Jump to content

Linda Christian

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In thisSpanish name,the first or paternalsurnameisWelterand the second or maternal family name isVorhauer.
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)​
ChildrenRomina Power
Taryn Power
FamilyAriadne Welter(sister)

Linda Christian(bornBlanca Rosa Henrietta Stella Welter Vorhauer;November 13, 1923[1][2][3]– July 22, 2011[4]) was a Mexican film actress who appeared in Mexican and Hollywood films. Her career reached its peak in the 1940s and 1950s. She played Mara in the lastJohnny WeissmullerTarzan filmTarzan and the Mermaids(1948).[5]She is also noted for being the firstBond girl,appearing in a 1954 television adaptation of theJames BondnovelCasino Royale.[6]In 1963 she starred as Eva Ashley in an episode ofThe Alfred Hitchcock Hourtitled "An Out for Oscar".

Early life

[edit]

Christian was born inTampico,Tamaulipas, Mexico, a daughter of Dutch engineer andRoyal Dutch Shellexecutive 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, actressAriadna Gloria Welter,and two brothers, Gerardus Jacob Welter and Edward Albert Welter.[11][12]

Career

[edit]

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 idolErrol Flynn,who became her lover; he persuaded her 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 byLouis 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 ofMutiny on the Bountyfame. Flynn had played Fletcher Christian in a 1933 Australian film.[15]

In his autobiographyMy 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 withAndrea PalmainTarzan and the Mermaids(1948)

She made her film debut in the 1944 musical comedyUp in Arms,co-starringDanny KayeandDinah Shore.This movie also happened to be Danny Kaye's own first film.[14]This film was followed byHoliday 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 ofVogue.

Christian was the first Bond girl to appear on screen, playing Valerie Mathis (opposite Barry Nelson as James Bond) in the 1954 TV adaptation ofCasino Royale,beatingUrsula Andressto the screen by eight years.

In 2001, a Golden Palm Star on thePalm Springs Walk of Starswas dedicated to her.[17]

Marriages and relationships

[edit]
Christian in 1966

Christian's fame, however, was largely derived from being married to the popular screen idolTyrone Power[5]between 1949 and 1956, and then from being divorced from him. The couple married inRome,Italy, with Monsignor William A. Hemmick performing the ceremony atSanta 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 singerRomina Powerand actressTaryn Power.[19]Romina was one half of the Italian singing duoAl Bano and Romina Power.

A month after she divorced Tyrone Power, Christian was seen with Spanish racing driverAlfonso de Portago,who was married to American Carroll de Portago (later Carroll Petrie). Carroll had recently given birth to "Fon's" second child Anthony. De Portago was dating modelDorian Leigh,mother of his recently born illegitimate son Kim. Linda was photographed with de Portago at the 1957Mille Migliacar race. The photo shows Christian leaning in to kiss Fon before he drove off and crashed his Ferrari, killing himself, his navigator Ed Nelson, and nine spectators in the process. The press labeled the photo "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 actorEdmund 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 inFrom Here to Eternity.Power did not want to do the film[19]and rejected the offer. The roles went toDonna ReedandMontgomery Clift.

Christian had a relationship withGlenn Fordin the early 1960s.[20]

Death

[edit]

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

[edit]

Selected filmography

[edit]

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

Bibliography

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

References

[edit]
  1. ^Ancestry. 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. 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. 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. ^ab"Linda Christian, Actress and Tyrone Power's Wife, Dies at 87".Associated PressviaThe New York Times.July 25, 2011.
  5. ^abcdParla,p. 35.
  6. ^Steven Jay Rubin (2003)The Complete James Bond Movie Encyclopedia,Contemporary Books, pp. 70, 76–77,ISBN0071412468.
  7. ^Birth and death dates given inIl coraggio di scrivere,Volume 1, byGianni Ippoliti(Baldini Castoldi Dalai Editore,1992), p. 14.
  8. ^Ancestry. 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 inIl Coraggio di Scrivere,Volume 1, by Gianni Ippoliti (Baldini Castoldi Dalai, 1992), p. 14.
  10. ^Parla,pp. 35–36.
  11. ^Ancestry. 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. 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. ^abParla,p. 36.
  14. ^abcParla,p. 37.
  15. ^Thomas McNulty (2004)Errol Flynn: The Life and Career,McFarland, pp. 165, 166,ISBN0786417501.
  16. ^Errol Flynn (2002) My Wicked, Wicked Ways ", Rowman & Littlefield,ISBN978-0815412502
  17. ^"Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated"(PDF).palmspringswalkofstars.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2012-10-13.
  18. ^"Magazine Articles - Matrimonio in Technicolor".
  19. ^abcParla,p. 39.
  20. ^Ford, Peter. Glenn Ford: A Life (Wisconsin Film Studies). Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 2011. p.209ISBN978-0-29928-154-0
  21. ^Bergan, Ronald (26 July 2011)."Linda Christian obituary".The Guardian.theguardian.Retrieved12 January2015.

Sources

[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toLinda Christian.
  • Parla, Paul & Mitchell, Charles P. (2000).Screen Sirens Scream!.McFarland.ISBN0786445874.
[edit]
New title Bond girl actress
1954 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Linda_Christian&oldid=1244109022"