Cyd Charisse (born Tula Ellice Finklea; March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008) was an American dancer and actress.

After recovering from polio as a child and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s. Her roles usually featured her abilities as a dancer, and she was often paired with Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly. Her films included Singin' in the Rain (1952), The Band Wagon (1953), Brigadoon (1954), and Silk Stockings (1957). She stopped dancing in films in the late 1950s but continued acting in film and television, and in 1991 she made her Broadway debut. In her later years she discussed the history of the Hollywood musical in documentaries and was featured in That's Entertainment! III in 1994. She was awarded the National Medal of the Arts and Humanities in 2006.

Early life

Cyd Charisse was born Tula Ellice Finklea in Amarillo, Texas, the daughter of Lela (née Norwood) and Ernest Enos Finklea, Sr., who was a jeweler. Her nickname "Sid" was taken from her older brother Ernest E. Finklea, Jr., who tried to say "Sis". It was later given the spelling of "Cyd" by Arthur Freed.

She was a sickly girl who started dancing lessons at six to build up her strength after a bout of 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" and, later, "Maria Istomina".

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

She followed it with Three Wise Fools (1946), and she danced with Gower Champion to "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" in Till the Clouds Roll By (1946). She also had a supporting role in the Esther Williams musical Fiesta (1947).

Rising fame

thumb|right|Charisse in [[Singin' in the Rain (1952)]]

thumb|right|The cast of The Band Wagon (1953) L–R: [[Oscar Levant, Cyd Charisse, Jack Buchanan, Fred Astaire, and Nanette Fabray]]

Charisse was second billed in The Unfinished Dance (1947) with Margaret O'Brien, but the film was a box office flop. She had a good supporting part in On an Island with You (1948) with Esther Williams again and danced in The Kissing Bandit (1948). She had a supporting part in Words and Music (1948).

Charisse was given another opportunity in a "B" movie, Tension (1950), where she was third billed, but it was a box office disappointment. She was billed fifth in the prestigious East Side, West Side (1949) and was borrowed by Universal to play the female lead in The Mark of the Renegade (1951).

Back at MGM Charisse was the leading lady in The Wild North (1951) with Stewart Granger, which was a huge hit. Because Debbie Reynolds was not a trained dancer, Kelly chose Charisse to partner with him in the celebrated "Broadway Melody" ballet sequence from Singin' in the Rain (1952), which was acknowledged soon after its release as one of the greatest musicals of all time.

Stardom

thumb|left|Charisse with [[Fred Astaire in The Band Wagon (1953)]]

Charisse had a significant role in Sombrero (1953) as well as the lead female role in The Band Wagon (1953), in which she danced with Astaire in the acclaimed "Dancing in the Dark" and "Girl Hunt Ballet" routines. Vincente Minnelli directed. Critic Pauline Kael said that "when the bespangled Charisse wraps her phenomenal legs around Astaire, she can be forgiven everything, even her three minutes of 'classical' ballet and the fact that she reads her lines as if she learned them phonetically." The film was another classic but lost money for MGM. In between she made an appearance in Deep in My Heart (1954).

thumb|right|Publicity photo of Charisse for the film [[Silk Stockings (1957 film)|Silk Stockings (1957)]]

Charisse co-starred with Dan Dailey in Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956), which earned $3.7 million at the box office, with production costs of $2.4 million. She rejoined Astaire in the film version of Silk Stockings (1957), a musical remake of 1939's Ninotchka, with Charisse taking over Greta Garbo's role. Astaire paid tribute to Charisse in his autobiography, calling her "beautiful dynamite" and writing: "That Cyd! When you've danced with her, you stay danced with." The film was well received but lost money for MGM.

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.

Charisse had a slightly unusual dramatic role in Party Girl (1958), in which she played a showgirl who becomes involved with gangsters and a crooked lawyer, although it did include two dance routines. It was far more profitable for MGM than her musicals. they were married in 1939 and had a son, Nico "Nicky" Charisse, before divorcing in 1947. In 1948 Charisse married singer Tony Martin and remained married to him until her death in 2008. They had a son, Tony Martin, Jr.

Her daughter-in-law is actress and model Liv Lindeland, who was married to Tony Martin, Jr. until his death in 2011. Her other daughter-in-law Sheila Charisse, wife of first son Nicky Charisse, died in the crash of American Airlines Flight 191 on May 25, 1979. Charisse, like her husband Tony Martin, Sr., was a staunch Republican and campaigned for Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election and Richard Nixon in 1968. She was the aunt of the actress Nana Visitor.

Death

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 at age 86. She was a practicing Methodist, but due to her husband's religion she was buried at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery, a Jewish cemetery in Culver City, California, following a Methodist ceremony.

Honors

thumb|Charisse with George W. and [[Laura Bush, 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.

Filmography

Features

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

|-

|1941 || Escort Girl || Flamenco Dancer || Uncredited

|-

|rowspan=3|1943 || Something to Shout About || Lily ||

|-

| Mission to Moscow ||Galina Ulanova – Ballerina || Uncredited

|-

| Thousands Cheer|| Dancer in Don Loper Number || Uncredited

|-

|1944 || In Our Time|| Ballerina || Uncredited

|-

|1945 || Ziegfeld Follies || Ballerina ('Beauty') ||

|-

|rowspan=3|1946 || The Harvey Girls || Deborah Andrews ||

|-

| Three Wise Fools || Rena Fairchild ||

|-

| Till the Clouds Roll By || Dance Specialty ||Segment: "Roberta"

|-

|rowspan=2|1947 || Fiesta || Conchita ||

|-

| The Unfinished Dance || Mlle. Ariane Bouchet ||

|-

|rowspan=3|1948 || On an Island with You || Yvonne Torro ||

|-

| The Kissing Bandit ||Dancer ||

|-

| Words and Music || Margo Grant ||

|-

|1949 || East Side, West Side || Rosa Senta ||

|-

|1950 || Tension || Mary Chanler ||

|-

|1951 || The Mark of the Renegade || Manuella de Vasquez ||

|-

|rowspan=2|1952 || The Wild North ||Indian Girl ||

|-

| Singin' in the Rain || The long-legged woman in the green sequined dress ||

|-

|rowspan=3|1953 || Sombrero || Lola de Torrano ||

|-

| The Band Wagon || Gabrielle Gerard ||

|-

| Easy to Love || Girl in Blue Swimsuit (cameo) || Uncredited

|-

|rowspan=2|1954 || Brigadoon ||Fiona Campbell ||

|-

| Deep in My Heart || Performer in 'The Desert Song' ||

|-

|1955 || It's Always Fair Weather ||Jackie Leighton ||

|-

|1956 || Meet Me in Las Vegas || Maria Corvier ||

|-

|1957 || Silk Stockings || Ninotchka Yoschenko ||

|-

|rowspan=2|1958 || Twilight for the Gods || Charlotte King ||

|-

| Party Girl || Vicki Gaye ||

|-

|1960 || Black Tights || The Wife ||

|-

|1961 || Five Golden Hours || Baroness Sandra ||

|-

|rowspan=2|1962 || Two Weeks in Another Town ||Carlotta ||

|-

| Something's Got To Give || Bianca Arden || Unfinished

|-

|1965 || Assassination in Rome || Shelley North ||

|-

|1966 || The Silencers || Sarita ||

|-

|1967 || Maroc 7 || Louise Henderson ||

|-

|1972 || Film Portrait || Herself || Documentary

|-

|1976 || Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood|| President's Girl 4 ||

|-

|1978 || Warlords of Atlantis || Atsil ||

|-

|1989 || Visioni private || Herself ||

|-

|1994 || That's Entertainment! III || Herself || Documentary

|}

Short subjects

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

|-

|rowspan=4|1941 || Rhumba Serenade ||Dancer ||

|-

| Poeme ||Dancer ||

|-

| I Knew It Would Be This Way ||Dancer ||

|-

| Did Anyone Call? ||Dancer ||

|-

|rowspan=3|1942 || Magic of Magnolias ||Dancer ||

|-

| The Gay Parisian || Dancer ||Uncredited

|-

| This Love of Mine || Singer ||Uncredited

|-

|1955 || 1955 Motion Picture Theatre Celebration || Herself ||Uncredited

|}

Television

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

|-

|1956 || What's My Line? ||Herself || Tribute episode to Fred Allen

|-

|1961 || Checkmate || Janine Caree|| Episode: "Dance of Death"

|-

|1972 ||Fol-de-Rol|| Performer ||

|-

|1975 || Medical Center || Valerie ||Episode: "No Way Home"

|-

|1978 || Hawaii Five-O|| Alicia Warren || Episode: "Death Mask"

|-

|rowspan=2|1979 || The Love Boat ||Eve Mills || Episode: "April's Return/Super Mom/I'll See You Again"

|-

|Fantasy Island || Queen Delphia ||Episode: "The Flight of the Great Yellow Bird/The Island of Lost Women"

|-

|1980 || Portrait of an Escort || Sheilah Croft || TV Movie

|-

|1983 || Fantasy Island || Julie Mars ||Episode: "Roarke's Sacrifice/The Butler's Affair"

|-

|rowspan=3|1984 || Swimsuit || Mrs. Allison || TV Movie

|-

|The Fall Guy|| Diana ||Episode: "The Huntress"

|-

|Glitter || Ethel Woodley||Episode: "In Tennis, Love Means Nothing"

|-

|1985 || Murder, She Wrote || Myrna Montclair LeRoy|| Episode: "Widow, Weep for Me"

|-

|1986 || Crazy Like a Fox ||Barbara Carlisle || Episode: "Hyde-and-Seek"

|-

|1989 ||Swimsuit || Mrs. Allison ||TV Movie

|-

|rowspan=2|1995 || Frasier || Polly (voice) || Episode: "The Adventures of Bad Boy and Dirty Girl"

|-

|Burke's Law || Amanda Richardson || Episode: "Who Killed the Highest Bidder?"

|-

|2008 || Empire State Building Murders || Vicky Adams || TV Movie

|}

Theater

  • Les Poupées de Paris (1962) (voice only)
  • A Two Act Revue (1964)
  • Illya Darling (1968)
  • Can-Can (1969)
  • Damn Yankees (1969)
  • Fool’s Paradise (1970)
  • No, No, Nanette (1972)
  • Greenwich Village Follies of 1923 (1981)
  • Cactus Flower (1983)
  • Charlie Girl (1986)
  • Grand Hotel (Dec 31, 1991 to Apr 25, 1992)

Music videos

  • "I Want to Be Your Property" by Blue Mercedes (1987)
  • "Alright" by Janet Jackson (1990)

See also

References

;Metadata

  • Photographs and bibliography

;Obituaries

  • BBC obituary
  • CBC obituary
  • NY Times obituary