CYD CHARISSE talks about working with GENE KELLY & FRED ASTAIRE - TCM mini biography
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- Опубликовано: 11 авг 2019
- In a TCM mini-biography, MGM star Cyd Charisse talks about her career, in particular working with Gene Kelly in “An American in Paris” and with Fred Astaire on 3 movies including “The Band Wagon” and “Silk Stockings”.
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I worked with her as her personal assistant and dresser for a show years before she passed away. She was class all the way. A true lady. Gracious, kind and beautiful.
It comes through on screen and in the interview. Pure class.
I loved her in brigadoon. It is my favorite musical ever.
How wonderful to share this. She was phenomenal and this exudes onscreen.
Wow you were so fortunate!!!
There were many tales of Cyd high-hatting colleagues and underlings at Culver City. Her predecessor as Metro's #1 dancer, Eleanor Powell, had been a sweetheart. The contrast was felt.
Cyd seems to have relaxed after her movie heyday, responding to the warmth given off by live audiences. She knew she was not a singer or a good actress (except when playing a haughty, cold character in 'Silk Stockings', tellingly enough) and the 'I'm a prima ballerina' attitude that MGM people resented may have been down to nerves. In motion she came alive, though as late as 'Meet Me in Las Vegas' she remains a tiny bit condescending. This was also a 'breaking down the cultural snob' role.
It wore off in the end, or mutated into gracious reminiscence. Tony Martin, a laid-back fellow, may have helped to defrost her.
No one can deny her screen presence, stunning looking woman who understood the power of dance on screen and used it perfectly with her long legs and strength. Impeccable dancer, born to do it👌
Cyd was so beautiful, graceful and talented and she aged beautifully!
Those legs of hers just went on forever. Best scene though was in "Singing in the Rain" where she wears that little green dress. She looked absolutely stunning.
Cyd's ballet abilities that she incorporated into her other dancing made her quite unique and led to her success over several years in films. She definitely was beautiful, talented and had class. Always enjoyable to watch her perform.
She had an amazing presence. Impossible to look away from her when she was on screen.
Gosh! What a beautiful woman! So talented, athletic...can't get enough of watching her!
I loved her when I first watched her movies as a kid and this feeling still persists to this day. Gorgeous lovely talented woman.
you bet! I was born in 1935 .- so I was 15 in 1950 and watched the premieres of all those gorgeous films! happily we can see them again now through the magic of computers - and Marxism is bullsh* beyond doubt
She didn't have a childhood injury she suffered from Polio as a child and dancing was prescribed to help strengthen her.
WOW... It's hard to even comment on such a talent, and beauty, she was utterly gifted and blessed.
Really, I have to watch a clip of her EVERY day!!
You simply never tire of watching Cyd Charisse dance! It just never ages - the youthful vigor, class, and elegance: never gets old! Thanks for a great clip.
I found an old program from when I saw her with the family in "No No Nanette" in Melbourne. I had forgotten I had seen her in it.
@@BabyFaceBren Amazing! Tku
Wow, simply gorgeous. The women so talented back then and so good looking. Women like Syd will always be remembered for gift to the silver screen. The actors and actresses are dieing off and it's so sad because that era was a wonderful time of unprecedented talent.
She was the best to my opinion. She could do anything, singing, acting and dancing like a goddess. Her legs were just unbelievable!
She did not sing, she had ghosts. Most critics would not rate her hughly as an actress. Her pluses were beauty and sexiness, though her dancing generated more heat than warmth. Moviegoers were in awe of her, but she did not inspire affection like Ginger Rogers or Ruby Keeler, and nary a spark flies with Kelly in 'Brigadoon'; so little that in 'It's Always Fair Weather' there is no romantic duet for them.
Cyd always seemed to be cast as a dream girl on a pedestal, unless Fred was lifting her and putting her on the ground, in 'The Band Wagon' and 'Silk Stockings'. Kelly was too self-absorbed to pitch woo as elegantly.
Her legs were supposedly insured for $5 million back in 1952. Absolutely beautiful lady.
How does one insure a pair of legs? When can one make a claim and collect the insurance on a pair of legs?
JACK ANTHONY Go read Wikipedia about CID Charisse under “Later Years” and it says she had a $5 million policy taken out on her legs. She was featured in the 2001 Guinness Book of World Records for having the “Most Valuable Legs”. I guess it the same as all the athletes taking out insurance policies in case of a career ending injury.
@@wcn111 Yes, I see the correlation. But all movie actors are insured before production begins. If an actor is uninsurable then they cannot be hired. For example, I read that Lindsey Lohan is uninsurable for movie acting because of her drug history.
That was Betty Grable.
Elizabeth Anderson go to Wikipedia under “Later Years” and it tells about the insurance policy. And yes, Betty Grable had nice legs too. It says her studio insured her legs for $1 million as a publicity stunt.
Utterly incomparable, period. SO ungodly beautiful!!!!!!!!!!
I'll never forget the day when I was lunching in the commissary at 20th Century-Fox and Cyd Charisse walked in. It was as though suddenly we were back in the golden age.
Amazing dancer sooo beautiful !!
That's right, Cyd was born in Amarillo, Texas. We are very proud of Cyd. She always said, if I had been born in Lubbock, Texas, I would have ended up a carhop, but I was born in wonderful Amarillo and became a famous dancer. Cyd was a laugh-a-minute and loved by everyone.
Cyd Charisse, the best female dancer.
Sensational dancer and a true beauty. A delightful interview 🙏🙏
She was so beautiful and graceful!
She's my favorite dancer in film. Her ballet training is so obvious in every movie. Meet me in Las Vegas is one of my favorites.
Fell in love with this lady at first sight
That was long ago. I believe i have seen all her movies. One of my favorite dances was "dancing in the dark" , maybe because i like the song very much.
She had a very special magic that you can't define. I hate to admit it but I'd I had ever actually seen her for real, my knees would have buckled and my heart exploded.
I watched every single dance video on youtube on her, what an absolutely breathtakingly stunning lady and her moves, legendary to say the least. Only sad thing is i can't find the full movie. And she still is an absolute stunner and so elegant. What a lady!!!
If you're on Amazon Prime "Silk Stockings" is a free movie. I believe RUclips has earlier movies of Cyd with Ricardo that could be free too.
Agreed
She was absolutely gorgeous , very talented and a true Lady
I fell in love with her when I was three years old and met her in later years.
She was as nice as she was beautiful and talented.
She was the reason I took up professional dance
And someday.. you will inspire someone to dance!
That's great. I wish you every success.
A lovely woman and incredible dancer.
Cyd, like Ann Miller was grateful for the unique training at MGM, the way they were taken care of so lavishly and it was a better deal than actors have it today. Cyd was blessed to be part of the prestigious MGM stable of stars. They were double blessed to have her!!
Always a favorite of mine and was so stylish in her dancing. Every move always seemed perfect and looking easy (although I doubt it was easy). I also appreciate Vera Ellen who was similarly versatile. And of course Eleanor Powell but she usually focused on tap - but wow - did she ever.
My Mother gave me my middle name after Cyd's character in Brigadoon. I hope that I am aging as gracefully as she did...other than that, and the name, that is all we have in common...sigh...what a beautiful, graceful, classy and talented lady. I remember hearing Rita Moreno interviewed and she said that Cyd had the most beautiful knees...unusual but perfect compliment. Smart doctor too, what the world would have missed if Cyd hadn't taken up ballet!
Impossible not to be fascinated by her. The most beautiful girl of Hollywood
Beautiful, statuesque and great dancer !!! And those legs ... they go on forever!😁👏
throughout the ages the taste of beauty changes. The one constant is this lady, she would have been classes as gorgeous any time
My thoughts exactly.
What an amazing dancer, so beautiful and talented. I thank the heavens for allowing me to have grown during a time in which these movies were the hits of the day, and not the stuff that passes as art in the 21st century.
Cyd was a beautiful lady, both inside and out.
As a child she was one of my all time favorites! I never knew her story until now, but her grace, poise and and unadulterated talent was one of the reasons I became a dancer.
Cyd Charisse was in Janet Jackson's music video for her song "Alright". Cyd Charisse also had a daughter-in-law on American Airlines flight 191 that crashed in Chicago in 1979 killing all onboard.
Two pieces of Cyd trivia I didn’t know. Thanks
She was a rare beauty
I completely adore Cyd. Just gorgeous, I still think about her.
SHE WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!
Such a magnificent actress and singer and a stunningly beautiful lady with such panache God bless her heart and soul always!.🌹✊🕊️🙏🇬🇧💎😎💐
I don't know about Cyd Charisse being a magnificent singer as her singing voice in films was usually dubbed by India Adams as Miss Adams will attest to. Cyd was marketed primarily for her dancing. As far as her acting is concerned, when the dancing musicals were over, Cyd had very few takers for her dramatic abilities. After Cyd's contract with MGM was over in 1958 Cyd's film career became practically non-existent. However she reinvented a new career for herself in nightclubs.
@@jackanthony976 By 1960, the heyday of the grand Hollywood musical was over...even for Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. Astaire was very successful going over to television making several wonderful specials that garnered him numerous Emmys. Kelly gave up dancing to successfully go into movie and television dramatic acting and especially directing.
So Cyd's career paralleled those two awesome men's...as well as all the other fantastic musical stars of that era. They all had to go into dramatical or comedic roles more and more as time went on to be relevant.
@@jackanthony976 A book called 'The MGM Girls' asserts that ladies such as Cyd, Debbie, Ann and Jane Powell made far more money in cabaret or starring in stage shows than under contract to Mayer and Schary. Roadshow tours such as 'Mame' and 'Hello Dolly' did SRO business with film fans who remembered the classic era of musicals.
@@esmeephillips5888 Yes, It makes sense that these ladies would make more money starring in stage shows. It seems that former musical film audiences shifted their attendance from movie theatres to stage shows. In the late 1960's Frank Sinatra once remarked how he could command huge salaries in Vegas and pack the house every night but those same audiences won't go see his movies or even buy his records any more but they will travel and pay to see him in Vegas.
I love your trivia, Jack.
So graceful and talented
Classy, beautiful and super talented with such lovely character
. I love Cyd ❤
An amazing actress and dancer. She was one of the GOATs.
Yep, beginning when she was just a kid.
It's not hard to understand why we fell in love with these incredibly attractive and talented stars.
Not just a great beauty but a fabulous dancer. And the best legs in the business!
Cyd Charisse...the most beautiful lady, inside and out....Frank
Breathtaking sequence!... Wonderful!
I love watching her dance. 💕🌹
The lady was a class act.
I am 66 years old and my name is Cindy. I named myself Cyd after her as a teenager and to this day all my friends and family call me Cyd.
People with real talent
Sublime..
She was so much more👑
Just got turned on to her. Soooo refreshing to find a new entertainment outlte.
Loved watching her dance in both Bandwagon and Singing in the Rain and later Brigadoon. In the two former moves she oozed both sex and class with just touch being a really bad gal. I can watch those scenes over and over.
Te admiro. Las coreografías son excepcionales. Tu estilo de vida es maravillosa. IVA Rosa Blanca Gris desde General Roca Río Negro North Patagonia Argentina
translation: "I admire you. The choreographies are exceptional. Your lifestyle is wonderful. VAT Rosa Blanca Gray from General Roca Río Negro North Patagonia Argentina"
Love this lady ❤💕♥
You aren't alone. Of all the TCM snippets I have uploaded, the "lovely and talented' Cyd EASILY gets the most comments!
What a beautiful woman she was Cyd Charisse.
Fred and Cole. Be still my ♥
Cyd is pure Hollywood, pure artist.
Triple threat.
While filming Something’s Gotta Give, after Marylin Monroe passed, they were going to replace her with Lee Remick. Dean Martin said there was no way in hell anyone would leave Charisse for Remick 🤣👏🏽🤣👏🏽 good call pally! 👍🏽 they never finished production. What a beautiful dancer....
Did you know the film was eventually made as "Move Over Darling"? Sorry if that's in the documentary, it's been a while since I saw it. Doris Day, James Garner and Polly Bergen starred and it's a good film (imho) but I still prefer the original ("My Favorite Wife"). With Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. It quite eerie seeing that swimming pool scene with Doris after seeing the aborted film version with Marilyn. Also interesting watching "My Favorite Wife" and then "Move OVer Darling". Many scenes are duplicated almost exactly (like Grant's/Garner's double-take as the elevator doors close as he sees his "late" wife)
@@BabyFaceBren I was just going to say My Favorite Wife came first! 😂😂 1940. I love Cary Grant and Irene Dunne; they made a few movies together. It’s funny how there are very few original plots, so many movies resembled each other, spoofs and remakes, like “Matt Helm” vs “James Bond”, same concept.
But would he have left her for Marilyn????😳🇬🇧
CLASS personified.
Talent untapped
The epitome of Grace and Graciousness.
La mejor bailarina del mundo.
Wanted to be like Cyd's character in that money talks dress she wore in Singing in the Rain when I was younger. I thought she was a cat woman!
She is the one !
Some say those legs are still expanding today, amazing and beautiful
Cyd died in 2008, so I'd think her legs have done the opposite.
BabyFaceBren Well damn, lol...
Rude and childish
Cyd,, had legs that reached to heaven
Hmmm, leaving that one alone
Her legs were insured for the equivalent of 15 million pounds in the 50s. Beautiful lady ,
Cyd and I will say mitzi gaynor both had the most beautiful shapely legs in the movies.
Love❤️❤️❤️
Wonderful dancer.
And those legs reach all the way to the floor!
Hottest woman to ever walk the earth.
Elegance.
Thank you for the hearted comment. Do you know of a Hollywood Actress of today that may compare with Miss Charisse? Best regards: DRS / RVN Vet.
wow she was something
Whatahistory!
🌹
I guess we'll just have to get used to the fact that good dancers
and actors (as once was) are no more with us. So sorry.
Think it's more that the music has changed. No more beautiful love songs, clever lyrics or real melody. Today, it's all just beat. There are plenty of singers today with good voices, but they can't get anywhere in the business unless they sing today's music. Styles change, but many of us were lucky to enjoy real musicality, grace, and people who trained for years to improve their natural talent.
My favorite was Brigadoon!🤗
Прекрасная женщина!!!❤
Translation: "A beautiful woman!!!"
Her career took off "when she caught the attention of MGM producer Arthur Freed". Like when he 'caught the attention' of Shirley Temple? :)
An unsubstantiated story. Admittedly Madame Ambassador herself told it, but there were no witnesses and AFAIK Freed was never accused of such behavior by other actresses, though he had a tentative go at Lucille Bremer. By and large MGM, from Mayer downward, was not a casting-couch hellscape- unlike 20th and Columbia, where the fish stank from the head.
@@esmeephillips5888 So Temple lied just to sell books and Freed just had 'a go at" Lucille Bremer. Riggghhhht.
@@DDumbrille Yes, that is a fair summary of probabilities. Happy to have convinced you.
Classy
My grandmother name for me was inspired by Cyd Charisse, but my name is Sysairesse
nice
fab
When was this interview?
Sorry, I don't know. Definitely pre-June 2008.
Late 90s...Cyd was in her mid 70s then
Самая красивая и элегантная балерина в мире. Лучше неё пока нет никого. 😍
translation: "The most beautiful and elegant ballerina in the world. There is no one better than her yet".
👍😊 @@BabyFaceBren
Is that her now? what a dee-licious lady still
No, she passed in 2008 or so. I believe this interview was in the late 90s.
Gorgeous and so feminine
our little secret, eh?
!!!!!!!!!!!!+++ Большое спасибо за видео !!!
пожалуйста!
Beautiful Pair of Legs
Why did she change her birth name?!
Dunno. Tula Ellice Finklea? Maybe it would've been too many lights for her name in lights?
Tulla! What a pretty name she had. Much nicer than Cyd!
Funny that Cyd got her break as a Russian in 'Mission to Moscow'. Soon it would be under fire for painting too rosy a portrait of Stalin and Soviet communism. Yet Louis B Mayer of MGM, the star Robert Taylor and Cyd were all staunch and vocal Republicans. That had not stopped Mayer greenlighting 'Song of Russia', starring Taylor as a conductor impressed by the fruits of 'the Soviet experiment'. One might have expected as much from Warner Brothers, that hive of leftists- but not from LB.
World War II made strange bed-fellows of us all. Much like 1943's The North Star, I suspect those two latter-produced movies were intended to drum up support for our Russian Allies. The intent somewhat backfired in later years, but eh, they tried their best.
@@alleviation91 A favorite of mine in that corner of Hollywood is 'Days of Glory' with Gregory Peck, the future star of 'The Boys from Brazil', as a heroic commissar.
Which were worse: the pro-communist films of the mid-Forties or the Red-bashing ones which immediately followed?
"hive of leftists" is Hollywood today
I would like to have seen gene Kelly dance in foreign heels,
Hollywood: take a lesson. I’m begging.
hot
Hottest chick ever Ever