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Tags: linda cristal | argentine-born actress | the high chaparral

'High Chaparral' Star Dead at 89

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By    |   Tuesday, 30 June 2020 10:18 AM EDT

Linda Cristal, the Argentine-born actress best known for her performance in the NBC series "The High Chaparral," has died at age 89. The Golden-Globe winning star passed away on Saturday in her sleep at her home in Beverly Hills, Calif., her son, Jordan Wexler, confirmed to Fox News.

"Anybody who knows her would say she's amazing because she treated everybody with respect," he told the news outlet. "It doesn't matter who they were, it didn't matter what level or what religion or culture, education – she didn't care. Everybody got the utmost respect. And she was so humble."

Cristal first carved a name for herself in Mexico's film industry in the 1950s after appearing in an English speaking role in "Comanche," according to Deadline. She went on to establish herself in Hollywood and appeared in dozens of other films including "The Alamo," "Iron Horse," and 1958's "The Perfect Furlough," which earned her a New Star of the Year Golden Globe Award, which she shared with Tina Louise and Susan Kohner.

Her most prominent role came in 1967 when she was cast as Victoria Cannon in "The High Chaparral," which ran for four seasons.

Looking back at her career, Wexler said his mother came from nothing but worked hard to make it in showbiz.

"Both her parents died when she was 13. She was orphaned," he told Fox News. "She was so poor, in fact, that her brother died in front of her because they didn't have money to give him medicine."

He described how Cristal stowed away in a ship in hopes of making a new life for herself in Hollywood. Shortly after her arrival, she was cast in "The Alamo," which shot her to fame.

"She didn’t have much education, so she had to learn when she came to this country," Waxler said of his mother, who could barely speak English when she arrived on U.S. soil. "In her first film, she had to mouth it. She had to listen to what it said, even if she didn’t understand it and memorize it in a different language."

Shortly before her death, Wexler said he spoke to his mother of how she paved the way for future stars coming from similar backgrounds.

"I said, you realize you've changed the lives of millions of people. And she said, 'What do you mean?' I go, 'Mother – do you realize that when you were doing 'The High Chaparral,' there were no Latin women, especially no Latin women starring that played a woman as a strong role,'" he said. "You've changed and given inspiration to millions of women out there, you know?' And that's the way my mom was. She’s an angel in heaven, no doubt."

Zoe Papadakis

Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.

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TheWire
Linda Cristal, the Argentine-born actress best known for her performance in the NBC series "The High Chaparral," has died at age 89.
linda cristal, argentine-born actress, the high chaparral
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2020-18-30
Tuesday, 30 June 2020 10:18 AM
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