Goodbye Cyd

Ah well, another marvelous pair of legs are gone (yes, I’m a sucker for a nice pair of legs, as past postings might indicate). Read in today’s paper that Tula Ellice Finklea, recipient of a National Medal of Arts, born in Amarillo Texas in 1922, just passed away. She was involved with Howard Hughes in the 40's, and has been married to her current husband Tony Martin for over sixty years. Better known as Cyd Charisse, she appeared as a dancer in several 1950’s musicals.

She played the love lead in Brigadoon, and the Greta Garbo roll in Silk Stockings. I’m a big fan of the big production film musicals, starting with the Busby Berkeley ones from the 30’s, but some of the later ones were pretty good too. She danced with Gene Kelly in Singin’ In The Rain


And Fred Astaire in The Band Wagon


You can see an alternate version of that last one done by Dawn French as well:


Don’t know which one of those I like better. Anyway, here’s to you, Cyd (or is that Tula?)