Got Christie Love!

When I look at dolls, sometimes I see people.  This was the case with Fireside Chatting Kenya.  In her face, I saw Teresa Graves, the actress who played the starring role in the 1974 Get Christie Love! made-for-TV movie which was later developed into a 60-minute, weekly TV series.

As noted in a previous blog post, the manufactured Get Christie Love doll has been on my mental doll wish list for years but has remained elusive.   After "seeing" Graves in Fireside Chatting Kenya, I decided to transform one of my Kenya dolls into my desired doll.

Graves' medium brown complexion closely matches that of Rock Star Kenya's caramel brown coloring, so I used Rock Star instead of the deeper complexioned Fireside Chatting doll.  (Rock Star and Fireside Chatting can be seen here as the center doll and the one on the far right, respectively.)

What Was Done

Rock Star's up swept, super curly ponytail was given the appearance of an Afro by pulling some of the curls down to frame her face and just finger fluffing it into shape (I did not remove the rubber band).

Curly ponytail fluffed out into a curly Afro; dangle earrings added

Her original earrings were replaced with gold dangle earrings that I made using gold tone discs from a pair of 99 cents earrings.

Dangle earrings from beauty supply store were used to make playscale-size earrings; several more pairs can be made from these.

Rock Star was dressed in 2002 Barbie Fashion Avenue outfit B3366, which has a 1970s flare typical of what Christie Love would wear in her successful undercover policewoman attempts at solving crimes in the hour-long TV show.

Rock Star Kenya as Christie Love

I replaced the small handbag that came with the Barbie fashion with a larger one that was made using camel-colored craft foam. 

Christie Love's new shoulder bag replaces the tiny handbag.

The shoulder bag is piped on the sides with brown braiding cord.   I attached the handle using braiding cord after piercing holes in the ends of the strap and holes in the top sides of the bag.  The smaller bag is now stored in the shoulder bag.

While not the original manufactured Get Christie Love doll, Rock Star Kenya shadows the character quite well and has placed my desire to own the manufactured doll to rest at last.    

Kenya is a very suitable Christie Love.

By the way, I am not sure how long the sale lasts, but all toys priced above $10, including Fashion Madness Kenya dolls, are now 50% off at Family Dollar stores.  I will probably buy a replacement Rock Star, since my original is now Get Christie Love! 

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Added 12/31/12:  More about the character, Get Christie Love, can be read here.  (Interestingly, this information is from a role playing game and anime webring.  Under Combat Skills for Christie, the writer included her large handbag used in melee attack.)


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In Search of Christie Love

The Get Christie Love TV series ran for one year from 1974 through 1975 on ABC, airing at 10 p.m. EST on Wednesdays.  Not a weekly viewer, I do recall occasionally witnessing the crimes actress, Teresa Graves, solved while working undercover as a prostitute or otherwise incognito. In the process of the villain's apprehension, Christie would always say, "You're Under Arrest, Sug-ah!"  The hour-long TV series was preceded by a TV movie of the same name. Graves is credited as being the first African American actress to star in an hour-long show.

Prior to her one-year stint as Christie Love, Graves performed on Rowan and Martin's Laugh In from 1969 through 1970. 

After I began collecting dolls in 1991, I became aware of the circa 1975 Get Christie Love doll and had the opportunity to purchase one.  For reasons beyond my knowledge, I declined.  Today, some 21 years after discovering the 1/6 scale doll's existence, I regret not seizing the opportunity to own one.

I have scoured the Internet and cannot even locate a picture of this elusive doll.  I also cannot remember the manufacturer.  Mego, manufacturer of the 1970s Sonny and Cher, Diana Ross, Farah Fawcett, and other celebrity dolls, possibly made the Get Christie Love doll; but I cannot be certain.  LJN is another possibility.

I purchased the Get Christie Love movie on DVD a few years ago.  After watching it, I was rather disturbed by its sexist and racist content.  The "N" word was used frequently and Christie was also often disrespected by males as well as female characters.  In spite of this, she held her own and became the victor of sorts in the end.

Teresa Graves in "Get Christie Love," a Wikipedia.com photo

Graves reminds me of a young Whitney Houston.  After viewing a clip of the movie prior to writing this post, I even noticed similarities in Graves' and Houston's voices.   See the clip below.  (A language precaution is  issued for the racial slurs, but I won't issue one for violence because the physical confrontations pale in comparison to what is seen on film today.)


Teresa Graves ended her acting career in 1983 and died tragically in a fire at her Los Angeles home in 2002 at the age of 54.

I am in search of the Get Christie Love doll.  If you have one or know someone who does who is willing to part with it for a reasonable price, please let me know.  For now, I'll even settle for a picture until the doll is located.

For those interested, a link is shared to the 1-hour and 13-minute Get Christie Love movie.



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