Sid Charisse ( born Cyd Charisse , real name Tula Ellice Finklea ); March 8, 1922 [1] - June 17, 2008 ) - American ballerina and actress of theater and cinema. She danced in the Russian Ballet Monte Carlo troupe, then in the early 1940s she began working in the cinema. She starred in musical films with partners such as Fred Astaire , Gene Kelly , Dan Daily and others.
| Sid Chariss | |
|---|---|
| Cyd charisse | |
 Studio photography of 1948 | |
| Birth name | Tula Ellis Finkley |
| Date of Birth | March 8, 1922 |
| Place of Birth | Amarillo , Texas , USA |
| Date of death | June 17, 2008 (86 years old) |
| Place of death | Los Angeles , USA |
| Citizenship |  |
| Profession | ballet dancer , actress |
| Career | 1943-1995 |
| Direction | musical |
| Awards | US National Medal of Arts |
| IMDb | |
Biography
Ellis Finkley, known as Sid Chariss, was born in the city of Amarillo (Texas) in the family of jeweler Ernst Finkley and his wife Lila, nee Norwood. At the age of eight, the girl began to practice ballet . The father encouraged his daughter's classes so much that he installed a ballet machine and a full-length mirror in her room [2] . Soon the family moved to Hollywood , where Sid began to study at the Hollywood Professional School . From the age of 12, she studied at the dancer's studio Nico Charissa in Los Angeles for a year. Later, among her teachers were Adolf Bolm and Bronislava Nizhinsky . In 1937 , she joined the Russian Monte Carlo troupe and began touring with her throughout the United States. According to the tradition of that time, she performed under “Russian” pseudonyms: first as Natasha Tulalis [3] , then as Felia Sidorova and Maria Istomina.
In 1939, Sid lost her father, due to which she lingered in the USA, while the whole troupe sailed to Europe [2] . In the same year in Europe, she married Nico Charissa. With the outbreak of war she returned to the USA Leaving the scene, she decided to try herself in Hollywood . In 1941, under the pseudonym Lily Norwood (Sid took her mother’s maiden name), she began acting in films - at first as a dancer in episodes. In 1942, she received the first role indicated in the credits ( Lily in Something to Shout About ), then the role of the ballerina Galina Ulanova in the film " Mission to Moscow " (1943). In 1946 , MGM studio signed a contract with her. From that moment, she began acting as Sid Chariss , adding to her husband's surname the nickname given to her by her brother as a child, derived from “Sis” (abbr. From English sister - “sister”) [3] . The first role, where Sid began to speak, was Deborah Andrews in the movie " " (1946).
The real popularity of the actress brought the film " Singing in the Rain " (1952), where she starred in the dance suite "Broadway Melody" as a partner Gene Kelly . In the same year, Sid Chariss's legs were insured for $ 5 million each (according to the Guinness Book of Records, this was the highest insurance amount of those years). Then the leadership of MGM decided to make her a partner of their main dance star - Fred Astaire . In 1953, they starred together in the movie Theater Wagon : a dance episode of Dancing in the Dark to the music of the , staged by Aster, became one of the most famous dances in the history of Hollywood cinema [3] . Aster himself wittily called his partner "dancing dynamite."
Charisse later starred with both Aster and Gene Kelly. From time to time, she also received roles without dancing ( The Party Girl , 1958; and Something Should Happen , 1962). In 1958 , for the role of Commissioner Nina Yushchenko , sent by the Soviet Ministry to Paris (the romantic comedy Silk Stockings , 1957), she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a comedy or musical .
With the sunset of the era, the movie musical began acting in detectives, adhering to the role of an elegant and self-sufficient “femme fatale”. Having become less in demand in Hollywood, she began performing with her second husband, Tony Martin , who in 1963 opened his own nightclub. She toured abroad with him. She also played in dramatic productions of regional troupes, however, she debuted on Broadway only in 1992 , at the age of 71, when she was invited to join the updated cast of the musical , where she replaced . In an interview with People magazine, Chariss admitted that dancing on Broadway was a goal that she could not achieve - and it’s great to finally be there [3] .
Died in Los Angeles from heart failure.
Personal life
In 1939, during a tour of Europe, Sid Chariss married her teacher, owner of the Los Angeles dance studio Nico Charissa. In 1941, they appeared together in a dance episode of the film Rumba Serenade . They had a common child - the son of Niko "Nicky" Chariss. In 1947, the couple divorced, after the divorce, Sid left her husband's last name.
In 1948, the actress married again - for a Hollywood singer and actor of Portuguese-Jewish descent Tony Martin . The marriage lasted 60 years, until the death of the actress in 2008, and was happy. From Tony Sid gave birth to Tony Martin Jr. Tony Sr. also adopted his son Sid from his first marriage. In 1976, the couple published a joint autobiography of The Two of Us .
Filmography
- 1941 - episodes in the films Rumba Serenade , "Poem", "I knew it would be like that", "Has anyone called?"
- 1942 - episodes in the films of Magic of Magnolias , This Love of Mine
- 1943 - Lily , Something to Shout About
- 1943 - ballerina Galina Ulanova , “ Mission to Moscow ”
- 1943 - Thousands Cheer
- 1946 - 's
- 1946 - Deborah Andrews , “ ” (first role with words)
- 1946 - Three Wise Fools
- 1946 - Dancer in the musical "Roberta" , " " (partner - Gover Champion)
- 1947 - Conchita , Fiesta
- 1947 - Arian Boucher , “The ” (a remake of the 1937 film “ ”)
- 1948 - Yvonne Torro , On an Island with You
- 1948 - Dancer in the scene "Fiesta" , The Kissing Bandit
- 1948 - Margot Grant , Words and Music
- 1949 - East Side, West Side
- 1949 - Tension - Mary Chanler
- 1951 - Manuela de Vazquez , Mark of the Renegade
- 1952 - Dancer in the scene "Broadway Melody" , " Singing in the Rain " (partner - Gene Kelly )
- 1952 - Indiana , The Wild North
- 1953 - Lola de Torrano , " "
- 1953 - Gabrielle Gerard , Theater Wagon ( Tony Hunter - Fred Astaire , choreography by Michael Kidd )
- 1953 - Cameo , Easy to Love
- 1954 - Fiona Campbell , The Team Leader ( Tommy Albright - Gene Kelly)
- 1954 - Insert number , " "
- 1955 - Jackie Leighton , “ ”
- 1956 - “ ”
- 1957 - Nina Yushchenko , “ Silk Stockings ” (remake of the 1939 film “ Ninochka ”, Steve Kenfield - Fred Astaire ; nomination for the Golden Globe Award for this role)
- 1958 - Twilight for the Gods
- 1958 - Party Girl - Wicky Gay
- 1960 - The Widow , “ ” (ballet film by Terence Young , choreography by Roland Petit )
- 1961 - Five Golden Hours
- 1962 -
- 1962 - “ Something must happen ” (not finished due to the death of Marilyn Monroe )
- 1965 - Shelley North , “ ”
- 1966 - The
- 1967 - Louise Henderson ,
- 1973 - Film Portrait (documentary)
- 1976 - cameo , " Won Ton Ton - The Dog That Saved Hollywood "
- 1978 - Atsil , " Leaders of Atlantis "
- 1985 - television series " She wrote the murder " (1st episode of season II)
- 1989 - Private Screening
- 1994 - “ ”, part III (documentary for the 70th anniversary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio )
In the theater
- Russian ballet Monte Carlo
- " Prodigal Son " by Prokofiev directed by David Lishin
- The Sleeping Beauty by Tchaikovsky
- On Broadway
- 1992 - prima ballerina Elizaveta Grushinskaya , “ ”, musical of 1989 (in line with Zina Betyun )
Bibliography
- 1976 - The Two of Us , an autobiography co-written with Tony Martin
Rewards
- 2006 - US National Medal of Arts
- 2006 - Gypsy Lifetime Achievement Award of the Professional Dancers Society [3] .
Notes
- ↑ The Oxford Dictionary of Dance
- ↑ 1 2 Jan Onofrio. Texas Biographical Dictionary. - Somerset Publishers, Inc, 2002. - S. 38-39.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Liz Sonneborn. A to Z of American Women in the Performing Arts. - 2001 .-- 840 s. - ISBN 9780403099924 .