Classy, long-legged, graceful Texas beauty who danced with the Ballet Russe as a teenager and starred in MGM musicals with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. Charisse's fame came from the Technicolor musicals of the '40s and '50s. Classically trained, she could dance anything, from a pas de deux in Ziegfeld Follies (1946) to the lowdown Mickey Spillane satire in The Band Wagon (1953; with Astaire). She also forged a popular song-and-dance partnership on TV and in nightclub appearances with her husband of 60 years, singer Tony Martin. Charisse died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California on June 17, 2008.
~Life in Legacy |