Sunday, December 31, 2006

My Name is Christa Helm


This is a piece written by Christa's daughter Nicole. I had seen the piece before but would not have presumed to post it without permission but Nicole herself just posted it as a comment under an earlier piece I wrote about her mother. I thought it might get noticed a bit more as today's post. MY NAME IS CHRISTA HELM The early 1970's were a difficult time for the women of the day. Their moms were of the 50's, housekeepers, held against their will, by the "Right thing to do'. Those divorces hadn't much in the line of options either. Then there was the incoming age of peace, rock and roll, and the newfound sex, drugs and freedoms that no generation of women before had the pleasure, and pain of experiencing.My mother was one of these women, finally finding power in her sexuality, as opposed to the shame her earlier experiences had taught her. Her beauty was undeniable, and once she mastered the art of manipulation and charm, she found her way onto the path of her dreams. She was going to be a Movie Star!A few years of modeling and "Faking it" paid off when she moved to Hollywood and changed her name to Christa Helm.Living in a mansion, driving a new Jag, rich men falling all over her. Movie stars, sports figures, rich producers, politicians and musicians. They were all hers for the taking, and she took, and she worked, until she found herself on on the Yellow Brick Road of fame.Guest starring in Wonder Woman, Starsky and Hutch, making B rated movies, lathering in the Coppertone commercial of the day with Tarzan, and finally starring in her own debut film that was never released, all introduced her to the thrills and dangers of stardom.The lifestyles of Hollywood starlets of the time were filled with drugs, sex, murder, and money. My mother gained it all, and lost it all in a very short time.Down to her last dollars, waiting on a prime role and desperate to survive, she logged all of her escapades in a journal. The journal is rumored to have been filled with lovers, events and details of her private moments.Her affairs, beauty and strength enraged many who knew my mother, but those same attributes also brought respect, career growth, and an array of people who truly loved and respected the beauty within her. In the end those who loved and hated her would all become scrutinized under an investigation that remains open today, almost 30 years later.In the early morning hours one February morning in 1977, my mother was murdered. Stabbed over 30 times. beaten with a blunt instrument and left to bleed to death under a parked car in an upscale Hollywood neighborhood.The case remains unsolved. She was born Sandra Wohlfeil. She died Christa Helm.

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:17 AM

    This was a wonderful piece. Nicole was right on with this. I have been recovering from a lengthy illness however, I am always on the lookout for updates about Christa Helm. I am glad that Nicole wrote this. I am happy too, that she has taken much into consideration and is mature enough to know that, as humans, we are all mult-faceted as was Christa. That we all have a past, that we all have said or done things, especially when young and naive, that perhaps was not best for us at that time. I believe Christa would have become wise with time, if she had been allotted that time. And God bless you Nicole in your continued tenacity and spirit.

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  2. Anonymous8:30 PM

    I dont understand why someone felt the need to kill her when most of us that same age was acting the same way. It was the decade. Before there weren't alot of stuff about Christa on the web and now stuff about her is popping up all over the internet. Way to go Nicole! Maybe, with the internet, and reaching the masses, something may come up that may give you the answer you seek. I think Christa was a gorgeous, beautiful, smart, talented woman and it sounds like her daughter is the same! I hope you find the answers you are looking for. And I tell everyone, don't judge Christa too harshly since alot of us from that generation acted the same way. I know I did.

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  3. Anonymous8:33 PM

    One correction, if I may--not ALL of us were "held against our will" to do the "right thing." Some of CHOSE to take that path. Others did not. I am not saying that Ms. Helm chose the wrong path, it's just that it was that particular time of the decade that brought about the changes we, as young, people, having lived through WW2, had been raised. Now, come the 60's and 70's, it was very different than the 40's and 50's. It was in the early 60's that there was evidence of alot of change in many things. Vietnam had started and our young men had been sent off to fight in another awful war. It was a time that people were tired of wars and wanted freedom of expression. Even at my age of 89, I don't blame them for feeling the way they did. I believe that Ms. Helm was very artistic and had high hopes and dreams for herself and her daughter. She was not lazy by any means, it seems. She had alot of smarts. It's very sad what happened to her. I am so sorry that her daughter had to endure life without her mother. I hope that one day those that did her dirty are brought to justice. I would like to know what happened to her journal...it is said it disappeared...

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