Teresa Graves

Teresa Graves (January 10, 1948 - October 10, 2002) was an African-American actress and singer. As the star of Get Christie Love! (1974), Graves was the first African American woman to play the lead in a police film and TV show.

She was born in Houston, Texas and began her career, singing with The Doodletown Pipers. She soon turned to acting. She was a regular in the two variety flops Our Place (1967) and Turn On (1969), then became a regular on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In in its first season.

Graves appeared in number of films before her pivotal role in the 1974 made-for-TV movie Get Christie Love!. She reprised the role of policewoman "Christie Love" in a short-lived TV series of the same name which featured Jack Kelly as Lt. Ryan, Love's supervisor.

In 1983 she dropped out of show business to devote her time to the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. For the rest of her life she resided in Hyde Park, California and took care of her mother.

On October 10, 2002 there was a fire in her home. Fire fighters found her unconscious in a bedroom of her home and she was rushed to the Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival; she was only 54 years old. It is believed that the fire was caused by a faulty heater. Neighbors said that they never knew of her past life as an actress.

External links

• Teresa Graves at the Internet Movie Database
• Biography from the African American Registry

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