Cyd Charisse

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Laura Bush , Cyd Charisse and George W. Bush at the National Medal of Arts award ceremony , 2006

Cyd Charisse, actually Tula Ellice Finklea (born March 8, 1922 in Amarillo , Texas , † June 17, 2008 in Los Angeles , California ), was an American dancer and film actress , who mainly with her roles in film musicals of the 1950s became famous.

biography

Cyd Charisse's parents were Lela (nee Norwood) and Ernest Enos Finklea, Sr.

Cyd Charisse received ballet training in Los Angeles from Adolph Bolm and Bronislava Nijinska and subsequently performed with the Ballets Russes under the pseudonym Siderova . The Second World War means the end for this ballet troupe. Charisse then went back to Los Angeles, where David Lichine offered her a role in Gregory Ratoff's play Something to Shout About . It was through this role that the choreographer Robert Alton (who discovered Gene Kelly ) became aware of her; and as a result she became a member of Arthur Freed's troupe as a dancer at MGM , the most important film studio for film musicals at the time .

Her achievements had as a partner of Fred Astaire in to curtain! (1953) and silk stockings (1957) and by Gene Kelly in Singin 'In The Rain (1952) and Brigadoon (1954). From the 1960s onwards, Cyd Charisse only appeared sporadically on the screen. For example, in 1962 she was the partner of Marilyn Monroe in their last, unfinished film Something's Got to Give . However, she continued to be present on television and on stage.

Cyd Charisse (1987)

Cyd Charisse was married to the choreographer Nico Charisse from 1939 to 1947. Their son Nicholas (* 1942) is from the marriage. From 1948 until her death she was married to the singer Tony Martin and also had a son with him, Tony jr (* 1950). She was the aunt of actress Nana Visitor , best known from the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .

In 2000 Cyd Charisse received the Nijinsky Prize for her life's work in dance. In 2006 she received the National Medal of Arts .

Cyd Charisse died on June 17, 2008 in Los Angeles of complications from a heart attack.

Filmography

literature

  • Gerhard Midding: Beautiful dynamite , obituary for Charisse in Die Welt from June 19, 2008, p. 30

Web links

Commons : Cyd Charisse  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Tula Ellice Finklea: Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1932 at ancestry.com
personal data
SURNAME Charisse, Cyd
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Finklea, Tula Ellice (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American film actress and dancer
DATE OF BIRTH March 8, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Amarillo
DATE OF DEATH June 17, 2008
Place of death los Angeles