News for
Gene Kelly (I) More at IMDb Pro »

13 articles from 2008

16 September 2008 9:21 AM, PDT | From NYPost.com | See recent New York Post news

Two Oscar-winning musicals starring Leslie Caron make their debuts on high-definition Blu-ray today, as well as in two-disc special editions with sparkling new transfers on standard DVD.

The 77-year-old French-born actress offers her reminisces in new making-of documentaries for both "An American in Paris" (1951) and "Gigi" (1958), two of the most celebrated musicals from producer Arthur Freed's fabled unit at MGM.

Both were written by Alan Jay Lerner, who also contributed lyrics for the songs in "Gigi" with Frederick Loewe, his

By LOU LUMENICK

9 September 2008 9:02 PM, PDT | From avclub.com | See recent The AV Club news

In 1952, MGM's musical masterpiece Singin' In The Rain suffered some by coming in the immediate wake of An American In Paris, a Best Picture-winning prestige effort that at the time was considered the height of Hollywood musical sophistication. Over the past few decades, though, the tide has turned. Singin' In The Rain has become a cudgel with which to beat the bloated, somewhat pretentious An American In Paris, such that now it's the Oscar-winner which may be underrated. Much of what's bothersome about An American In Paris can be attributed to its ambition, along with a well-meaning but obnoxious reactionary streak. This is a movie that honors its hero, a mediocre representational painter played by Gene Kelly, for standing against the tide of airy-fairy art-world abstraction. And yet MGM's crack creative team—led by director Vincente Minnelli—went a little arty themselves, abandoning conventional narrative after 90-odd minutes to resolve the.

Noel Murray

22 August 2008 6:00 AM, PDT | From Spout.com | See recent Spout news

The epic battle between McCain and Obama will shape America's future. To prepare, we look at an eerily similar battle from America's past, the 1960 primaries between JFK and Hubert Humphry, as portrayed in Robert Drew's verité classic, Primary. Karina stays in for the weekend watching back-to-back movie marathons to settle an age-old debate: Who's better, Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire? Also, she shares her fantasy of seeing Olympic gymnastic ass-kicker Nastia Liukin star in a prison-break exploitation flick. It never hurts to dream... On a more serious note, we talk to director ...

Kevin Buist

15 August 2008 12:25 PM, PDT | From Spout.com | See recent Spout news

I'm heading out a bit early for the weekend (yes, the Week in Review is on its way), but before I go I want to give a shout out to some of TCM's Summer Under the Stars programming coming up this weekend. Across Saturday and Sunday, they're saluting the two greatest male musical stars of all time, Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. I'm a sucker for certain of the Astaire/Rogers films (primarily Swing Time, and probably mostly because I think there's something interesting about the fact that Fred is essentially a gambling cad who s ...

Karina Longworth

19 July 2008 9:00 PM, PDT | From NYPost.com | See recent New York Post news

Apocalypse Now (1979)Tuesday, 1 a.m, TCMBased on Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness," Francis Ford Coppola's brilliant, controversial and sometimes crazy Vietnam War epic tells the story of a U.S. Special Forces Captain (Martin Sheen), who is sent on a mission to to "terminate" a renegade Green Beret (Marlon Brando). He's playing God in the jungle. Brilliant performances all around.

No Way Out (1987)Thursday, 8 p.m., StarzA taut, terrific thriller about a naval officer (Kevin Costner

By LINDA STASI

18 June 2008 10:35 AM, PDT | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Cyd Charisse, a star of MGM musicals in the 1940s and '50s, died Tuesday in Los Angeles of an apparent heart attack at age 86. She co-starred with Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain and Brigadoon and with Fred Astaire in such films as Silk Stockings and The Band Wagon. Astaire once remarked about working with her: "When we were dancing, we didn't know what time it was." Survivors include her husband of 60 years, the singer Tony Martin.

Permalink | Report a problem

18 June 2008 1:19 AM, PDT | From Digitalspy | See recent digitalspy news

Musical star Cyd Charisse has died of a heart attack, aged 87. The actress-dancer passed away in hospital in La after falling ill on Monday, her publicist said. Charisse was best known for dancing with Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire in Hollywood musicals of the 1940s and '50s. At the peak of her career, her long legs were insured for $$1 million. She was born Tula Ellice Finklea in 1921 and began her career dancing with the Ballet Russe in her teens. She landed a small part in Hollywood film Something To Shout About in 1943 and was later signed to MGM. The studio gave her a seven-year contract and changed her name to Cyd Charisse, a combination of childhood nickname Sid and the surname (more)

By Beth Hilton

17 June 2008 6:48 PM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Beloved actress/dancer Cyd Charisse has died in a Los Angeles hospital.

The 86-year-old reportedly suffered a heart attack on Monday and was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she died on Tuesday.

Born Tula Ellice Finklea in Texas in 1921, Charisse studied ballet in Los Angeles and performed as Siderova in the Ballet Russes up until World War II, when she returned to California to embark on a movie career.

She became a staple in movie musicals throughout the 1940s and 1950s, appearing alongside Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly in films like Ziegfeld Follies, The Band Wagon, Silk Stockings and Brigadoon.

She retired from dancing in the late 1950s to become a straight actress.

Charisse took her surname from her first husband Nico Charisse, who she wed in 1939. She was married to singer Tony Martin for 60 years up until her death.

The actress/dancer was presented with America's highest artistic honour, the National Medal of the Arts + Humanities, by President George W. Bush in 2006.

Permalink | Report a problem

17 June 2008 3:34 PM, PDT | From IMDb News

Cyd Charisse, the dancer and actress who appeared in such film musicals as Singin' in the Rain, The Band Wagon, and Silk Stockings, died Tuesday in Los Angeles after suffering an apparent heart attack; she was 86. Born Tula Ellice Finklea in Texas, the young dancer was classically trained in Los Angeles and at 14 became part of the Ballet Russe, traveling through the US and Europe and performing under the names "Celia Siderova" and "Maria Istromena." She married the dancer Nico Charisse in Paris in 1939 and had a son, Nicky, in 1942. When the Ballet Russe disbanded at the beginning of World War II, Charisse returned to Hollywood and became the resident ballet star at MGM, just as the studio was beginning its run of sumptuous Technicolor musicals. She signed a seven-year contract with the studio, was given the exotic first name "Cyd," and was seen as a featured dancer in numerous films such as Ziegfeld Follies, where she performed with Fred Astaire. She also divorced and later married singer Tony Martin in 1948, with whom she had a second son. Her breakthrough came in the 1952 classic Singin' in the Rain when she was paired with Gene Kelly in the climactic "Broadway Melody" number near the end of the film. Throughout the 1950s she starred in a number of other classic musicals: with Kelly again in Brigadoon and It's Always Fair Weather and with Astaire in The Band Wagon in Silk Stockings. As the big-screen Hollywood musical began to wane in popularity, Charisse switched to dramatic films, and also appeared in numerous television shows. In 1992 she made her Broadway debut in the stage version of Grand Hotel, and made an appearance in Janet Jackson's 1990 video "Alright." She is survived by her husband and two sons.

IMDb Staff
Permalink | Report a problem

17 June 2008 3:00 AM, PDT | From PEOPLE.com | See recent PEOPLE.com news

Movie dancer Cyd Charisse – whose elegant legwork wooed Fred Astaire in such classic '50s musicals as The Band Wagon and Silk Stockings and Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain and Brigadoon – died early Tuesday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after suffering an apparent heart attack, says her rep. She was 86. The resident MGM ballet dancer at the height of Hollywood's golden era of musicals had danced in the Ballet Russes before landing at the studio – though for all the glamour she exuded, Charisse, who was adored by her coworkers, was often referred to by her real name, Tula Finklea, from Amarillo Texas.

23 May 2008 12:11 PM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

The director of 1957 Audrey Hepburn movie Funny Face is suing Gap clothing company, for using his footage of the actress without his permission.

The company agreed a deal with studio Paramount Pictures to show Hepburn dancing to Back in Black in the advert.

But 84-year-old Stanley Donen wasn't consulted - and has filed a lawsuit seeking $5 million (GBP2.5 million), reports Tmz.com.

Donen is famous for directing Gene Kelly in musical Singin' in the Rain.

Permalink | Report a problem

15 May 2008 10:23 AM, PDT | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Warren Cowan, whose Rogers and Cowan public relations company has represented many of Hollywood's leading luminaries and the music industry's best-selling recording artists over more than a half century, died Wednesday of cancer at age 87. His clients included Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Gene Kelly, John Wayne, Lucille Ball, Judy Garland, Steve McQueen, Cary Grant, Sylvester Stallone, Ronald Reagan, The Doors, Elton John, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Michael Jackson.

Permalink | Report a problem

6 May 2008 4:00 AM, PDT | From buddytv.com | See recent BuddyTV news

Fresh from the High School Musical 3 press conference on Friday, the cast of the highly successful made-for-tv movie headed out to Utah to shoot their third installment, which will hit the big screen for the first time this October.  During the press conference, the cast talked about some major developments in the plot and characters of the third movie, which will follow the Wild Cats in their last year in high school.

Vanessa Hudgens, who plays squeaky clean and super sweet Gabriella Montez since High School Musical's debut in January 2006, says that the third movie is “the last chapter for the Wildcats.”  Nonetheless, she says it's good to be back in Utah, as it definitely “feels like home—being back here with everyone, it's amazing.”

As for the new characters we're going to meet in the third movie, Hudgens assures us that “they're all real characters that you know and see in high school.

BuddyTV

13 articles from 2008