CYD CHARISSE

     Cyd Charisse is considered one of the finest dancers in American cinema. Born Tula Ellice Finklea she spent her childhood studying ballet. At age 13 she joined the Ballet Russe. Five years later, during a tour of Europe, she married her ballet instructor, Nico Charisse. In 1943 she began appearing in bit parts in films, billed as "Lily Norwood." After changing her name, she rose to stardom in 1946 and eventually appeared in screen musicals as the dance partner of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. In the late '50s, with the decline of Hollywood musicals, she was obliged to focus on straight acting, and soon was relegated to lower status as a screen personality. She made few films after 1963. In the '60s she performed in a nightclub revue with her second husband, singer Tony Martin, and in 1972 she starred in an Australian stage production of No No Nanette. She and Martin authored a dual memoir, The Two of Us (1976).