About Coca Crystal
Lived 1947 – 2016 (aged 68). Coca Crystal was an American television actor and journalist.
Coca Crystal (December 21, 1947 – March 1, 2016) was an American television personality, anarchist and political activist, connected with 1960s counterculture. She was best known for her weekly cable-access variety show The Coca Crystal Show: If I Can't Dance, You Can Keep Your Revolution, which ran from 1977 to 1995 on Manhattan Cable Television.
Biography Born as Jacqueline Diamond on December 21, 1947, to Jack Diamond, owner of J. Diamond Furs and Rita Dunn, a former fur model. She was born in Manhattan and raised in Mamaroneck. She would write about politics, women's issues and personal events, many of which earned her the title "slumgoddess".
In 1975 she adopted her sister's mentally and physically handicapped son, Gustav Che Finkelstein, after her sister was arrested and imprisoned for possession of Hashish in Morocco. Gus received an “executive producer" credit and his babysitter was interviewed on her show. She cared for Gus up until her death.
In April 1977, a woman claiming to be Crystal called the New York Times to claim the pieing of conservative activist and author Phyllis Schlafly on behalf of the Emma Goldman Brigade. Schlafly was attending a Women's National Republican Club event thrown in her honor at the landmark Waldorf Astoria New York.
Crystal died of respiratory failure on March 1, 2016, in Rochelle Park, New Jersey, at age 68. In 2006 she was diagnosed with lung cancer and had struggled with many treatments prior to her death.
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Important facts
People in Coca Crystal's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Coca Crystal's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Coca Crystal?
American Underground personality (1947 - 2016)
When was Coca Crystal born?
Coca Crystal was born on 21 December 1947 in Manhattan.
When did Coca Crystal die?
Coca Crystal died on 1 March 2016 in Rochelle Park.
What was Coca Crystal's occupation?
Coca Crystal was a television actor and journalist.
What nationality was Coca Crystal?
Coca Crystal was American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Coca Crystal. https://biography.guide/coca-crystal/
MLA: "Coca Crystal." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/coca-crystal/.
Chicago: "Coca Crystal." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/coca-crystal/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-22 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
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