Cyd Charisse Passes Away
Cyd Charisse dancing with Fred Astaire
Cyd Charisse was often said to have "the perfect pair of legs" at the height of her career, and throughout the 1940s and 1950s she provided millions with entertainment through her films. Sadly, at the age of 86, she passed away Tuesday.
Her publicist,Gene Schwam, released a statement saying that she died from complications from an apparent heart attack. On Monday, she was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles because of her heart attack in critical condition, and she was unable to recover.
Cyd Charisse was born in Armarillo, Texas with the name Tula Ellice Finklea. As a young girl she was a very active ballerina, and by the age of only fourteen she was touring with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Her dancing eventually lead her into acting, and she became one of the single most prominent actresses in the 1950s as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Technicolor musicals became more popular. She danced with the best of the best in her films, including Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. She acted alongside Marilyn Monroe in the last film she worked on, which was never fully completed due to Marilyn's suicide.
Although the height of her career occurred in the 1950s, even in more recent times Cyd's dancing has been appreciated. In the year 2000 on December 15 in Monoco, she was honored to accept the Nijinsky award from Princess Caroline, for her valuable contributions to dancing, and for the influence she held on dancers. She will continue to serve as an inspiration for dancers and actresses around the world even after her death.
