Legendary Dancer Cyd Charisse Obituary; Cyd Charisse Filmography

Legendary Dancer Cyd Charisse Dies Suddenly
Written by Paul Rance
Wednesday, 18 June 2008

Beautiful American dancer Cyd Charisse died suddenly on 17th June, 2008, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California. Aged 86, the well-loved star suffered a heart attack.

Cyd Charisse was not her real name, being christened Tula Ellice Finklea, and born in Amarillo, Texas, on March 8th, 1922, the daughter of Lela (née Norwood) and Ernest Enos Finklea, Sr. The name 'Cyd' came about from childhood, via a mispronunciation of 'Sis'. MGM changed the spelling of 'Sid' to 'Cyd'. Her marriage to dancer Nico Charisse in 1939 gave her the surname, and thus the intriguing Cyd Charisse name was born. Cyd did well to make a career as a successful dancer, after suffering from polio as a child, and she began her dancing career at 14, studying ballet in Los Angeles, and assuming exotic names such as Celia Siderova and Maria Istromena.

Gaining a reputation as an outstanding dancer, Cyd Charisse was the resident MGM ballet performer in the mid-1940s, and she went on to dance with probably Hollywood's most famous male dancers - Fred Astaire (notably in 'Silk Stockings (1957)') and Gene Kelly (notably in 'Singin' In The Rain (1952)'). Her other notable films included 'The Band Wagon (1953)' and 'Brigadoon (1954)'.

Married for 60 years to singer Tony Martin, Cyd Charisse's private life was just that. In later years she acted mostly in well-known TV series such as 'Hawaii Five-O, 'The Love Boat', ''Murder, She Wrote', and 'Frasier', but she made her Broadway debut as late as 1992. Cyd was awarded the National Medal of the Arts and Humanities in November, 2006. She leaves behind husband Tony, and two sons Nico and Tony.

Warlords Of Atlantis (1978)
Won Ton Ton, The Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976)
Maroc 7 (1967)
The Silencers (1966)
Assassinio Made In Italy (1965)
Two Weeks In Another Town (1962)
Something's Got To Give (1962)
Five Golden Hours (1961)
1-2-3-4 ou Les Collants noirs (1960)
Party Girl (1958)
Twilight For The Gods (1958)
Silk Stockings (1957)
Meet Me In Las Vegas (1956)
It's Always Fair Weather (1955)
Deep In My Heart (1954)
Brigadoon (1954)
The Band Wagon (1953)
Sombrero (1953)
The Wild North (1952)
Singin' In The Rain (1952)
Mark Of The Renegade (1951)
East Side, West Side (1949)
Tension (1949)
Words And Music (1948)
The Kissing Bandit (1948)
On An Island With You (1948)
The Unfinished Dance (1947)
Fiesta (1947)
Till The Clouds Roll By (1946)
Three Wise Fools (1946)
Ziegfeld Follies (1946)
The Harvey Girls (1946)
Something To Shout About (1943)