Christine Belford (born Christine Riley) is an American television and film actress. She has sometimes been credited as Christina Belford.

Early life

Christine Riley was born in Amityville, Long Island, New York to Joseph J. Riley and Mary Belford Riley (née Wilson; later Malone), who later divorced. She has a brother, Terry, and a sister, Shawn. The family once lived at 112 Ocean Avenue, the location which later became famous as the setting of '' The Amityville Horror'', for about five years from age 11 until age 16. As a young child and teenager on Long Island, she was active in equestrian trials and won many horsemanship awards.Pack, Harvey "Christine Belford: Starlet of '72" Sarasota Herald-Tribune (July 2, 1972) page 47 (also available online at th
Google Books
newspaper archive) "She was enrolled at the best schools and joined the best swimming and yachting clubs on Long Island." After graduating from high school in 1966, she attended

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of New ...

, initially interested in pursuing a career in psychiatry. However, the classwork she did with Joseph Leon, the head of the drama department, inspired her to become an actress. In 1970, after college she moved to New York City and did some modeling work but no acting. Additionally, she said, "In order to keep a roof over my head and to eat, I took any job I could get. I was a waitress, a bar maid, and I also drove an ice truck." For both personal and professional reasons, she moved to Los Angeles near the end of 1970. There, at the suggestion of a friend, actress

Carrie Snodgress Caroline Louise Snodgress (October 27, 1945 – April 1, 2004) was an American actress. She is best remembered for her role in the film ''Diary of a Mad Housewife'' (1970), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award as w ...

, she auditioned at

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

, performing a scene from the film '' The Country Girl'' for the head of talent, Monique James. Christine then received a seven-year acting contract from Universal Pictures, "A very precious commodity issued only to a chosen few."

Television career

Her first appearance on television was as an extra on the

Vince Edwards Vince Edwards (born Vincent Edward Zoine; July 9, 1928 – March 11, 1996) was an American actor and director. He was best known for his TV role as doctor Ben Casey and as Major Cliff Bricker in the 1968 war film '' The Devil's Brigade''. Ear ...

series ''

Matt Lincoln ''Matt Lincoln'' is an American medical drama series which aired on ABC as part of its 1970-71 lineup. Based on a Universal made-for-tv movie called ''Dial Hot Line'',Harlan Ellison, review of ''Matt Lincoln'' in ''The Other Glass Teat'' (Pyr ...

''. Her first credited appearance on television was in the NBC television movie ''Vanished'' in 1971. She played insurance investigator Carlie Kirkland during the second season (1973–74) of ''

Banacek ''Banacek'' is an American detective TV series starring George Peppard that aired on the NBC network from 1972 to 1974. The series was part of the rotating '' NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie'' anthology. It alternated in its time slot with several o ...

.'' She appeared in the 1980 TV-movie '' The Gambler'' with Kenny Rogers and also played Ricky Stratton's mother, Evelyn on ''

Silver Spoons ''Silver Spoons'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from September 25, 1982, to May 11, 1986, and in first-run syndication from September 27, 1986, to May 30, 1987. The series was produced by Embassy Television for the f ...

'' and Jackie on ''Empire''. She appeared in guest roles on many popular television shows of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, including '' Ironside'', ''

'', ''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that ran from 1967 to 1975 on CBS. It was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller. The title character, Joe Mannix, is a private in ...

'', ''

Barnaby Jones ''Barnaby Jones'' is an American detective television series starring Buddy Ebsen as a formerly retired investigator and Lee Meriwether as his widowed daughter-in-law, who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles, California. The show was o ...

'', ''

Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law ''Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law'' is an American legal drama, jointly created by David Victor and former law professor Jerry McNeely, that starred Arthur Hill. The series was broadcast on ABC from 1971 to 1974; Victor and McNeely produced it ...

'', ''

The Six Million Dollar Man ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. After a NASA test flight accident, Austin ...

'', ''

CHiPs ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The seri ...

'', ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byrne, are credited as bein ...

'', '' Magnum, P.I.'', ''

Hart to Hart ''Hart to Hart'' is an American mystery television series that premiered on August 25, 1979, on ABC. The show stars Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, respectively, a wealthy couple who lead a glamorous jetset life ...

'', ''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...

'', ''

Family Ties ''Family Ties'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC for seven seasons, premiering on September 22, 1982, and concluding on May 14, 1989. The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the move in the United States ...

'', ''

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty Wh ...

'', ''

Blossom In botany, blossoms are the flowers of stone fruit trees (genus ''Prunus'') and of some other plants with a similar appearance that flower profusely for a period of time in spring. Colloquially, flowers of orange are referred to as such as ...

'', ''

Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for ...

'', ''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series (''Galactica 1980''), a line of ...

'' (specifically as one of the prison-barge inmates recruited to destroy "The Gun On Ice Planet Zero"), '' The Paper Chase: The Television Series,

My Two Dads ''My Two Dads'' is an American sitcom television series that was produced by Michael Jacobs Productions in association with Tri-Star Television (later Columbia Pictures Television) and distributed by TeleVentures. It starred Paul Reiser, Greg ...

'', '' Night Court'' (specifically the 1992 episode "Opportunity Knock Knocks," where she was credited as Christina Belford),

Harry O ''Harry O'', sometimes spelled ''Harry-O'', is an American Detective fiction, private detective series that aired for two seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1974 to 1976. The series starred David Janssen, and Jerry Thorpe was exec ...

, ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The seri ...

'', '' Diagnosis: Murder'' and '' Quincy'', '' Holding Pattern''. She appeared in the episode "Devil Pack" from the 1977 series ''

Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected ''Quinn Martins Tales of the Unexpected'' is an American horror and science fiction anthology television series produced by Quinn Martin, and hosted and narrated by William Conrad. It aired from February 2 to August 24, 1977.McNeil, Alex, ''Tot ...

'' (known in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

as ''Twist in the Tale''), as well as in various television films through the years. Her last appearance on television was in the horse-racing TV movie '' Ruffian'', starring

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any write ...

and broadcast on the ABC network in 2007. She played on ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

'' as the nurse for Fallon's baby at the end of Season 2 and Season 3. In 1983, she co-hosted, in Los Angeles, with Steve Edwards, Cathy Kronkite, and Ruth Batchelor, an unsuccessful pilot for a daytime-magazine series, ''Personal & Confidential'', over five days (August 1–5, 1983).Terrace, Vincent (1985) "Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials" Verlag für die Deutsche Wirtschaft AG, , page 325

Film

* ''Vanished'' (1971 TV movie) as Gretchen Greer * ''Pocket Money'' (1972) as Adelita * ''The Groundstar Conspiracy'' (1972) as Nicole Devon * ''The Million Dollar Rip-Off'' (1976 TV movie) as Lil * ''To Kill a Cop'' (1978 TV movie) as Agnes Cusack * ''High Midnight'' (1979 TV movie) as Sgt. Liz Spencer * ''Kenny Rogers as The Gambler'' (1980 TV movie) as Eliza * ''Desperate Voyage'' (1980 TV movie) * ''The Neighborhood'' (1982 TV movie) as Meg Penner * ''Sparkling Cyanide'' (1983 TV movie) as Rosemary Barton * ''

Christine Christine may refer to: People * Christine (name), a female given name Film * ''Christine'' (1958 film), based on Schnitzler's play ''Liebelei'' * ''Christine'' (1983 film), based on King's novel of the same name * ''Christine'' (1987 fil ...

'' (1983) as Regina Cunningham * ''100 Centre Street'' (1984 TV movie) as Fran Felt * ''Mr. and Mrs. Ryan'' (1986 TV movie) as Margo Slater * ''The Ladies Club'' (1986) as Dr. Constance Lewis * '' The Woman Who Sinned'' (1991 TV movie) as Randy Emerson * ''Ruffian'' (2007 TV movie) as Barbara Janney

Television

*1999 ''

The Wild Thornberrys ''The Wild Thornberrys'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, Steve Pepoon, David Silverman, and Stephen Sustarsic for Nickelodeon. The series portrays an American family of wildlife documentary ...

'' ...Whale *1994 ''

Diagnosis Murder ''Diagnosis: Murder'' is an American action-comedy-mystery-medical crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son Steve, a homicide detective played by Van Dyk ...

'' ...Emily Bissell *1993 ''

'' ...Nancy *1993 '' Step by Step'' ...Eileen Donovan *1992 ''

Mann & Machine ''Mann & Machine'' is an American science fiction/police drama television series that aired for nine episodes on NBC from April 5 to July 14, 1992. Synopsis Created by Dick Wolf and Robert De Laurentis, the series starred Yancy Butler as Sgt. Ev ...

'' ...Rose *1992 '' Night Court'' ...Clare Monroe *1991-1998 ''

'' ...Samantha Sanders *1991 '' Who's the Boss?'' ...Ida Davis *1990 Yes, Virginia ... *1990 Dragnet ...Jean Reynolds *1989 Freddy's Nightmares ...Dr. Weiss *1989 Living Dolls ...Kitty *1989

Empty Nest ''Empty Nest'' is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from October 8, 1988, to April 29, 1995. The series, which was created as a spin-off of ''The Golden Girls'' by creator and producer Susan Harris, starred Ri ...

...Fran *1989 L.A. Law ...Lily White *1988 Murphy's Law ...Claudia Slocum *1988

...Myra Young *1987 ABC Afterschool Specials ...Dr. Louise Warner *1986-1987

Outlaws An outlaw is a person living outside the law. Outlaws or The Outlaws may also refer to: Film and television Film * ''The Outlaws'' (1950 film), an Italian crime film * ''Outlaws'' (1985 film), a French film * ''The Outlaws'' (2017 film), a Sou ...

...Maggie Randall *1986

...Kirsten Nylund Adams. *1986

...Victoria Hurstenberg *1984-1993

...Missy Stevens / Maude Paulson Winslow / Fiona Keeler *1984 Breakaway ...Herself *1984 Empire ...Jackie Willow *1984 Goodnight, Beantown ...Allison *1983-1984

Fantasy Island ''Fantasy Island'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tatto ...

...Melanie Swan / Marion Robertson *1983 The Love Boat Fall Preview Special ...Herself *1983

...Victoria Dickenson *1983 It's Not Easy *1982-1987 Silver Spoons ...Evelyn Stratton / Evelyn Stratton Whiting *1982

...Susan Farragut *1982

Cagney & Lacey ''Cagney & Lacey'' is an American police procedural drama television series that aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from March 25, 1982, to May 16, 1988. The show is about two New York City police detectives who lead very di ...

...Theresa *1982 Today's F.B.I. *1981-1983

The Greatest American Hero ''The Greatest American Hero'' is an American comedy-drama superhero television series that aired on ABC. Created by producer Stephen J. Cannell, it premiered as a two-hour pilot movie on March 18, 1981, and ran until February 2, 1983. The seri ...

...Dotty Parker / Sheila Redman, the Spirit *1981

Nero Wolfe Nero Wolfe is a brilliant, obese and eccentric fictional armchair detective created in 1934 by American mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe was born in Montenegro and keeps his past murky. He lives in a luxurious brownstone on West 35th Street in ...

...Melanie Davidson *1981 Magnum, P.I. ...Adelaide Malone *1980 Beyond Westworld ...Dianna Lionstar *1980

...Denise *1979-1981

...Leigh Gamble / Linda Calahan *1979

...Nikki Stephanos *1979 Dear Detective *1979 Married: The First Year ...Emily Gorey *1979 The Paper Chase ...Chris Carlyle *1978 The White Shadow ...Dr. Evelyn Crawford *1978

...Leda *1977

Quincy M.E. ''Quincy, M.E.'' (also called ''Quincy'') is an American mystery medical drama television series from Universal Studios that aired on NBC from October 3, 1976, to May 11, 1983. Jack Klugman starred in the title role as a Los Angeles County medi ...

...Sonya *1977 Tales of the Unexpected ...Ann Colby *1977 Most Wanted ...Jennifer Haron *1976

...Baroness Paula Von Gunther *1975

...Karen Nesbitt *1975 Medical Story ...Hope *1975 Police Story ...Carrie *1975

Kate McShane ''Kate McShane'' is an American legal drama television series that aired from September 10 until November 12, 1975. ''Kate McShane'' was the first series to feature a female lawyer in the lead role. A two-hour pilot film aired April 11, 1975. Pr ...

...Charlotte Randall Chase *1974-1982 Insight ...Karen / Kate / Kay / *1974 The Manhunter ...Cynthia Browning *1974 Doc Elliot ...Joy Neimeyer *1974

...Lt. Colby *1973-1979

...Virginia Kirkland / Louise Brenner / Eleanor Devers / *1973 Jigsaw ...Gale Parker *1973

Cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

...Anne Grainger *1972-1974 Banacek ...Carlie Kirkland *1972

...Alison Bramante *1972 Alias Smith and Jones ...Ellie Alcott *1972 Cool Million ...Adrienne / Marcella Pascal *1972 The Sixth Sense ...Anna Harris *1971-1972

...Jeanine Michaels / Karen Slater *1971 Ironside ...Sue Broderick *1971

*1970-1974

Marcus Welby, M.D. Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl ...

...Sandy / Phyllis Dalton / Lolly

Voiceover career

From the 1990s to the present, Belford has done much voiceover work, including commercials, animations, promotional spots, and narrations.

Personal life

Belford has been married to actor

Nicholas Pryor Nicholas Pryor (born Nicholas David Probst; January 28, 1935) is an American actor. He has appeared in various television series, films, and stage productions. Life and career Pryor was born Nicholas David Probst in Baltimore, Maryland, the son ...

since July 1993.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Belford, Christine Living people American television actresses American film actresses Actresses from New York (state) Hofstra University alumni People from Amityville, New York Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women