Helena Justa

Helena Justa
Helena Justa, from a 1930 newspaper
Born
Helena Johnson

December 21, 1901
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Diedafter 1964
Other nameHelena Justa de Armas
OccupationsDancer, singer, vaudeville performer

Helena Justa (December 21, 1901 – after 1964), born Helena Johnson, was an American dancer and singer active in the 1920s and 1930s, billed as "the female Bill Robinson".

Early life

Justa was born in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter vaudeville entertainers Duke Johnson and Mae Wells. She traveled with her parents in Europe, Australia and New Zealand while they toured in the 1900s and 1910s.

Career

Justa performed on vaudeville programs beginning in her teens. "Miss Justa is a versatile dancer, the esthetic, clog and toe all being in the range of her accomplishments," noted The Chicago Defender in 1926. However, a Billboard review in 1932 found her singing "decidedly ordinary".

Justa danced in Massachusetts in 1923 and 1924, in Pennsylvania in 1925, and in California in 1926 and 1927. She sang in California and Chicago in 1928, and danced with Bill Robinson in Blackbirds of 1929. In 1929 and 1930 she danced and sang with her uncle Charlie Johnson, on the RKO circuit. In the 1930s she led her own revue, the Harlem Maniacs, and had a cabaret act. Pianist Gideon Honore [de] worked with her in 1935. In 1936, she and Etta Moten performed in Buenos Aires.

Justa married her manager, Ted Bradley, but left him in 1935. She occasionally performed in clubs in her later years.

References

  1. ↑ Her birth date and birthplace are from her father's application for a U.S. passport, submitted to the American embassy in Berlin and dated August 9, 1906, via Ancestry.
  2. 1 2 "Brass Rail Music Lounge (advertisement)". The Troy Record. 1965-07-03. p. 5. Retrieved 2026-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Aldine Stage Show". Press of Atlantic City. 1933-11-05. p. 16. Retrieved 2026-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Helena Justa Signed Over R.K.O. Circuit". The Chicago Defender. 1929-10-05. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Helen Justa is Hit in Loop". The Afro-American. 1934-07-07. p. 21. Retrieved 2026-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Egan, Bill (2019-12-20). African American Entertainers in Australia and New Zealand: A History, 1788-1941. McFarland. pp. 140–142. ISBN 978-1-4766-7795-8.
  7. ↑ Long, Richard A. (1995). The Black tradition in American dance. Internet Archive. Prion. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-8317-0763-7.
  8. ↑ "Dancer Former Genevan; Mme. Helena Justa Was Helena Johnson Wells of This City". Finger Lakes Times. 1918-02-12. p. 9. Retrieved 2026-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Mlle. Helena Justa". Variety. 51 (10): 7. 1918-08-02 – via Internet Archive.
  10. ↑ "Keep Dancing". The Chicago Defender. 1926-09-11. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Helen Justa & Company". The Billboard. 44 (17): 23. 1932-04-23 – via Internet Archive.
  12. ↑ "At the Olympia". The Standard-Times. 1923-03-06. p. 8. Retrieved 2026-02-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Helen Justa and Her Boys are Smart Dancers". The Springfield Daily Republican. 1924-08-08. p. 4. Retrieved 2026-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Aerial Stunts by Troupe Leads Vaudeville Bill". The Patriot-News. 1925-12-08. p. 18. Retrieved 2026-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Negro Dancers to Top Hip Bill; Helena Justa and Her Boys Will Appear in Revue 'Keep Dancing'". The Sacramento Union. 1926-08-18. p. 22. Retrieved 2026-02-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "T. V. Dalton to Reopen Follies Theater, Los Angeles". The Billboard: 34. September 17, 1927.
  17. ↑ Peterson, Bernard L. Jr. (1993-10-25). A Century of Musicals in Black and White: An Encyclopedia of Musical Stage Works By, About, or Involving African Americans. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 334. ISBN 978-0-313-06454-8.
  18. ↑ Flower, Elsie (1928-02-09). "Lucia Sextet by Tuscan Chorus and 'Muddy Water' by Jazz Singer on Program". The Record. p. 15. Retrieved 2026-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ "New Willard Theater (advertisement)". The Chicago Defender. 1928-07-07. p. 8. Retrieved 2026-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ Huston, Perdita (1930-10-01). "Helena Justa, Playing at Keith's, Boasts Magnetic Personality". Evening Express. p. 8. Retrieved 2026-02-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ "Helena and Charlie Playing Big Time". The Chicago Defender. 1930-03-29. p. 7. Retrieved 2026-02-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ "Claiborne Foster Winsome in Playlet; Acts at Palace in "Marriage Recipe"--Richman and Frances Williams in Reunion". The New York Times. 1930-08-04. pp. A19. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  23. ↑ Sampson, Henry T. (2013-10-30). Blacks in Blackface: A Sourcebook on Early Black Musical Shows: 2 Volumes. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. pp. 517, 546, 1072, 1073. ISBN 979-8-7651-8512-4.
  24. ↑ "'Harlem Maniacs' at the Criterion". The News of Cumberland County. 1932-12-22. p. 10. Retrieved 2026-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ↑ "Aldine Stage Show". Press of Atlantic City. 1933-11-05. p. 16. Retrieved 2026-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ↑ "Harlem Show at Dreamland; Helena Justa Featured in All Colored Revue". Evansville Press. 1934-05-13. p. 16. Retrieved 2026-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ↑ "Helena Justa Gets New Cabaret Job". The Chicago Defender. 1934-06-30. p. 7. Retrieved 2026-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ↑ "Makes Vaude Debut". The Afro-American. 1935-01-19. p. 18. Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  29. ↑ "2 U.S. Acts to B.A." Variety: 62. March 1936 – via Internet Archive.
  30. ↑ "In Marital Rift". Chicago World. 1935-03-02. p. 7. Retrieved 2026-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ↑ "Hawaiian Lounge (advertisement)". The Gazette. 1948-02-20. p. 10. Retrieved 2026-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.