Cyd Charisse (born March 8, 1921) is an American dancer and actress. She was born Tula Ellice Finklea in Amarillo, Texas. Reputedly, the name "Cyd" was a nickname resulting from the inability of a sibling to pronounce the word "Sis".
Cyd Charisse had celebrated on-screen pairings with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. Her body of work includes two of the most acclaimed dance sequences in musical cinema, the “Broadway Melody Ballet” sequence from the movie Singin' in the Rain and the "Girl Hunt Ballet" from The Band Wagon. Younger fans might remember her from her appearance in Janet Jackson's "Alright" music video.
Cyd Charisse has been married to singer Tony Martin for more than 50 years, an almost unheard of milestone for a Hollywood marriage. Martin was previously married to musical actress Alice Faye and Cyd was previously married to Nico Charisse.
She has two sons - Nico (Nicky) Charisse from her first marriage and Tony Martin Jr. from her marriage to Tony Martin. Her niece is actress Nana Visitor.
She has written a joint biography with Tony (and Dick Kleiner) called The Two of Us (1976).
Now in her 80s, Charisse still makes occasional appearances in documentaries on Hollywood musicals. When she was in her 60s, she produced a workout video.
Note: She is often thought to be, and incorrectly described as, Jewish, possibly because of her birthname - although she is in fact not Jewish at all; however, her husband, Tony Martin, is Jewish.
That's Entertainment! (1974)
