Georgia Holt (born Jackie Jean Crouch; June 9, 1926 – December 10, 2022)[1] was an American singer-songwriter, actress and model. She was also notable for being the mother of Cher.
Georgia Holt | |
|---|---|
 Georgia Holt, publicity photo | |
| Born | Jackie Jean Crouch June 9, 1926 Kensett, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Died | December 10, 2022 (aged 96) Malibu, California, U.S. |
| Other names |
|
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1932–2014 |
| Spouses | John Sarkisian
(m. 1945; div. 1947)
(m. 1965; div. 1966)John Southall
(m. 1951; div. 1955)Joseph Harper Collins
(m. 1957; div. 1961)Gilbert Hartmann LaPiere
(m. 1962; div. 1964)Hamilton T. Holt
(m. 1970; div. 1974) |
| Partner | Craig Spencer (1976–2022; her death) |
| Children | 2, including Cher |
| Relatives |
|
| Musical career | |
| Genres | Country |
Early life
Holt was born Jackie Jean Crouch in Kensett, Arkansas in 1926 to Lynda Inez (née Gulley; February 8, 1913 – May 13, 2009) and Roy Malloy Crouch (July 17, 1905 – June 18, 1969). Mr. Crouch was a baker at the time. Holt said she was of English, German, Irish, French, Dutch, and Cherokee descent. Frequently moving back and forth between her separated parents, Holt estimated that she attended 17 junior high schools. Her father taught her how to sing and play guitar. [2][3][4][5][1][4]
Career
Holt sang on an Oklahoma City radio station when she was six years old, and by the age of 10, had sung with Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. She won several talent and beauty competitions,[4] and had a number of minor television and film roles in the 1950s. These included Watch the Birdie (1950), Grounds for Marriage (1951) and Lovely to Look At (1952). However, by the mid-1950s, Holt's income was largely derived from working as a club singer.[1]
After performing in a singers' workshop (Phil Moore's "Get Your Act Together") in July 1978 at Studio One in Los Angeles, Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin, and Dinah Shore booked Holt to appear on their television talk shows.[4] Holt also appeared as an audience polling member as part of a group of ten mothers of famous celebrities on the U.S. game show Card Sharks from July 4 to 8, 1988.[6]
Holt was the subject of the 2013 Lifetime documentary Dear Mom, Love Cher, which was executive produced by her daughter, Cher. The same year, Holt also released her album Honky Tonk Woman, which was recorded in 1982 with Elvis Presley's band. It was Holt's discovery of the tapes which led to the documentary project.[1] The album includes a duet with Cher titled "I'm Just Your Yesterday".[7]
In 2013, Holt and Cher appeared together on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno[8][9] and The Ellen DeGeneres Show[3] to promote the documentary and album.[3]
Personal life
Holt was married and divorced seven times to six husbands. She married Cher's father, Armenian-American truck driver John Paul Sarkisian,[10] on June 22, 1945;[11] they briefly remarried and redivorced about 20 years later. Holt's second husband was actor Chris Alcaide.[12] Her third husband was actor John Southall, with whom she had her second child, actress Georganne LaPiere.[13][14] She later wed Joseph Harper Collins,[1] after whom she married Gilbert Hartmann LaPiere, a bank manager who legally adopted Cher and Georganne and changed their surnames to LaPiere.[15] Holt's last marriage was to Hamilton T. Holt, by whose surname she became known.[1]
From 1976 until her death, Holt was in a relationship with Craig Spencer.[16] Holt was 50 and running an antiques shop when she met the then 28-year-old Spencer, who was initially interested in her daughter Georganne.[1]
Holt had two grandsons, Cher's children, Chaz Bono and Elijah Blue Allman.[7]
On December 10, 2022, Cher announced on Twitter that Holt had died.[17][18] Holt was survived by Spencer, her daughters and grandsons.[1] She was 96 years old.
Filmography
This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2022) |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | A Life of Her Own | Uncredited | Movies | |
| Watch the Birdie | Grandpop's Girl | |||
| 1951 | Grounds for Marriage | First Girl | ||
| 1955 | The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet | Bride | TV episode "David's Engagement" | |
| Artists and Models | Uncredited | Movie | ||
| 1956 | I Love Lucy | Jaques Marcel Model | TV episode "Lucy Gets a Paris Gown" | |
| 1966 | The Lucy Show | Model | TV episode "Lucy and Pat Collins" | |
| 1978 | Cher... Special | Herself | Voice only | |
| 1979 | The Mike Douglas Show | TV series | ||
| 1980 | The Merv Griffin Show | |||
| 1987 | Superstars and Their Moms | TV movie, also co-executive producer | ||
| 1999 | Behind The Music | TV series documentary episode "Cher" | ||
| 2011 | Becoming Chaz | TV series | ||
| 2013 | Entertainment Tonight | Television infotainment series | ||
| The Tonight Show With Jay Leno | Late night comedy program (NBC-TV) | [19] | ||
| The Ellen DeGeneres Show | TV series | |||
| Good Morning America | Morning news program (ABC-TV) | |||
| Access Hollywood | Television infotainment series | |||
| Dear Mom, Love Cher | TV documentary | [19] | ||
| 20/20 | Weekly news program (on ABC-TV) | |||
| 2013 | Sunday Morning | Herself | Weekly news program | |
| 2014 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Herself/Guest Judge | Season 6 Episode 9; "Queens of Talk" | [19] |
Discography
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US Heat | ||
| Honky Tonk Woman |
|
43[20] | 13[20] |
Bibliography
- Holt, Georgia; Quinn, Phyllis; Russell, Sue (1989). Star Mothers – The Moms Behind the Celebrities. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-91540-3.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Georgia Holt, singer, actress and mother of Cher – obituary". The Telegraph. 2022-12-14. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
- ^ Woo, Kelly (April 2, 2013). "First Look at Cher With Her Mom in Lifetime Documentary". Yahoo! TV. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
- ^ a b c Peeples, Jase (May 1, 2013). "Watch: Cher and Her Mother Sing on Ellen". The Advocate. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
- ^ a b c d Kalter, Suzy (August 7, 1978). "After Seven Failed Marriages, Cher's Ma (Chastity's Grandma) Takes Her Own Star Turn". People. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
- ^ "The Controversy of Cher's Heritage". AAA Native Arts. September 28, 2015.
- ^ "Meet Cher's 93 year old mother, Georgia Holt- Great Video with Cher, Chaz, and Elijah Blue , sister Georgeanne, Allman & Georgia". thelifeandtimesofhollywood.com/. October 5, 2019. Archived from the original on December 11, 2022. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
- ^ a b Rice, Lynette (April 1, 2013). "Cher's family subject of Lifetime documentary". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
- ^ Yahr, Emily (April 29, 2013). "TV highlights". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
- ^ Avery, Dan (May 1, 2013). "Cher Reveals Her Teenage Mugshot On "The Tonight Show"". NewNowNext. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
- ^ "Cher. Biography, news, photos and videos". HELLO!. 8 October 2009.
- ^ "Licensed To Wed". The Fresno Bee. June 25, 1945. p. 11.
- ^ Yates, Donald N.; Yates, Teresa A. (2021). Cherokee DNA Studies II. Panther`s Lodge Publishers. ISBN 9798542659312.
- ^ Cain, Sian (2022-12-12). "Georgia Holt, actor, singer and Cher's mother, dies aged 96". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
- ^ MyNewsGH (2022-12-11). "Georgia Holt Children: Meet Cher and Georganne LaPiere". MyNewsGh. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
- ^ "CHER, HER FAMILY SAGA and a mother's love | lady.co.uk". lady.co.uk.
- ^ "Lifetime's 'Dear Mom, Love Cher' has Georgia on its Mind".
- ^ "Cher confirms her mother Georgia Holt death at 96". Geo.tv. December 11, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
- ^ Cher [@cher] (December 11, 2022). "Mom is gone😔" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b c "Georgia Holt". TVGuide.com.
- ^ a b "Cher's mother Georgia Holt makes chart debut at age 86". Denver Post. May 10, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
External links
- Georgia Holt at IMDb
- Georgia Holt discography at Discogs