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Cyd Charisse

 
Dictionary of Dance: Cyd Charisse
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Charisse, Cyd (orig. Tula Ellice Finklea;b Amarillo, Tex., 8 Mar. 1923). US dancer and actress. After studying with Bolm, Nico Charisse (her first husband), and Nijinska in California, she began her career as a ballet dancer, making her debut in 1937 with Colonel de Basil's Ballets Russes. In 1946, however, she turned her attention to the world of musicals, film, television, and cabaret, and became one of the best-known dancers in the US, famous—like Betty Grable—for her long, beautiful legs. She made several notable Hollywood films with Fred Astaire who once described her as ‘beautiful dynamite’; and she also partnered Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain (1952). She appeared, either as dancer or actress, in many films, including Mission to Moscow, Thousands Cheer, Ziegfeld Follies, The Harvey Girls, Till the Clouds Roll By, The Unfinished Dance, Fiesta, The Kissing Bandit, The Band Wagon, Brigadoon, It's Always Fair Weather, Meet Me in Las Vegas, Silk Stockings, and in Petit's 1960 film Black Tights. She made her Broadway debut as the Russian ballerina in Grand Hotel in 1992.

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Actor: Cyd Charisse
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Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors
  • Born: Mar 08, 1921 in Amarillo, Texas
  • Died: Jun 17, 2008
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '40s-'60s, '80s-'90s
  • Major Genres: Musical, Drama
  • Career Highlights: The Band Wagon, It's Always Fair Weather, Brigadoon
  • First Major Screen Credit: Till the Clouds Roll By (1946)

Biography

"When you've danced with Cyd Charisse, you stay danced with." So said Fred Astaire, in tribute to the ability and allure of his last big-screen dancing partner. Cyd Charisse was the last great musical star to come out of MGM, and she barely made it to stardom before the musical genre began its decline. One of the greatest dancers ever to come out of Hollywood, Charisse worked in movies for almost a decade before being allowed to take center stage in a major musical feature; but when she did, she fairly exploded onscreen in The Band Wagon, Vincente Minnelli's greatest musical.

Charisse was born in Tula Ellice Finklea in Amarillo, TX, and took to dancing at an early age, encouraged by her father, who loved the ballet. By age 14, she was dancing with the Ballet Russe under the more glamorous (and European-sounding) name Felia Sidorova -- the Sidorova came from her childhood nickname "Sid," which she carried into adulthood. She later studied dance in Los Angeles with Nico Charisse, who became her first husband. Charisse appeared both solo and with her first husband (working as "Nico and Charisse") in several early '40s "soundies" and played small roles in Mission to Moscow and Something to Shout About (both 1943), working under the name Lily Norwood. In 1945 Charisse was signed to MGM; Lily Norwood disappeared and Sid became Cyd, while the Charisse -- the one major legacy of the failed marriage -- remained.

Charisse appeared in some lesser studio productions during the second half of the '40s, of which the most notable was The Unfinished Dance, a notoriously bad MGM remake of a pre-World War II French film. At the time, Ann Miller was getting all of the really good high-profile dancer co-star roles in the studio's biggest songbook musicals, while Charisse got featured dancer roles in composer-tribute movies such as Till the Clouds Roll By (based loosely on the career of Jerome Kern) and Words and Music (based loosely on Richard Rodgers' and Lorenz Hart's careers). During the late '40s, she married singer Tony Martin, a union that would last more than 50 years. Charisse had the chance to work opposite Gene Kelly in An American in Paris, but turned it down as she and Martin were starting a family, a decision that she never regretted, even if it cheated film audiences of a brilliant showcase for her work. Finally, in 1952, she made it into a frontline studio production in as prominent a role as a dancer could possibly have without dialogue, playing the vamp who appears in the middle of the "Broadway Ballet" segment of Singin' in the Rain.

In 1953, with the help of Fred Astaire and director Vincente Minnelli, Charisse emerged a full-blown star in The Band Wagon. The movie, one of the greatest musicals ever made, was even more impressive as a total vehicle for Charisse -- her eight years at the studio had allowed her to absorb a fair amount of acting training, which made her just as impressive in her dramatic, romantic, and comedic scenes as she was when she danced. And when she and Astaire danced, it was literally poetry in motion, before that phrase was overused. Charisse got to work alongside Gene Kelly again in Brigadoon and It's Always Fair Weather, in which she again got to showcase her acting ability (her singing was dubbed by vocalist India Adams in most of her movies). She got to do one more major Hollywood musical, Silk Stockings (1957), acting and dancing opposite her greatest dancing partner, Fred Astaire, in a screen adaptation of Cole Porter's last great stage musical, before the musical genre disappeared.

During the 1960s, she moved her career to Europe for one last dazzling musical film, Black Tights, and onto television, where Charisse became an Emmy-winning performer, and then onto the stage. Luckily for Charisse, she was a good enough actress to credibly work in straight drama and comedy, and was so striking a physical presence that she kept her career going well into the 1970s, including a successful nightclub act with Tony Martin. She scored a hit in the Australian production of No No Nanette in 1972, and she and Martin authored a joint-autobiography, The Two of Us, in 1976. Charisse published a successful workout book in the early '90s, and remains one of the most beloved performers from the world of Hollywood musicals. In 2000, she received the first Nijinsky Award from Princess Caroline of Monaco for her lifelong contribution to dance. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
Wikipedia: Cyd Charisse
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Cyd Charisse

from the trailer for Fiesta (1947)
Born Tula Ellice Finklea
March 8, 1922(1922-03-08)
Amarillo, Texas, U.S.
Died June 17, 2008 (aged 86)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other name(s) Lily Norwood, Felia Siderova, Maria Istomina
Occupation Actress/Dancer
Years active 1943–1995
Spouse(s) Nico Charisse (1939–1947)
Tony Martin (1948–2008)
Official website

Cyd Charisse (March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008) was an American actress and dancer.

After recovering from polio as a child, and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s. Her roles usually focussed on her abilities as a dancer, and she was paired with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly; her films include Singin' in the Rain (1952), The Band Wagon (1953) and Silk Stockings (1957). She stopped dancing in films in the late 1950s, but continued acting in film and television, and in 1992 made her Broadway debut.

In her later years, she discussed the history of the Hollywood musical in documentaries, and participated in That's Entertainment! III in 1994. She was awarded the National Medal of the Arts and Humanities in 2006 and died two years later as a result of a heart attack.

Contents

Life and career

Early life

Charisse was born as Tula Elice Finklea in Amarillo, Texas, the daughter of Lela (née Norwood) and Ernest Enos Finklea, Sr., who was a jeweler.[1][2] Her nickname "Sid" was taken from a sibling trying to say "Sis".[3] (It was later spelled "Cyd" at MGM to give her an air of mystery.) She was a sickly girl who started dancing lessons at six to build up her strength after a bout with polio. At 12, she studied ballet in Los Angeles with Adolph Bolm and Bronislava Nijinska, and at 14, she auditioned for and subsequently danced in the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo as "Felia Siderova" [4][5] and, later, "Maria Istomina".[5]

During a European tour, she met up again with Nico Charisse, a handsome young dancer she had studied with for a time in Los Angeles. They married in Paris in 1939. They had a son, Nicky, born in 1942.[3]

Career

The outbreak of World War II led to the break-up of the company, and when Charisse returned to Los Angeles, David Lichine offered her a dancing role in Gregory Ratoff's Something to Shout About. This brought her to the attention of choreographer Robert Alton — who had also discovered Gene Kelly — and soon she joined the Freed Unit at MGM, where she became the resident MGM ballet dancer.[4]

Charisse was principally celebrated for her on-screen pairings with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. She first appeared with Astaire in a brief routine in Ziegfeld Follies (produced in 1944 and released in 1946). Her next appearance with him was as lead female role in The Band Wagon (1953), where she danced with Astaire in the acclaimed "Dancing in the Dark" and "Girl Hunt Ballet" routines. Another early role cast her opposite Judy Garland in the 1946 film The Harvey Girls.

Charisse and Gene Kelly in the "Broadway Melody Ballet" sequence from Singin' in the Rain

As Debbie Reynolds was not a trained dancer, Gene Kelly chose Charisse to partner him in the celebrated "Broadway Melody" ballet finale from Singin' in the Rain (1952), and she co-starred with Kelly in 1954's Scottish-themed musical film Brigadoon. She again took the lead female role alongside Kelly in his penultimate MGM musical It's Always Fair Weather (1956).[6]

In 1957, she rejoined Astaire in the film version of Silk Stockings, a musical remake of 1939's Ninotchka, with Charisse taking over Greta Garbo's role. In his autobiography, Astaire paid tribute to Charisse, calling her "beautiful dynamite" and writing: "That Cyd! When you've danced with her you stay danced with."[7][8]

In her autobiography, Charisse reflected on her experience with Astaire and Kelly: "As one of the handful of girls who worked with both of those dance geniuses, I think I can give an honest comparison. In my opinion, Kelly is the more inventive choreographer of the two. Astaire, with Hermes Pan's help, creates fabulous numbers — for himself and his partner. But Kelly can create an entire number for somebody else ... I think, however, that Astaire's coordination is better than Kelly's ... his sense of rhythm is uncanny. Kelly, on the other hand, is the stronger of the two. When he lifts you, he lifts you! ... To sum it up, I'd say they were the two greatest dancing personalities who were ever on screen. But it's like comparing apples and oranges. They're both delicious." [9]

Charisse and Fred Astaire "dancing in the dark" in The Band Wagon.

After the decline of the Hollywood musical in the late 1950s, Charisse retired from dancing but continued to appear in film and TV productions from the 1960s through the 1990s. She had a supporting role in "Something's Got To Give", the last, unfinished film of Marilyn Monroe. She made cameo appearances in Blue Mercedes's "I Want To Be Your Property" (1987) and Janet Jackson's "Alright" (1990) music videos.

Her last film appearance was in 1994 in That's Entertainment! III as one of the onscreen narrators of a tribute to the great MGM musical films.

Personal life

Charisse was married to singer Tony Martin from 1948 until her death. The marriage lasted almost 60 years, a notable length among Hollywood marriages, matched in 2008 amongst living American actors by only Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson (also married in 1948).[citation needed] Her first husband, whose surname she kept, was Nico Charisse (March 1906 - April 1970);[10] they were married from 1939 to 1947.

She had two sons, Nico "Nicky" Charisse from her first marriage, and Tony Martin, Jr., born 1950, from her second. One of her daughters-in-law is Liv Lindeland, who was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Year for 1972. A niece of hers by marriage is actress Nana Visitor.

Charisse wrote a joint biography with Martin (and Dick Kleiner) entitled The Two of Us (1976). She was featured in the 2001 Guinness Book of World Records under "Most Valuable Legs", since a $5 million insurance policy was reportedly accepted on her legs in 1952. MGM was reputed to have insured her legs for a million dollars each, but Charisse later revealed that that had been an invention of the MGM publicity machine.

Her daughter-in-law, Sheila Charisse, was a victim of the crash of American Airlines Flight 191 in 1979.

In 1990, following similar moves by MGM colleagues Debbie Reynolds and Angela Lansbury, Charisse produced the exercise video Easy Energy Shape Up, targeted for active senior citizens.

Later years and death

In her eighties, Charisse made occasional public appearances and appeared frequently in documentaries spotlighting the golden age of Hollywood. She made her Broadway debut in 1992 in the musical version of Grand Hotel as the aging ballerina, Elizaveta Grushinskaya.[3]

Publicist Gene Schwam said Charisse was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, on June 16, 2008 after suffering an apparent heart attack. She died the following day, aged 86.[11] She was buried at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City on June 22, 2008.

Honors

Accepting the National Medal of Arts and Humanities Award in 2006, photo by Paul Morse

On November 9, 2006, in a private White House ceremony, President George W. Bush presented Cyd Charisse with the National Medal of the Arts and Humanities, the highest official U.S. honor available in the arts.[12]

Filmography

Features:

Short subjects:

  • Rhumba Serenade (1941)
  • Poeme (1941)
  • I Knew It Would Be This Way (1941)
  • Did Anyone Call? (1941)
  • Magic of Magnolias (1942)
  • This Love of Mine (1942)
  • 1955 Motion Picture Theatre Celebration (1955)

Music videos

References

  1. ^ Film Reference site
  2. ^ NY Times article
  3. ^ a b c Cyd Charisse dies in LA at 86
  4. ^ a b Wollen, Peter (1992). Singin' in the Rain. London: British Film Institute. pp. 42. ISBN 0-81570-351-8. 
  5. ^ a b Missiaen, Jean-Claude (1978). Cyd Charisse, du ballet classique à la comédie musicale. Paris: Henri Veyrier. pp. 38. ISBN 2-85199-186-8. 
  6. ^ Charisse's singing voice was usually dubbed in her musical film appearances, most often by India Adams.
  7. ^ Astaire, Fred (1959). Steps in Time. London: Heinemann. pp. 319. ISBN 0-241-11749-6. 
  8. ^ In a documentary on the making of The Band Wagon (included in that film's 2006 DVD release), Charisse cites Astaire's tribute as: "When you dance with Cyd Charisse, you've been danced with".Findarticles.com
  9. ^ Charisse, Cyd; Tony Martin, Dick Kleiner (1976). The Two of Us. New York: Mason/Charter. ISBN 0-884-053636. 
  10. ^ Social Security Death Index
  11. ^ Legendary dancer Cyd Charisse dies, CNN
  12. ^ Washington Post coverage of her award presentation at the White House

External links

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Dictionary of Dance. The Oxford Dictionary of Dance. Copyright © 2000, 2004 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Cyd Charisse".  Read more

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