Cyd Charisse(1922-2008)
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Cyd Charisse was born Tula Ellice Finklea on March 8, 1922, in Amarillo,
Texas. Born to be a dancer, she spent her early childhood taking ballet
lessons and joined the Ballet Russe at age 13. In 1939, she married
Nico Charisse, her former dance teacher.
In 1943, she appeared in her first film,
Something to Shout About (1943),
billed as Lily Norwood. The same year, she played a Russian dancer in
Mission to Moscow (1943),
directed by Michael Curtiz. In 1945, she
was hired to dance with Fred Astaire in
Ziegfeld Follies (1945), and
that uncredited appearance got her a seven-year contract with MGM. She
appeared in a number of musicals over the next few years, but it was
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
with Gene Kelly that made her a star.
That was quickly followed by her great performance in
The Band Wagon (1953). As the
1960s dawned, musicals faded from the screen, as did her career. She
made appearances on television and performed in a nightclub revue with
her second husband, singer
Tony Martin. Cyd Charisse died at
age 86 of a heart attack on June 17, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.
