Christina Putnam

Christina Putnam, a Houston native, boasts a diverse professional profile as a college educator, journalist, and public relations professional. Armed with a B.A. and M.A. from Stephen F. Austin State University, she has been an accredited media presence at marquee events like the Dallas Videofest, The San Francisco Silent Film Festival, and The TCM Classic Film Festival. Her expertise extends to crafting compelling social media content and visuals. Christina’s passion for classic cinema is evident through her Sue Sue Applegate articles, a mainstay of the previous TCM Festivals Forum. As an administrator of The Silver Screen Oasis, she further cemented her place in the classic film community and helped promote Scandal: The Trial of Mary Astor (2018), directed by TCM’s Alexa Foreman.

She has presented films at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Plaza Theatre in Garland, Texas, and the McKinney Classic Film Festival. Christina has also presented the Topaz Film Festival Legacy Award to the family of Dorothy Malone.

In 2016, Christina embarked on her latest literary endeavor: Thelma Ritter: Hollywood’s Favorite New Yorker. The journey began with exhaustive research at the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles. She conducted enlightening interviews with the late Tab Hunter, West Side Story actor and dancer Harvey Evans, Christa Fuller, Cari Beauchamp, Ruta Lee, classic film authority Steven Hayes, the late Marvin Kaplan, writer Jan Stuart, actor Eddie Hodges, family members of the late Thelma Ritter, actress and comedienne Carol Burnett and many others. Scheduled for publication in late 2024 by the University Press of Mississippi, her biography promises to illuminate the legacy of Thelma Ritter.