Cyd Charisse, 1922-2008
Cyd Charisse, one of the iconic figures in the history of movie musicals, passed away Tuesday at the age of 86. Like many people, I first encountered her as the long-legged, cigarette-smoking gangsters' moll who tempts Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain (below). But I also remember her dancing in the dark with Fred Astaire in The Band Wagon and strolling through the heather on the hill with Kelly in Brigadoon. Though she often played exotic characters, she was born in Texas, and though classically trained, she made her fame dancing all kinds of styles in the glory days of the musical, when MGM was known as "the Dream Factory." She also played dramatic roles, sang and danced with husband Tony Martin, and appeared on Broadway in Grand Hotel. --David
Cyd K on June 21, 2008 at 03:44 PM
My real name is Cynthia, which, of course, eventually was shortened to Cyndi. I spelled Cyndi with the "y" and "i" in the same order as the fall in the name Cynthia. In the early '80's, I was doing some singing in local clubs and also in local community theater productions. Cyndi Lauper was big then, and I didn't want it to appear that I was copying her spelling of Cyndi. I always thought the name Cyd Charisse was so wonderfully "Hollywood" ...so, I simply removed the "n" and the "i" from Cyndi and came up with Cyd. I've used it ever since. I'm a really short, stout woman; I jokingly say that I took Cyd Charisse's name in this life - maybe I'll get her great legs in my next life! What a beauty! What a dancer!