LOS ANGELES (AP)--Actress Teresa Graves, who starred as a sassy undercover cop in the 1970s television police drama ``Get Christie Love!'', died Thursday in a fire at her home. She was 54.
Firefighters found Graves unconscious in a bedroom, said police Sgt. Henry Miller. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where she died.
The blaze began shortly past midnight at Graves' 1,600-square-foot home in Hyde Park, city fire spokesman Brian Humphrey said. Firefighters found the rear part of the home engulfed in flames.
Graves started her career as a singer with the Doodletown Pipers. She later turned to acting, appearing regularly on ``Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' in 1969 and 1970.
She had supporting roles in several films during the 1970s, including ``Black Eye,'' ``That Man Bolt'' and ``Vampira.''
On ``Get Christie Love!'', which ran during the 1974-75 season, she played the first black woman hired by a big-city police department.
Graves left acting in the mid-1970s in favor of religion.
The fire appeared to have started in a 200-square-foot enclosed patio that was added on to the original home, Humphrey said. Smoke alarms inside the home were functional, fire officials said.