Cool News
Cyd Charisse has slipped back to Brigadoon...
Hey folks, Harry here. I just got a call from a family member of Cyd Charisse, who let me know that roughly an hour and a half ago she passed away.
Cyd was born 87 years ago in Amarillo, Texas. But for the rest of us, Cyd was born on screen as one of the most beautiful, graceful and magical dancers to ever grace the screen. You can look up her filmography - off the top of your head you'll remember her from SINGIN IN THE RAIN, THE BAND WAGON, IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER, SILK STOCKINGS and my personal favorite Gene Kelly musical... BRIGADOON.
I love BRIGADOON. Directed by Vincente Minnelli - BRIGADOON is a musical fantasy - influenced a tad by LOST HORIZON - it's about a pair of American Hunters in Scotland that come across a magical village that only appears once every 100 years. That way the town would never be subject to change from the outside.
Cyd played Fiona - the woman that Gene Kelly is smitten with - and anyone that ever watched the film - falls for Fiona. Cyd's long legs and graceful dancing was enough to enchant anyone that saw her.
Her type of grace and lyrical movement was a piece of cinematic magic that lived specifically for a period in the fifties at MGM that we'll never ever see the likes of again. She made you envy every man that ever danced with her.
For those that have never seen her beauty - never watched her dance... or that just wish to remember what grace, beauty and physical magic was - watch this:
From SINGIN' IN THE RAIN with Gene Kelly
From THE BAND WAGON with Fred Astaire
From ON AN ISLAND WITH YOU with Ricardo Montalban - music by Xavier Cugat
From MEET ME IN LAS VEGAS - dancing to the singing of Sammy Davis Jr
From SILK STOCKINGS - stunning
From PARTY GIRL
From DEEP IN MY HEART
From THE BAND WAGON with Fred Astaire - 'Dancing in the Dark'
From THE SILENCERS
From BRIGADOON with Gene Kelly
From all of us that have loved Cyd Charisse on screen - we wish her family and friends the best in this trying time. We'll never forget what she brought to the screen.
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My first first!Too bad it's on a TB about a movie my mom loved.
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didn't mean to be an insensitive prig.Brigadoon actually is kinda cool, I love how when he hands the people the money they all flip out and check the date and Gene Kelly's friend goes: "What'd you give 'em? A hunk of uranium?"
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Thanks for the dance. Rest in peace Cyd Charisse.
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... and now all the way up to heaven. Thank you, Cyd, for the memories!
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We all gotta leave the dance floor some time. Cyd is one of the great hoofers of her time and all time. What a gal!
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What a wonderful movie and how brilliant she is in it - sweet, romantic, amazingly sexy - as you can see from the clips. SEE IT. Thank you AICN for a brilliant posting about a truly great star. Love to her family, I'll be thinking of you.
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http://www.imdb.com/media/rm697407488/nm0001998
SRSLY?! -
Don't know her, haven't seen any of those movies, but it sucks when the guard changes like this. Who are the "new" dancers? ... Yep, that's about it. By the way, remove the space from the url up there... forgot to TinyURL it.
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Anyone who's not seen a movie of hers, it's worth tracking down BAND WAGON - you'll have already seen loads of things influenced by it, from films by Scorsese to things like the vid for Smooth Criminal (!). Brilliant movie.
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i don't think she makes the 3rd in the 'famous people die in 3's' pattern. and i wonder if she would have even been mentioned if tim russert ans stan winston hadn't died in the past 7 days.
well ,maybe, after all you got a call about it, -
condolences to Major Kira (niece)
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The ballet scene in SINGIN' IN THE RAIN is movie-geek bliss. My condolences to her family.
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So yah, I think she'd have been mentioned.
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Nicely done Cyd. You gave us a great run.
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of Cyd Charisse's.
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Gene Kelly wanted to film it on location and make it a big-budget epic-like musical. Would've been awesome. Instead we got set pieces and uninspired background paintings. Fortunately, the script, songs, and performances were enough to save it -- even though it wasn't the amazing groundbreaking film it might have been.
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I am SO sick of hearing about wonderful talent slipping away. EVERY. FREAKING. WEEK! I'm mad as hell and i'm not going to take it anymore!!! Cyd Charisse was wonderful, and she will be missed.
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I never really understood her part in Singin' in the Rain. She just appears in a dream sequence and then disappears. I always thought that was really odd.
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I had a huge crush on Cyd Charisse afterwards. What an incredible dancer she was.
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Cyd Charisse was a goddess, a dancer with tremendous skill. Wow. I don't even know what else to say about this. She was simply remarkable.
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As if this year hasn't been a blow with Brad Renfro, Heath Ledger, Charlton Heston and many others passing away, now there's Stan Winston and Cyd Charisse, just a few days apart. I always loved her in Singin' in the Rain, now I have to buy some of her other movies. I'm gonna ask God if he can give us a break, at least for a few months. Rest in peace.
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Just awesome. She was beautiful...and a hell of a dancer.
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how important theatre background was for so many fine actors. There is a terrific 2 part DVD called the golden age of broadway and I would urge you all to track it down. It is the history of Broadway told by some of the very best american actors. One of those on it was the late Jerry Orbach.
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Great tribute clips, she was amazing. I wanted to be her when I grew up - still do. Rest In Peace.
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She was said to be able to dance on clouds. Now she does just that. R.I.P. to one of Hollywoods finest dancers.
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First, let me say I like Brigadoon. That said, one major plot point has always bothered me. The village keeps going away and coming back once every hundred years. Fine. But although I don't remember the exact year the village entered this pact with God, they could only have been doing it for a few days or so at any event (at least to their perception). Yet everyone acts like they have been doing this for such a long time. As far as they are concerned, they started this a couple of days ago and Tommy and his pal show up. Just seemed a little odd somehow.
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Although she's only in the Broadway Melody sequence, she's a part of my favourite movie of all time. Thanks for the memories, Ms. Charisse. Rest in Peace.
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Jun 17, 2008 6:21:11 PM CDT
So she gets a big write-up on CNN.com, but Stan Winston doesn't?
by googamooga
Complete and utter BS.
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Too many legends and good, interesting people.
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What's going on? How can so many of the greats leave us in so short a time? It's just... just not fair. RIP, Tula Ellice. I don't need to tell you you won't be forgotten; you know that no one who knew you, no one who saw you ever could. Just enjoy it up there - I'm sure the Big Band in the Sky saved all the best numbers for you.
Also, Mr Gorilla, speaking of Smooth Criminal... Here's a little piece I picked up just a few days ago, could be considered a comment on the clips up in the article: http://tinyurl.com/5w4654 -
Actually he goes by DON now.
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Do it for me, my little bastards. Father's Day goes all week.
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just keeps getting worse and worse...Stan, Cyd, Tim...excuse me while I go crawl under the covers and cry for awhile...
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Cyd Charisse-Yeah most people around won't know the name
(I barely do & I consider myself a student of film)-But her star did flicker ever so brightly in the 50's & for that we shall dutifully mourn her passing.
BTW: Google her pix-She DID have awesome legs!! -
I'll never forget your dance sequence in "The Silencers." Just...wow.
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Total fox. Pure talent. My wife makes me watch musicals frequently. The key is to watch the ones with Cyd.
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To quote Harvey Korman, who i'm sure is groping Cyd right now. I can't believe all the greats we have lost in the last two weeks, it has been a black June indeed.
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This catches me off guard, I actually cried watching the last clip from Brigadoon. I remember watching that movie at 7 years old and being enchanted by her beauty and elegance. Isn't it odd how the shape of our heart is changed by beauty, set aside in our memory for a time and remembered at a time of passing? A very fantastic talent and beauty. I'm more than a little heartbroken by this. I'll sit down and watch Brigadoon again this week and imagine her dancing with angels. Thanks, Harry - very sweet and kind remembrance.
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The one thing that sucks about dance sequences is that you don't get to enjoy enough close-ups. She's sooooo gorgeous...
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It's easy to forget just how good these people really were. Astaire, Kelly, Cyd...Your right, Harry. We will never see their like again.
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rip to a wonderful dancer
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Obviously are not true fans of cinema. Hope you enjoy "Saw XXIV."
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Just get to the eulogy, who cares who told you??
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Well - At the time I reported this - it was the first place reporting it - I had to let folks know that this wasn't a rumor, but a call from the family.
As for how I got the call? It came on my cel phone. -
they make that clear in the movie. You do get the sense though that they have a vague perception of time as they sleep "in the mist."
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It's bittersweet how the community theater in Amarillo is performing Singin'In The Rain this summer. I wonder if she had a chance to see it.
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Looks like Lubbock instead of Amarillo...
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Posting the news about the death of Cyd Charisse (enough already Grim Reaper) shows you have an appreciation for many genres of film, not just geeky fan boy sci-fi and comic book fantasy. Charisse and many others who performed in the great studio musicals were fantastic talents, and blow away the pukes on American Idol or Dancing with the So-called-Stars or whatever those piece of shit shows are called. Rest in peace, Beautiful Dynamite.
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because people who aren't into "classic" 50's movies means they aren't fans of cinema...right?
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Cyd Charisse could tell an entire story in just one dance. Wow. Those clips are just stunning.
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I deny these news. She can´t die.
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...when i see her dancing in Dancin´in the Rain. In that moment, i started to like women.
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My mistake.
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Jun 18, 2008 3:09:26 AM CDT
Oh man, sad news. Singin' is easily my fav musical....
by big_bubbaloola
and I hate musicals. That Broadway Melody sequence is fun and Gene is great, but then he skids to a halt at Cyds legs and ...... well I won't go into details but lets say my pulse increases and I start perspiring!
That woman is just about the hottest thing ever to grace the screen in that one scene. Sorry to be vulgar, but she just drips with sex. That scene is one helluva turn on. Someone else said they started liking women at that point and I concurr.
Her whole seduction of Gene just leaves me in a puddle on the floor. Just wow! I've not really caught any of her other work, but the whole sequence (including the ballet scene) is imprinted for life on my memory. God rest and god speed Cyd ..... one in a million. -
Here's dimming the stage lights for a true loss in the movie musical world, as well as stage. I can't believe some of the people here who are saying they are film fans, but don't know who Cyd was. For crying out loud, it's a sad day when people declare themselves film fans, but the breadth of their cinematic history goes back to 1985.Cyd was incredible. Look at the clips Harry posted (and by the way Harry, with the clips this is one of the best In Memorial columns you've done in a while). She danced with comparable grace and style of Astaire and Kelly, and she could be stunningly sexy in a role or adorably cute, the girl next door. She was a true giant and THAT'S why her passing gets attention and, yes, the film world is losing too many of the old greats whose like we will never see again. RIP, Cyd, and thanks for all the glorious technicolor memories of what life and love is like in motion.
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...PLEASE tell me your just making a bad taste joke in the midst of a RIP column to even THINK about comparing Lindsay Lohan with Cyd Charisse.Yeah, because compared to the stunning beauty of Cyd and the exquisite elegance of her dancing, that stripper pole routine that Lindsay did at the beginning of I KNOW WHO KILLED ME will be the stuff of cinema legend too one day (insert mocking eye roll here...)
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Zowie!
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You were as talented as you were beautiful.
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Singin' in the Rain is fantastic (of course, her part is small, but still) and she was always fantastic when she was onscreen. BRIG-A-DOOOOOOOON.
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As a child I wondered why one of the Atlantian women wore outfits that showed so much leg. As an adult the mystery is solved.
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Whatever you're smoking, I want some.
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Instead we get Terminator 4 and Friday the 13th part fifty, and Shrek the Sixty-Fifth, and remakes of movies that weren't very good when they were new.
And please dont bring up those awful cheerleader routine and "2 the streets" break-dance movies. Im talking about good old-fashioned ballet quality choreagraphy and dance that just makes you jaw hit the theater floor with a sticky soda-grease and popcorn butter splat. In the clip above (forget the one) where's she's just walking down a path with Fred Astaire, and almost at random, they go from walking to dancing for a brief few seconds and back to walking again.
Hollywood used to be a place of magic because they used to create films that were genuinely magical. Now in its place we get people jumping over mortar explosions, middle-fingers, F-bombs, and movies starring four members of the Jabberwokies and an R-Kelly backup dancer.
Make a movie like any of the clips linked in this talkback, and I promise you, it wouldn't make a billion dollars on its opening weekend, but it would make a hell of a lot more money than any dumb-assed Anchorman sequel. -
Man, she was so smokin' hot in that sequence in SINGIN' IN THE RAIN. Just unbelievable. I also love her in SILK STOCKINGS, the musical remake of NINOTCHKA with her in the Greta Garbo role. I really hope this is the last great film legend that passes away for a few months. This is getting ridiculous.
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She was dressed in a slinky leopard-print number. Very delish. Film is also worth watching to see the inspiration for the baseball bat scene in DePalma's 1986ish "The Untouchables".
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They dont make them because they are or have become expensive. Moulin Rouge was dumped into the stix in the US but fox used the movie to open its film studios in Australia and it was given a spectacular opening. Moulin rouge got a West Coast/east coast premiere in American. Moulin Rouge was then dumped into two cinemas in middle america where it died a death. It hasnt stopped studios like miramax(under Harvey and Bob) making musicals. I dont know how big a success Chicago. There is also another reason and that is to do with the era in which one lives. Singin was released post war. but it only became a classic many decades later, it bombed when it opened. We live in more cynical times. I voted yes in the lisbon treaty ref. and the no's won out covincingly. There is not a lot of trust out there. I dont trust people who i didnt vote for in our election and they were the winners. They make movies like T4 because it points someway to the future. its a film. with a crap director. but it taps into a mood. some films do that. The biggest Cartoon of the year will be Kung Fu Panda. It has a philosophical message. and it aint shrek. It will make a ton of money. as will madagascar 2. Wanted sounds badass. but wont get much of a release or all the violent bits will be taken out. you can blame bush for that. The script would have to be gone through with a fine tooth comb if they Singin today. the bit with Kelly and charisse in the dream sequence where she takes off his glasses. that would be gone. as would all the refrences to smoking. etc and drinking. and so forth. the movie would be butchered in the editing room and finally one more reason why it wouldnt be. Joel Schumacher would have to direct. we all know how much the talkbackers hate Joel Schumacher. though phonebooth was very good I thought.
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...there is a whole post describing her and her work that you have to get by to get to the TB. What kind of dumbass skips it to post "Who?" in the TB.
Rhetorical. I know what kind of dumbass that takes. I am baffled by this kind of hooey in Obit TBs. It just seems like a subspecies of TROLL is born that likes to show their ass amidst heartfelt sentiments of loss for legends that pass. There's been so many lately maybe that's why it seems like there are an inordinate number of these Trollkins. -
"I never really understood her part in Singin' in the Rain. She just appears in a dream sequence and then disappears. I always thought that was really odd." - It's not a dream sequence. It's a film within the film, more or less. It's also the setup for a wonderful gag. The "Broadway Melody" sequence depicts a big number Don Lockwood wants to include in the picture he is making, "The Dancing Cavalier." Don begins to describe what he'd like to do and we dissolve to the sequence - albeit on a scale they never could have accomplished in 1929. After ten minutes of knock your eyes out performance from Kelly and Cyd they cut back to Don and the studio head, who says, "I just can't picture it. I'll have to see it on film."
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than the one she made in Singin' In The Rain? That flimsy dress, the one leg standing straight up, smoke coming from her nostrils, looking like she was about to throw out a hip? That was her quintissential moment. Thank God for film, and thank God for performers like her and her talent. Wonder if she and Gene are picking up right now from where they left off.
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Singin' In the Rain was a Gene Kelly movie, so dancing was to be expected. It was also a movie designed to highlight Debbie Reynolds, and Debbie just wasn't up to that kind of dancing... So Cyd was included to give Kelly someone to dance with who could handle the part. No knockin' Debbie, but she was not on a par with Kelly in that area.
Incidentally, Cyd chose the stage name of "Cyd" because it was a family nickname given to her because her younger brother couldn't say the word "sis". -
The film did 57 million in the USA - that's more than the latest Saw film. And Chicago was a runaway blockbuster, raking in 170 mil+. And theres a major budgeted musical coming out in a few weeks - Mamma Mia with Meryl Streep. The genre isnt dead - just dormant.
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It is such a clever film. that scene with Jean Hagen and her dialect coach is one of the funniest thing ever committed to celluloid. as is the bit with the director. pulling his hair out. They dont make comedies like that anymore and with apatow nailing the comedy coffin shut with every film he makes. they never will again.
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I like abba and all but wild horses wouldnt drag me to that. I have never seen the musical. From what I see of the Trailers, you cant replicate a toe tapping, aisle dancing musical, that makes you get out of your seat and dance around. Hairspray you probably could have but I didnt see it.
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Damn! Why wasn't she interviewed more often before she died?
hey moviefans check out thebitterproducer.blogspot.com -
Abe Vigoda will outlive everyone!! All hail the great Abe Vigoda!!
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