C. Hansen (March 3, 1895-1961) was an American actress who appeared in silent films.

She debuted in a variety of serials in the late 1910s, beginning as one of the Sennett Bathing Beauties.

She was well-known for her personal life and struggle with heroin use and morphine.

She became clean and traveled around preaching about opioid abuses in 1934.

She wrote a book about heroin use and founded her own charity to help raise concerns of heroin use.

Early life

Juanita Cecilia Hanson was born in Thor, Iowa, to Henry George Hanson, who was a native of Wisconsin, and Johanna Sophia Peterson (or Pederson) on March 3, 1895 (sources differ). Or, her birthplace has been listed as Des Moines and her birth year as 1897. As Juanita was a child, she and her family moved to California, where she dropped out after finishing ninth grade.

She began acting in films when she was 16, and she found her first acting gig with L. Frank Baum's Oz Film Production Company. Juanita Hansen, a woman based on Baum's book, appeared in The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914), a film in which the bell ringer appeared in a minor role. Hansen appeared in The Magic Cloak of Oz, a spin on Queen Zixi of Ix.

The actress was also affiliated with Famous Players-Lasky and appeared with Jack Pickford early in her career. Hansen appeared in six films in 1915. The Secret of the Submarine was one of her early film appearances. Her good looks earned her a spot at Sennett Bathing Beauties doing comedy shorts at Keystone/Triangle Studios last year. Although she told reporters she loved being with Mack Sennett, she wanted more than slapstick comedy.

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Serial career

After Hansen left Keystone, she began working in Universal Studios right away. The Brass Bullet, an 18-episode serial, was a success. In 1919, the actress appeared in seven films. Princess Elyata's role in the 15-episode serial The Lost City, starring William Selig, Harry Warner, Jack L. Warner, and Sam Warner came as soon as she was cast. In the form of the feature-length film The Jungle Princess, the serial was reduced to seven reels and re-released. However, Hansen's more active lifestyle resulted in a cocaine use that quickly took over her life.

Hansen's appearance in the Universal films led to a 1920 contract with Pathé for Warner Oland and William Bailey in the 15-episode serial The Phantom Foe. The Yellow Arm (1921), she made her second Pathé serial The Yellow Arm (1921). Hansen, a 1928 actress, had quit acting after being scalded in a bathroom fire in the Hotel Lincoln in New York City. Following a lengthy court battle, she was awarded $109,269 in damages and interest.

Later career and charitable work

Eventually, the actress went public with her tale. She founded the Juanita Hansen Foundation to raise drug use in the community. She was arrested on drug charges in 1937, but was cleared when she testified that tablets that police found in her purse were supposed to her for medical use. She went on a lecture tour, protesting the selling of illegal drugs.

She wrote the book The Conspiracy of Silence in 1938, arguing that heroin addicts should be admitted to specialized medical facilities for care rather than being sent to jail.

Hansen died in 1961 of heart disease at her home in West Hollywood, California. She lived on 858 Hilldale Avenue. Pearl Edwards, her maid, who told deputy sheriffs that the actress was suffering from a heart disease, found her body. She was laid to rest at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. She lived in a few miles from where she had shot motion pictures in the years leading up to her death.

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