Cyd Charisse, Dance Legend, Dies at 87

Posted June 18, 2008, 8:36 am in Movies by Growing Bolder


Cyd Charisse, the last great Hollywood dancer, died Tuesday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after suffering an apparent heart attack Monday, publicist Gene Schwam said. She was 87.

Charisse, whose legs were legs were insured for a million dollars in the heyday of the Hollywood musical, rose to fame playing the vamp who entices Gene Kelly in "Singin' in the Rain." She also played Kelly's leading lady in "Brigadoon" and partnered with Fred Astaire in "The Band Wagon" and "Silk Stockings" before the studios pulled the plug on big budget musicals.

Astaire called her "beautiful dynamite," and said, "When you dance with Cyd Charisse, you've been danced with."

Charisse continued to make films into the 1970s and developed a successful nightclub act with her husband, Tony.

She never stopped Growing Bolder making her Broadway debut at 70 in the musical "Grand Hotel", reprising Greta Garbo's role, and continued to play small roles on television.



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