I still remember seeing the Get Christie Love! pilot on French television right here in Quebec, on a Monday night. I was but a teenager but I quickly became a fan of actress Teresa Graves right on the spot, for her beauty, talent and gasp! her height (5′ 10″). Oddly, I can’t seem to recall if the series itself (22 episodes for the 1974-75 season) had been translated in French. I don’t believe so. Oddly, the role that she will always be remembered for was her last, as she retired soon after the series was canceled.

Teresa Graves was born January 10, 1948, in Houston, Texas. Her artistic career began was she was a member of The Doodletown Pipers, a singing group that used to include up to 30 members. Then she began some television work on a couple of shows, mainly being part of the Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In cast.

She made few motion pictures, these mainly for the blaxploitation genre being popular in the early seventies, like That Man Bolt and Black Eye and a British horror-comedy, Vampira. In 1974 for Get Christie Love!, she made American television history as being the first African-American woman in a dramatic lead role. Graves was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Leading Role. The show ran only one season, but is still well remembered by anyone who has seen a single episode. Her classic line “You’re under arrest sugah!” has been immortalized in Reservoir Dogs, in a most charming manner. She of course played a charismatic street cop. The series was probably inspired by all those wonderful Pam Grier low-budget action pictures popular at the time, but oddly the role has been first offered to Cicely Tyson.

Being a Jehovah’s Witness resulted in Teresa refusing some roles on moral grounds, and finally dropping off of acting altogether. She devoted her remaining years to religion, still living in California but not talking much about her past. Tragically, she died in a house fire in 2002, due to a faulty space heater. Her neighbors were very surprised to learned that she had been a pioneer of the television industry.

Take this for what its worth, but a couple of years back Whitney Houston showed some interest in playing Christie Love for a big screen version…!