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June 18, 2008
Cyd Charisse, 1921 - 2008
The lovely and talented Cyd Charisse passed away last night in Cedars Sinai Medical Center here in Los Angeles.
When I heard the news, I experienced a sense of deep loss.
I was a high school student the first time I laid eyes on the long-legged, sinuous Hollywood star Cyd Charisse. I cut school and took the subway into Manhattan to catch a screening of Singin' in the Rain, (1952) at one of Manhattan's revival movie houses. I think it was Dan Talbot's New Yorker Theater.
At the time, I was devouring esoteric film journals and Singin' in the Rain was frequently cited as one of the best musicals ever made.
Look, I was a dopey Yeshiva student obsessed with Japanese movies, but I had a hunger to know about all movies—though musicals struck me as somewhat, y'know, girlie.
But the the film magazines I was reading—and not truly comprehending—called Singin' in the Rain a “seminal movie.” So, when the opportunity arose to catch a screening, well, I took the plunge and made the trek from Brooklyn to Manhattan—another world.
Singin' in the Rain is a seminal movie. It's the finest treatment of the difficult transition from silent films to sound movies ever produced.
But here's the thing about Singin' in the Rain: Debbie Reynolds is all fresh, perky and just perfect in her ingenue role. But one look at Cyd Charisse just blew me out of my seat and erased all memory of Reynolds from my little mind.
Charisse has just one scene with the great Gene Kelly in the film, but she is brilliant, unforgettable, a dangerous slice of fire-breathing womanhood—smooth as silk. And to this day, when I watch the film, I'm once again that hungering, movie mad yeshiva student, cutting classes and coming face to face with one of the most graceful and magnetic dancers who has ever graced the silver screen.
I never had the opportunity to thank Cyd Charisse for making me care about and respect musicals.
This entry is written in deep gratitude.
A warning for those who are religiously modest: This dance number is smoking hot.
Cyd Charisse IMDb
The Official Cyd Charisse Website
The Cyd Charisse Appreciation Page
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at June 18, 2008 10:27 AM
Comments
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Nothing girlie about that scene.
smokin!
Posted by: pdwalker at June 18, 2008 02:36 PM
I mean if you're into the porcelain-skinned, charismatic, super talented, perfectly proportioned type, she's OK.
Posted by: Alice at June 18, 2008 06:04 PM
PD:
Nope, nothing girlie at all about Cyd and Gene. The pair are blazing hetero heat.
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech at June 18, 2008 10:41 PM
Alice:
Alas, I'm definitely into the porcelain-skinned, charismatic, super talented, perfectly proportioned type.
Sigh.
It's a pronounced weakness.
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.seraphicpress.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at June 18, 2008 10:48 PM
I have nothing against Cyd Charisse, but it's Debbie Reynolds I fell a little in love with when I first saw Singing in the Rain as a college freshman.
De gustibus non disputandem est.
I might feel differently, though, if I saw Singing in the Rain for the first time today. Fresh and perky just doesn't do it for me anymore.
Posted by: Kent G. Budge at June 23, 2008 09:46 PM