Cyd Fucking Charisse.

Charisse at age 44 in 1966s The Silencers

I knew her. What’s your problem, OP? She was a lovely lovely lady.

A lifelong Republican who couldn't sing.

Betty, you, of all people.

I want to live like Cyd Charisse, In a great big house by the sea

Her husband was a huge heartthrob singer, Tony martin, but, and please don't laugh, rumor was that he was Gay. She was a fantastic dancer. And a Beauty.

She had an indescribable something, and a lot of other highly noticeable somethings, which made her a very early favorite of mine. I mean by age 6 or 7.

Thanks R1!

She was the best and made it all look so damn effortless.

[quote] She had an indescribable something

I know! I asked her to describe it once, and she couldn’t.

“Cyd Charisse” sounds such like a made-up Hollywood name, but she came by it honestly (childhood nickname + first husband’s last name)

Tula Ellice Finklea also sounds like a made-up name.

Cyd Charisse and Ricardo Montalban and a little bit of folk dancing.

as Vicki Gaye...

Ricardo 🔥 Montalban looking hot as fuck at r13!

"Dancing in the Dark"

There’s something edgy and ethnic about her presence making her dancing sooo much more interesting than the others.

I believe this was her last performance on film.

@2:48, she danced with Janet Jackson.

I loved both Cyd Charisse and Leslie Caron in the old musicals. Both of them were my favorites. I remember being startled to see that Rita Hayworth could dance so well, and with Fred Fucking Astaire. Of course Fred and Ginger were in a league of their own.

R18 what year was that? She looked fabulous!

I...*love* her.

Her career also had the oddness of (for someone being known as such a terrific dancer) being shoehorned into several non-musicals, or movies that were essentially dramas with one dance number for her, with various results.

And she was in Marilyn's incomplete film.

She was gorgeous. She had the body of a showgirl but exquisite, graceful technique. What a combo!

The tassels at R1 are embarrassingly awkwardly placed.

She played it straight in Tension. But she was no Audrey Totter.

Cyd dance-fights with Ann Miller over Ricardo.

[quote]But she was no Audrey Totter.

Well my stars, r25, who was?

^ r24

Related.

When I was in high school we'd goof off at the airport sometimes. We go to a courtesy phone and ask to have people paged like Mr. Sid Charisse and Miss Jean Kelly.

She didn’t look like she was of Scottish descent, although she was. Her Scots accent in Brigadpon was painful.

R17 she was an exotic looking WASP

R29 - I think if you knew who Cyd was in high school your destiny was set.

"I want to live like Cyd Charisse" Cyd appears @1:25

R20 -

1990

Oof, just found out she was a staunch Republican and campaigned for Barry Goldwater. I don't generally have that much of a problem with historical Hollywood Republicans, but liking Goldwater is a bit much. (I was going to use Barbara Stanwyck as an example of one I don't mind, then I read that she and her husband were fans of HUAC. FFS!)

Stanwyck was NOT a fan of HUAC, her dippy shit for brains husband Robert Taylor was. He actually named names and helped destroy at least two actor’s lives.

Thanks, r9. Damn, James Mitchell was hot.

From her WIKIPEDIA page:

In her autobiography, Charisse reflected on her experience with Astaire and Kelly:

'As one of the handful of girls who worked with both of those dance geniuses, I think I can give an honest comparison. In my opinion, Kelly is the more inventive choreographer of the two. Astaire, with Hermes Pan's help, creates fabulous numbers—for himself and his partner. But Kelly can create an entire number for somebody else ... I think, however, that Astaire's coordination is better than Kelly's ... his sense of rhythm is uncanny. Kelly, on the other hand, is the stronger of the two. When he lifts you, he lifts you! ... To sum it up, I'd say they were the two greatest dancing personalities who were ever on screen. But it's like comparing apples and oranges. They're both delicious.'

b. Tula Ellice Finklea

Tony could tell if Cyd had been dancing with Gene or Fred by the amount of bruises she had.

Tony Martin was gay??

News to me.

Welcome to Hollywood Palace!

R35, I'll tell you what.

You can go ahead and mind me and I'll just keep never having noticed you existed.

Like some older sister sent to an orphanage because of a disgusting glandular condition long before I was born.

Maybe you'd like to read the actual information at the link I provided, lovey.

[quote]A conservative Republican, Stanwyck opposed the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. She felt that if someone from her disadvantaged background had risen to success, others should be able to prosper without government intervention or assistance.[91] For Stanwyck, "hard work with the prospect of rich reward was the American way." She became an early member of the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals (MPA) after its founding in 1944. The mission of this group was to "combat ... subversive methods [used in the industry] to undermine and change the American way of life."[92][93] It opposed both communist and fascist influences in Hollywood. She publicly supported the investigations of the House Un-American Activities Committee, and her husband Robert Taylor testified as a friendly witness.[94] Stanwyck supported Thomas E. Dewey in the 1944 and 1948 United States presidential elections.[95][96]

[quote]A fan of Objectivist author Ayn Rand, Stanwyck persuaded Warner Bros. head Jack L. Warner to purchase the rights to The Fountainhead before it became a bestseller, and she wrote Rand with her admiration of Atlas Shrugged.[91][97]

"She publicly supported the investigations of HUAC," it says, Missy.

Poor Missy must have been devastated when Patricia Neal was cast opposite Gary Cooper in The Fountainhead.

It’s best not to dwell on the politics of these fabulous old Hollywood stars.

'84

True, R46.

Well, she was from Texas.

Her pussy was the first $2.99 all you can eat buffet in Hollywood…..

Strange costume choice

[quote]R22 she was in Marilyn's incomplete film.

She’s the best thing in it - arch and funny.

People in general were not so consumed with politics like they are now, except maybe during Vietnam (John Wayne). When it came to the voting booth, celebrities like everyone else, probably voted like daddy did. Some women did what their husbands did. My own mother was a “Republican” who pulled the levers without much thought because her family was republican. Once I pointed out to her that most of her views were quite liberal, she became a Democrat.

Actors also run in social circles that determine their political affiliation. Reagan was a friend to many of them in his age group, and he got their support.

You know, watching Cyd Charisse dance and perform in movies is great. I'm a fan. But seeing her in real life on that TV show with her husband back in the day, UGH! Not thanks.

A TV show is not real life.

R55 well the version of "Cyd Charisse" on that TV show was really annoying and phony. Her beauty and her talent as a dancer is what impress, not her personality.

I thought she often seemed cursed with bad hairdos and wigs in most of her MGM musicals, too dark and severe. Not sure why they did that to her but she could look very harsh. I think she would have photographed prettier as a light brunette.

If you look carefully you'll see her as one of the waitresses in THE HARVEY GIRLS, though IIRC she's not featured dancing much. Odd that she was on the MGM lot as early as 1946 but seemingly took so long for MGM to realize what kind of talent they had in her in her. I'm guessing SINGIN' IN THE RAIN was the first time she was properly used at the studio?

[quote]Not sure why they (MGM) did that to her but she could look very harsh.

That's why I like her.

I met her once after an appearance she made on the Larry King show that was all about MM. She was older and came in with Tony and her agent. She sat there during commercial breaks and every time her hairstylist rushed in to retouch her, I don't know why because she looked magnificent without any retouching whatsoever but I guess he had to earn his 5000 dollar fee. I had brought in my DVD of Silk Stockings for her to sign so we approached her and asked her. She didn't understand the request and thought it was a gift, so she said thank you started to walk away with it. But Tony interceded and all was fine in the end. I treasure that DVD.

Mickey Rooney was also a guest on the same show (as well as Mamie Van Doren, yikes). I had a DVD of It's a MMMM World for him too and he said, NO! NO AUTOGRAPHS! Bue when he saw Cyd signing the other DVD he relented and signed too.

Oh, I forgot! During the show I was sitting behind the cameras next to Tony and the agent and I overheard Tony say, "Doesn't she look fantastic?" And she did.

An author I know wanted to interview Cyd about MGM around 2003-04. H told me he couldn't because Cyd had lost it and was not "able" to give a coherent interview.

R61 I can believe that. But it begs the question of how coherent was she in the first place, because she comes across as an airhead.

Great story r60.

When I lived in L.A., Cyd was a regular at the BH restaurant I was working at.

Lovely woman with perfect manners.

This was in the mid 90s' so she was older and a little creaky. Her face was pretty tight and her hair was a bulletproof dome.

And like Jackie, she was a not so secret smoker.

I just looked it up and that show I was talking about was in 2003. She was coherent when asked questions about MM and Something's Got to Give and yes, she had that bit of confusion with me after the show but I thought it was perfectly normal for an 80 year old. I never thought of her as an airhead.

R47 Astounding for a 62 year old.

What's wrong with Goldwater?

R62, I'm only telling you what he told me. I figured she went in and out, good days and bad days where she wasn't very sharp.

Lucy wanted to invite Cyd and Tony over for ham sandwiches and a game of hearts, but Gary talked her out of it.

One didn't have to look carefully for Cyd Charrisse in "Harvey Girls." She gently enacted "It's a Great Big World" (a lovely and, to some, a dated song) with Judy and Virginia O'Brien.

She dances in The Harvey Girls too.

R60 how cute that Tony was complimenting her looks after all those years

[quote]r56 Her beauty and her talent as a dancer is what impress, not her personality.

I agree. That’s why she wasn’t in higher demand for important roles.

She wasn't a great actress but she was truly dazzling in her dance numbers in those 50's musicals.

Here's Tony and Cyd's apartment in the elegant Wilshire corridor.