It's usually foolish to draw conclusions about movie stars based on their screen persona and their public image, but my impressions of Cyd seem to be backed up by people who've known her. She seems a rather quiet person, always maintaining the illusion of control, graciousness, and deference. She was often seen but not heard at Hollywood functions. But there's a steel-willed and disciplined giant within her. It's been said that Gene Kelly was astounded by her ability to rehearse dance numbers interminably without a single complaint even when he knew she was injured. She just marks it down to getting the job done.
Fortunately for us, this dedication has left us a plethora of remarkable numbers to enjoy. Her consistent follow-through and extension of every move reveal her ballerina's background and her fluidity, grace, and control are breathtaking. And her range! No one comes close. About the only style of dance she never displayed on film was all-out tap but she mastered it later for a stage production.
Much will be said in others' tributes about Cyd's legs. I must concur but I want to warn those who've only seen still photos of her that they have not really seen her legs. They have dimension and expression that is only captured in motion pictures. I would recommend any film for examining this but - off the top of my head - especially Silk Stockings, Meet Me in Las Vegas, Party Girl, The Band Wagon, Sombrero, That's Entertainment Part III, and Deep In My Heart.
I've been reluctant to write a tribute because I consider this entire website my tribute to Cyd Charisse. The pictures and history it contains are a far better means of capturing the visual artistry and beauty of the lady than anything I could say. However, I can share some of the admiration and adoration that Cyd elicits by telling you how this page came about.
Most of the world finally took notice of Cyd - after ten years in film - when she electrified audiences in the "Broadway Melody" ballet of 1952's Singin' in the Rain. Tritely, that sequence was my first real exposure to her as well (although thirty years later). I was unimpressed with her bobbed hair but was absolutely riveted by her mastery of motion and those virtually lethal legs.
Several years ago, I started collecting as many of her movies as were in print and searched (in vain) for more than the paltry amount of information and photos I could obtain locally. Even the information superhighway was destitute of facts about Cyd. Then I met eBay. Or rather it met me - then turned me up by the ankles and emptied my pockets while showering me with glorious photos, magazines, and books bearing images of and information on the Texas Terpsichore.
Since I do web graphics for a living, I was itching to make a Cyd web site. But I still needed more material. I wanted not only a cornucopia of dazzling pictures but also a serious retrospective on her life and career. So I sent out unsolicited e-mails to everyone who had bid on a Cyd Charisse item on eBay last spring, begging for help.
Enter the Cyd guru, Ray Hagen, to whom she's no mere muse but a full-fledged goddess. Ray's excellent tribute - which is much more fun to read than mine - explains his lifelong admiration of Cyd. This guy actually met her at the peak of her popularity! The bum. I wouldn't be born for nine years yet but I still regret missing that occasion.
I've since tapered off on the eBay purchases, thanks in no small part to the generous contributions of Ray and other web friends. With their input, I am able to maintain a site that someone as classy as Cyd deserves.