Linda Christian

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
In this
Spanish name, the first or paternal surname
is Welter and the second or maternal family name is Vorhauer.
Linda Christian
Christian, c. 1948
Born
Blanca Rosa Henrietta Stella Welter Vorhauer

(1923-11-13)November 13, 1923
Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico
DiedJuly 22, 2011(2011-07-22) (aged 87)
Palm Desert, California, U.S.
Other namesLinda Christian Power, Linda Welter
OccupationActress
Years active1943–1988
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1949; div. 1956)​
​
​
(m. 1962; div. 1963)​
Children
Ariadne Welter
(sister)

Linda Christian (born Blanca Rosa Henrietta Stella Welter Vorhauer; November 13, 1923

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
titled "An Out for Oscar".

Early life

Christian was born in

Royal Dutch Shell executive Gerardus Jacob Welter,[7][8] and his Mexican-born wife, the former Blanca Rosa Vorhauer, who was of Spanish, German and French descent.[9][10] The Welter family moved a great deal during Christian's youth, living everywhere from South America and Europe to the Middle East and Africa.[5] As a result of this nomadic lifestyle, Christian became an accomplished polyglot with the ability to speak fluent French, German, Dutch, Spanish, English, Italian and even a bit of haphazard Arabic and Russian.[5]

Christian had three younger siblings: a sister, actress

Ariadna Gloria Welter, and two brothers, Gerardus Jacob Welter and Edward Albert Welter.[11][12]

Career

In her youth Christian's only aspiration was to become a physician.[13] After she graduated from secondary school she had a fortuitous meeting with her screen idol Errol Flynn, who became her lover, and she was persuaded by him to give up her hopes of joining the medical profession, move to Hollywood, and pursue an acting career.[13] Not long after arriving in Hollywood she was spotted by Louis B. Mayer's secretary at a fashion show in Beverly Hills. He offered, and she accepted, a seven-year contract with MGM.[14]

Her stage name was invented by Flynn, who gave her the surname of Fletcher Christian of Mutiny on the Bounty fame. Flynn had played Fletcher Christian in a 1933 Australian film.[15]

In his autobiography My Wicked, Wicked Ways,[16] Flynn states that immediately after Linda Christian's screen test, he offered to pay for her to have a couple of crooked teeth fixed. When he got a whopping bill, he discovered that she had taken the opportunity to undergo major cosmetic dentistry. Years later, when he met her again, he said, "Smile, baby – I want to see those choppers: they took their first bite out of me."

Christian with Andrea Palma in Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948)

She made her film debut in the 1944 musical comedy Up in Arms, co-starring Danny Kaye and Dinah Shore. This movie also happened to be Danny Kaye's own first film.[14] This film was followed by Holiday in Mexico (1946), Green Dolphin Street (1947), and what was perhaps her best-known film, Tarzan and the Mermaids[14] (1948). She was the subject of a well-known photograph published in the January 1, 1949, issue of Vogue.

Christian was the first Bond girl to appear on screen, playing Valerie Mathis (opposite Barry Nelson as James Bond) in the 1954 TV adaptation of

Casino Royale, beating Ursula Andress
to the screen by eight years.

In 2001, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to her.[17]

Marriages and relationships

Christian in 1966

Christian's fame, however, was largely derived from being married to the popular screen idol

Santa Francesca Romana. Christian wore a formfitting gold-damask gown, and the church was decorated with two thousand "Esther" carnations.[18] She and Power were the parents of singer Romina Power and actress Taryn Power.[19] Romina was one half of the Italian singing duo Al Bano and Romina Power
.

A month after she divorced Tyrone Power, Christian was seen with Spanish racing driver

The Kiss of Death". De Portago was 28 years old. Her ex-husband, Tyrone Power, died the following year of a heart attack at the age of 44. Christian was later married to the Rome-based British actor Edmund Purdom.[4]

On several occasions, Christian and Power were offered the opportunity to work together, but for various reasons each offer was refused or rescinded.[19] The most notable opportunity to co-star together came in 1953, when they were offered leading roles in From Here to Eternity. Power did not want to do the film[19] and rejected the offer. The roles went to Donna Reed and Montgomery Clift.

Christian had a relationship with Glenn Ford in the early 1960s.[20]

Death

Christian died on July 22, 2011, at the age of 87.[21]

Selected filmography

Two items appear in this article's introductory paragraph which are not in the following list.

Bibliography

  • Christian, Linda. Linda, My Own Story. New York: Crown Publishers (1962).

References

  1. ^ Ancestry.com. New Orleans Passenger Lists, 1820–1945 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006. Micropublication T905. RG085. Rolls #104. Entry for Blanca Rosa Welter Age 1yr 4 months. Gender Female. Nationality: Dutch. Port of Departure: Tampico, Mexico. Ship Name: Maasdam Port of Arrival: New Orleans, Louisiana. Date of Arrival: Mar 23, 1925.
  2. ^ Ancestry.com. New York Passenger Lists, 1820–1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006. Year: 1947; Microfilm serial: T715; Microfilm roll: T715_7515; Line: 6;. Entry for: Blanca Welter. Gender Female. Age: 24 years. Port of Departure: Southampton, England. Nationality: Mexican. Place of Birth: Tampico, Mexico. Occupation: Actress. Ship Name: Queen Mary. Port of Arrival: New York, NY. Date of Arrival: Dec 10, 1947.
  3. ^ Ancestry.com. New York Passenger Lists, 1820–1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006. Year: 1941; Microfilm serial: T715; Microfilm roll: T715_6565; Line: 9; .Entry for: Blanca Rosa Welter. Gender: Female. Age: 17. Nationality: Dutch. Occupation: Student. Place of Birth: Tampico, Mexico. Port of Departure: Cape Town, South Africa. Ship Name: President Monroe. Port of Arrival: New York, NY. Date of Arrival: July 31, 1941. Editor's note: if she was 17 in July 1941, that would mean she was going to turn 18 that November; another confirmation of 1923 as her year of birth.
  4. ^ a b "Linda Christian, Actress and Tyrone Power's Wife, Dies at 87". Associated Press via The New York Times. July 25, 2011.
  5. ^ a b c d Parla, p. 35.
  6. ISBN 0071412468
    .
  7. Baldini Castoldi Dalai Editore
    , 1992), p. 14.
  8. ^ Ancestry.com. New Orleans Passenger Lists, 1820–1945 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006. Port of Departure: Tampico, Mexico. Ship Name: Maasdam Port of Arrival: New Orleans, Louisiana. Date of Arrival: Mar 23, 1925.
  9. ^ Birth date given in Il Coraggio di Scrivere, Volume 1, by Gianni Ippoliti (Baldini Castoldi Dalai, 1992), p. 14.
  10. ^ Parla, pp. 35–36.
  11. ^ Ancestry.com. New Orleans Passenger Lists, 1820–1945 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006. Micropublication T905. RG085. Rolls #104. Port of Departure: Tampico, Mexico. Ship Name: Maasdam Port of Arrival: New Orleans, Louisiana. Date of Arrival: Mar 23, 1925.
  12. ^ Ancestry.com. New York Passenger Lists, 1820–1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006. Year: 1941; Microfilm serial: T715; Microfilm roll: T715_6565; Line: 9;. Port of Departure: Cape Town, South Africa. Ship Name: President Monroe. Port of Arrival: New York, NY.
  13. ^ a b Parla, p. 36.
  14. ^ a b c Parla, p. 37.
  15. ISBN 0786417501
    .
  16. ISBN 978-0815412502
  17. ^ "Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated" (PDF). palmspringswalkofstars.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-13.
  18. ^ "Magazine Articles - Matrimonio in Technicolor".
  19. ^ a b c Parla, p. 39.
  20. ISBN 978-0-29928-154-0
  21. ^ Bergan, Ronald (26 July 2011). "Linda Christian obituary". The Guardian. theguardian.com. Retrieved 12 January 2015.

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Linda Christian.
  • Parla, Paul & Mitchell, Charles P. (2000). Screen Sirens Scream!. McFarland.
    ISBN 0786445874
    .

External links
New title Bond girl actress
1954 		Succeeded by
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