Cyd Charisse

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

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

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).

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 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

Short subjects

Television Year Title Role Notes1956 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"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 Movie1983 Fantasy Island Julie Mars Episode: "Roarke's Sacrifice/The Butler's Affair"1984 Swimsuit Mrs. Allison TV MovieThe Fall Guy Diana Episode: "The Huntress"Glitter Ethel WoodleyEpisode: "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 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)