Texas Film Hall Of Fame Member Cyd Charisse Born On This Date; Watch Her Dance

Surely Cyd Charisse, born on this date in 1922 in Amarillo, was born to dance. Or maybe not. In fact, it was doctors who prescribed dance lessons for her as a way to build up her legs which were weakened by a childhood bout with polio. The treatment appears to have been successful (an understatement), and the world was given the gift of years and years of Cyd Charisse magic on screen and stage.

We were fortunate enough to induct Charisse into the Texas Film Hall Of Fame back in 2002. Peter Bogdanovich provided the induction speech and Charisse made such a glamorous impression that people still talk about her visit in tones of wonder. Cyd has been gone now for 8 years, but her memory lives on here.