Cyd Charisse
| Cyd Charisse | |
|---|---|
Charisse in 1949
|
|
| Born |
Tula Ellice Finklea March 8, 1922 Amarillo, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | June 17, 2008 (aged 86) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Resting place | Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery |
| Other names | Lily Norwood Felia Siderova Maria Istomina |
| Occupation | Actress, dancer |
| Years active | 1939–2007 |
| Spouse(s) |
Nico Charisse (m. 1939; div. 1947) (1 child) Tony Martin (m. 1948–2008) (her death) (1 child) |
| Children | 2 |
Cyd Charisse (born Tula Ellice Finklea; March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008) was an American actress and dancer.
After recovering from polio as a child and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s. Her roles usually focused on her abilities as a dancer, and she was paired with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly; her films include Singin' in the Rain (1952), The Band Wagon (1953), Brigadoon with Gene Kelly and Van Johnson (1954) and (1957). She stopped dancing in films in the late 1950s, but continued acting in film and television, and in 1992 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.
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 younger brother, Thomas Jarrell Finklea (June 25, 1923), who tried to say "Sis". (It was later given the more intriguing and exotic 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".
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