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IMDbPro

Linda Cristal(1931-2020)

  • Actress
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Linda Cristal in Raakaa peliä (1974)
A melon farmer battles organized crime and a hit man who wants to kill him.
Play trailer1:39
Raakaa peliä (1974)
5 Videos
39 Photos
Argentinian leading lady Marta Victoria Moya Peggo Burges was one of three siblings, born in Buenos Aires to a French father and Italian mother. When she was five years of age, her father, a publisher, fled with his family to Montevideo, Uruguay, where they went on to live for several years in somewhat reduced circumstances. According to one of two conflicting stories, her father had gotten into "into conflict with a criminal gang". According to another, he may have fallen foul of the ruling political elite. Whatever the case, both parents died prematurely in what was possibly a suicide pact (in their car of carbon monoxide poisoning) by the time Linda was 13.

Educated at the Conservatoria Franklin in Uruguay, she studied voice and piano. A brief marriage to the Argentinian actor Tito Gómez ended in an annulment after just five days and Linda briefly toyed with the idea of entering a convent (as had several of her aunts). Fate, of course, intervened. While vacationing in Mexico with her older brother, she was 'discovered' by the film producer and director Miguel Alemán Velasco, who also happened to be the son of the country's ruling president. Signed under contract, she adopted the moniker Linda Cristal and made several Spanish language films which soon established her as one of Mexico's rising stars. Conscious of her potential and hoping to break into Hollywood, she decided to learn English as her fourth language (already fluent in Spanish, French and Italian) and subsequently made her American film debut with a small role in the Dana Andrews western Mihin hintaan tahansa (1956). A dispute over the non-payment of her wages and a car accident in 1956 then led to a brief hiatus in her career.

Fast forward three years and a bit of publicity (she was named "Motion Picture Sweater Queen" in 1958) and Linda was lured back to Hollywood by Universal to again hit the saddle in a couple of back-to-back minor westerns, Revolverisankari (1958) and The Fiend Who Walked the West (1958). In between attempts to break free from typecasting as decorative Latinas (Niilin tytär (1960), Panic in the City (1968)) -- a metamorphosis which never happened -- she at least got herself noticed by some high profile people in the business (ie. John Wayne) and was able to thus secure roles in better productions like Alamo (1960) and He ratsastivat yhdessä (1961). While her motion picture career was at an impasse, she learned of producer David Dortort casting for the part of Victoria Montoya in the upcoming TV series Karjatila High Chaparral (1967). Invited to an audition, she found the set script as too saccharine and bland. Audaciously improvising, she re-imagined her character as more tempestuous, resourceful and proud, later saying in an interview that she knew the producers "were looking for a heroine with fire and spunk". Having secured the coveted role, she made it her own for four seasons (1967-71), ultimately winning two Primetime Emmy nominations and netting her the Golden Globe Award in 1970 as Best Actress in a TV Drama.

After High Chaparral ceased production in 1971, Linda made guest appearances in a handful of TV shows and played a Mexican migrant worker and union leader in Charles Bronson's robust action film Raakaa peliä (1974). She later worked for some time as a realtor, presided over her own import/export business and invested wisely to become financially very well-off. She made a final comeback to acting as the mistress of a mob boss in the daytime soap General Hospital (1963), eventually calling it quits in 1988. Linda spent her remaining years between residences in Beverly Hills, Palm Springs and Buenos Aires and passed away at her Beverly Hills home on June 27 2020 at the age of 89.
BornFebruary 23, 1931
DiedJune 27, 2020(89)
BornFebruary 23, 1931
DiedJune 27, 2020(89)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys
    • 3 wins & 7 nominations total

Photos39

Linda Cristal in Täydellinen loma (1958)
Linda Cristal
Linda Cristal in The Dead Don't Die (1975)
Linda Cristal in Le verdi bandiere di Allah (1963)
Linda Cristal in Niilin legioonat (1959)
Lorne Greene, Linda Cristal, Eduard Franz, and Gilbert Roland in Revolverisankari (1958)
Linda Cristal and Armando Francioli in Niilin tytär (1960)
John Drew Barrymore, Pierre Brice, and Linda Cristal in Niilin tytär (1960)
Linda Cristal in Niilin legioonat (1959)
Linda Cristal in Niilin tytär (1960)
Linda Cristal and Hugh O'Brian in The Fiend Who Walked the West (1958)
Linda Cristal in Alamo (1960)

Known for:

Leif Erickson, Linda Cristal, Henry Darrow, Cameron Mitchell, and Mark Slade in Karjatila High Chaparral (1967)
Karjatila High Chaparral
7.6
TV Series
  • Victoria Cannon
Charles Bronson, Linda Cristal, and Al Lettieri in Raakaa peliä (1974)
Raakaa peliä
6.7
  • Nancy Chavez
  • 1974
Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, and Linda Cristal in Täydellinen loma (1958)
Täydellinen loma
6.3
  • Sandra Roca
  • 1958
Linda Cristal, Ettore Manni, and Georges Marchal in Niilin legioonat (1959)
Niilin legioonat
5.3
  • Cleopatra
  • Berenice
  • 1959

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress

  • Maurice Benard, Ingo Rademacher, Julie Berman, Steve Burton, Tyler Christopher, Nancy Lee Grahn, Rebecca Herbst, Kelly Monaco, Kirsten Storms, Laura Wright, Dominic Zamprogna, and Chad Duell in General Hospital (1963)
    General Hospital
    6.6
    TV Series
    • Dimitra
    • 1988
  • Rossé
    TV Series
    • Victoria Wilson (Rossé)
    • 1985
  • Ricardo Montalban and Hervé Villechaize in Seikkailujen saari (1977)
    Seikkailujen saari
    6.6
    TV Series
    • Consuelo Lopez
    • 1981
  • Fred Grandy, Bernie Kopell, Ted Lange, Gavin MacLeod, and Lauren Tewes in Lemmenlaiva (1977)
    Lemmenlaiva
    6.2
    TV Series
    • Elvira Monteverde
    • 1981
  • Condominium (1980)
    Condominium
    6.3
    TV Mini Series
    • Carlotta Churchbridge
    • 1980
  • Buddy Ebsen in Barnaby Jones (1973)
    Barnaby Jones
    6.9
    TV Series
    • Patricia Simmons
    • 1979
  • Linda Cristal, Scott Jacoby, and Michael Parks in Van-jengi - autonpuhaltajat (1977)
    Van-jengi - autonpuhaltajat
    6.1
    • Annie
    • 1977
  • Reggie Nalder in The Dead Don't Die (1975)
    The Dead Don't Die
    5.5
    TV Movie
    • Vera LaValle
    • 1975
  • El chofer
    TV Series
    • Julia
    • 1974
  • Robert Forster, David Birney, and Richard E. Kalk in Poliisin silmin (1973)
    Poliisin silmin
    7.5
    TV Series
    • Estrella Rodriguez
    • 1974
  • Charles Bronson, Linda Cristal, and Al Lettieri in Raakaa peliä (1974)
    Raakaa peliä
    6.7
    • Nancy Chavez
    • 1974
  • Anthony Franciosa, Doug McClure, and Hugh O'Brian in Search (1972)
    Search
    8.1
    TV Series
    • Antonia Bravo
    • 1972
  • Arlene Golonka in Call Holme (1972)
    Call Holme
    6.4
    TV Movie
    • Phadera Hayes
    • 1972
  • Bonanza (1959)
    Bonanza
    7.3
    TV Series
    • Teresa
    • 1971
  • Glenn Ford, Edgar Buchanan, Victor Campos, Sandra Ego, Peter Ford, and Taylor Lacher in Jeepillä jäljille (1971)
    Jeepillä jäljille
    7.1
    TV Series
    • Celsa Dobbs
    • 1971

Videos5

Trailer
Trailer 1:55
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:39
Trailer
H&I Promo Trailer
Trailer 0:16
H&I Promo Trailer
Two Rode Together
Trailer 1:14
Two Rode Together
TWO RODE TOGETHER (New & Exclusive) Masters of Cinema Trailer
Trailer 1:17
TWO RODE TOGETHER (New & Exclusive) Masters of Cinema Trailer

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative names
    • L. Cristal
  • Born
    • February 23, 1931
    • Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Died
    • June 27, 2020
    • Beverly Hills, California, USA(natural causes)
  • Spouses
      Yale WexlerDecember 20, 1960 - December 1966 (divorced, 2 children)
  • Children
      Gregory
  • Parents
    • Antonio Moya
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Article
    • 1 Pictorial
    • 2 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    In 1947 she and her parents were involved in a road accident. She survived, but her parents were killed.

FAQ13

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