Cyd Charisse

[Uncle Stevie]

The more I look at her musical movies the more I think she was absolutely the most perfect dancer. Her form and grace and passion was exquisite. In the movie "Meet Me In Las Vegas" with Dan Dailey she had a chance to dance all genres. Pop, Ballet, modern jazz, and a little Broadway Tap. She was just the consumate dancer.

Charisse was born as 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 a sibling trying to say "Sis". (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" and, later, "Maria Istomina".

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. And so she became Cud charisse

Cyd Charisse legs were insured for $5 million dollars at one point which made the Guiness Book Of Records in 1952. She was married to singer Tony Martin for 60 years.

A fine performer with a wonderful legacy. She died in 2008 at age 86.


Uncle Stevie

[knitwit45]

With legs that reached to the sky!

[ChiO]

Don't get me started....

[youtube][/youtube]

[charliechaplinfan]

She's my favorite female dancer, perfect with both Fred and Gene, all my favorite dances in film feature Cyd, she was a beautiful and classy lady.

[movieman1957]

Well now. Save for those two cuts, and may I add completely unnecessary cuts to John Ireland, that was, umm, very nice. Very nice, indeed.

[ChiO]

(John Ireland is never unnecessary. In this instance, but for that cut, every male in the audience would have suffered a heart attack.)

[Rita Hayworth]

[youtube][/youtube]

I'm a big MATT HELM fan and also a big Cyd Charisse fan as well. My all time favorite (In Matt Helm's Silencers) dance sequence is when she did that sexy, very sexy dance routine - moving a making a big splash and combined with Vickie Carr's signing - this number makes me feel groovy all over.

She was 45 when she did Silencers - man she was something else those days. Incredible Dancer. I dig her style.