Something In The Way She Moves…
Watching Cyd Charisse dance can be a completely mesmerizing experience. Her movement is a constant flow, always balanced, never still. Swaying, sweeping, like a willowy branch in a building storm. Long and light, deceptively firm. She is always pleasing to the eye but needs no one’s approval. It’s as if nature’s plan for her was to be an extension of its own artistic expression. There’s just something in the way she moves…
 “I never thought of myself as a ‘Star’, not even after I made my biggest films,” says Cyd. “Perhaps that’s because I am basically an introvert. I knew that I loved working, performing. What the public made of it was their business. I hoped that they liked me and admired my work, of course, but that pedestal they stuck me up on was insignificant in my view.” One reason Cyd isn’t dependent on that pedestal is the success of her life away from the soundstage. After a serious romance with millionaire Howard Hughes, she married the renowned singing star Tony Martin in 1948, and gave birth to Tony Jr. in 1950. It should be noted that Cyd was offered the lead opposite Gene Kelly in the Academy Award winning film “An American In Paris.” She opted to have her and Tony’s child instead. That’s the kind of decision that someone not dependent on stardom is comfortable with.
Once the golden age of the Hollywood musical ended Cyd continued as a respected movie actress and television personality. She was nominated for an Emmy for her TV special “An Evening With Cyd Charisse.” Her performance in the edgy 1962 film “Two Weeks In Another Town” with Kirk Douglas was also outstanding. That same year Cyd experienced the heartbreak of working with Marilyn Monroe on her last film “Something’s Got To Give” which ceased production in midstream shortly before Monroe’s death and was never finished. On the brighter side, in 1964 Cyd and husband Tony launched a successful nightclub act that allowed the couple to stay close to their fans and each other. Their industry trend defying marriage has now lasted over 50 years. Now that’s Amoré!
On December 15th, 2000 Cyd was presented with the very first Nijinsky award from Princess Caroline in Monoco for her lifelong contributions to the world of dance. I’ll bet the great Nijinsky himself might have enjoyed dancing with Cyd. As Fred Astaire so aptly stated about his favorite partner Cyd Charisse, “When you’ve danced with her, you stay danced with.”
|
