Christie was born in Grants Pass in 1924 and helped his family raise hops. ". Characteristic paintings from this period include Bird (c. 1941), Male and Female (c. 1942), and Guardians of the Secret (1943). I'd lost fifty pounds or so. A race in his name has been held in the Rogue Valley and in Roseburg, where he lived for several years prior to moving to Medford. Christie started at Indianapolis every year from 1956 to 63. The race started four hours late under threatening skies. Plain and simple. People came to see the storied track's first 200-mph laps. On the west coast, daughter Judy (then 23-years-old) and son Mike (25-years-old) heard this shocking and unwelcome news on radio and television in the early morning hours. get down the bloody straightaway.' In 1968, he teamed up to drive one of Andy Granatelli's famous STP Lotus Turbines.