Roseanna Christiansen Dies: ‘Dallas’ & ‘The Jeffersons’ Actress Was 71
Roseanna Christiansen, who played the Southfork ranch maid Teresa on the final nine seasons of the original Dallas on CBS, died July 14 at Antelope Valley Medical Center in Lancaster, CA. She was 71. No cause of death was given.
Christiansen joined Dallas in 1982 for its sixth season, staying through the 14th and final season in 1991. She appeared in 112 episodes.
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Before her long stint on Dallas, she appeared on the CBS sitcom The Jeffersons for three episodes. She again portrayed a maid during the show’s 1981 season. She was the replacement for Florence (Marla Gibbs), who left the show for the spinoff Checking In. Gibbs returned to the show when that venture lasted just four episodes.
Her character, Carmen, was hired by George (Sherman Hemsley) and Louise (Isabel Sanford) after Florence (Marla Gibbs) quit. In reality, Gibbs had exited to star in her own spinoff, Checking in, but that sitcom lasted just four episodes, paving the way for Gibbs to return to maid duty on The Jeffersons.
A native New Yorker, she appeared in an off-off-Broadway play with her brother, Victor, when she was 9. Christiansen moved to Los Angeles in 1973, with The Jeffersons being her first break.
Survivors include her husband, Steven Rizzo, children Josiah and Grace, and her sister, Elba.
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