Always seeming to be the bearer of bad news, we are sad to report the death of of another one of Hollywood’s greats, Tula Ellice Finklea, far better known as Cyd Charisse (87).
Ok perhaps Cyd Charisse wasn’t quite as ‘great’ as some, but she certainly had her moments. One of those ‘moments’, in my mind at least, arrived whilst starring with Gene Kelly in the “Broadway Melody Ballet” from “Singing in the Rain” a still from which is shown below. This part she landed because as lovely as Debbie Reynolds was, she just couldn’t dance very well! Lucky Cyd… and lucky us!:)
Unfortunately for those feminists out there, one of *the* defining features of Ms Charisse was her legs which seemed as they say, to go on ‘from here to eternity”! 🙂
She was not just another pretty face of course but an accomplished actress and dancer. Certainly Gene Kelly appreciated her abilities since they starred together in several movies. In fact had she not been pregnant she might well have starred alongside him in “An American in Paris”, but the part had to be passed on to Leslie Caron.
Perhaps her best obituary would be the words spoken about her by the great Fred Astaire who reportedly said ” “That Cyd! When you’ve danced with her, you stay danced with.”.
The Eclectic Interweb 