Cyd Charisse

 Happy Birthday, Cyd Charisse...March 8, 1922-June 17, 2008...Born Tula Ellice Finklea in Amarillo, Texas, Charisse was a sickly child who took up ballet at the age of 6 to build up her strength after overcoming a bout of polio. By the age of 12 she was studying in Los Angeles with Adolph Bolm and Bronislava Nijinska (younger sister of Vaslav Nijinsky). At the age of 14 she was dancing with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. During a European tour she met up with Nico Charisse, a dancer she had worked with in Los Angeles, and married in 1939 at the age of 17. Their son Nicky was born in 1942.

Charisse was nicknamed Sid by her younger brother who had difficulty pronouncing "sister" which was later changed to the more exotic Cyd by MGM. When WW2 broke out and the Ballet Russe broke up, Charisse moved back to Los Angeles where she soon became part of the stable of dancers at MGM mentored by Arthur Freed. Other notable dancers in the unit were Gene Kelly, Jane Powell, Vera-Ellen and Ann Miller. Her first speaking role was with Judy Garland in "The Harvey Girls" in 1946. But it was her pairings with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly that would rocket her to fame.

Her first onscreen appearance with Fred Astaire was in a brief dance sequence in the film "Ziegfeld Follies". Astaire was reportedly concerned that at 5'6", Charisse was too tall to be his partner. The dance sequences in their next film, "Bandwagon", would put his fears to rest. Gene Kelly called the "Dancing in the Dark" sequence the best dance number in any movie musical. Her vampy character in the "Girl Hunt Ballet" routine from the same film would lead her to her next role with Gene Kelly in "Singing in the Rain" in 1952.

Debbie Reynolds had no dance experience onscreen until Gene Kelly laboriously taught her the routines in "Singing in the Rain" and Arthur Freed wanted a dream sequence ballet like the one in "American in Paris". Freed chose Charisse to partner Kelly. The result would become an iconic dance sequence. Stanley Donen, the choreographer for the film, explained the choice, "We needed someone who could stop a man just by sticking up her leg. Cyd was stunning. We stuck a hat on the end of her foot and handed her a cigarette holder, and I had to cue her to exhale the cigarette smoke for when Gene first runs into her, because she couldn't handle the smoke".

Charisse would go on to co-star with Kelly in "Brigadoon"  in 1954 and "It's Always Fair Weather" in 1956. She would reunite with Fred Astaire in the 1956 film "Silk Stockings". When asked about the differences between her two famous partners, she had this to say, "As one of a handful of girls who worked with both of these dance geniuses, I think I can give an honest comparison. In my opinion, Kelly is the most inventive choreographer of the two. Astaire, with Hermes Pan's help, creates fabulous numbers for himself and his partner. But Kelly can create an entire number for somebody else. I think, however, that Astaire's coordination is better than Kelly's. His sense of rhythm is uncanny. Kelly, on the other hand, is the stronger of the two. When he lifts you, he lifts you! To sum it up, I would say they are the two greatest dancing personalities who were ever on the screen. But, it's like comparing apples and oranges. They're both delicious."  Her second husband, singer Tony Martin, put it differently. He told Charisse he always knew who she as working with because if she came home black and blue it would be Kelly but if she was working with Astaire she wouldn't have a scratch.

With the decline of the movie musicals, Charisse retired from dancing but still appeared in film and television productions from the 1960's through the 1990's. In 1992 at the age of 70 she made her Broadway debut as an aging ballerina in the musical version of "Grand Hotel". She was featured in the 2001 Guinness Book of World Records under "Most Valuable Legs" because of a 5 million dollar insurance policy that was taken out for her legs in 1952 and appeared frequently in documentaries about the golden age of Hollywood. She died of a heart attack at the age of 86.

Florence Mills

Happy Birthday, Florence Mills...January 25, 1896-November 1, 1927...Mills was one of the all-time greatest stars of Black Theater, the first international female superstar of the 20th century and a major figure of the Harlem Renaissance. Born to ex-slaves in Washington, D.C., Mills began her career under her given name, Florence Winfrey, at the age of six singing with her two older sisters. The trio toured up and down the Eastern Seaboard as the "Mills Sisters" until the older sisters married and retired.

In 1916 at the age of 20, Mills joined Brick Top and Cora Green at the infamous black and tan Chicago nightclub Panama Cafe. The three called themselves the Panama Trio and garnered some success along with Alberta Hunter and Mezz Mezzrow. Bill "Bojangles" Robinson became a fan of Mills and taught her how to tap dance. But the club was a rough and tumble joint and was closed down a year later by the police after Alberta Hunter's pianist was shot and killed onstage. The Trio played other local venues for a time before disbanding.

In 1917 Mills joined the Tennessee Ten, a successful black vaudeville troupe whose dance director, Ulysses "Slow Kid" Thompson, would eventually become her husband and business partner. The group had a successful run in a show called "Folly Town" which also starred Bert Lahr and Jack Hailey (Wizard of Oz) in 1919 and Mills went on to star in a solo show at the Lincoln Theater.

The real turning point in her career came when she was cast in the historic Broadway show "Shuffle Along". Originally a regular cast member, Mills stepped into the leading role when Gertrude Saunders left the show and Mills became an even bigger sensation. When the show closed in 1922, promoter Lew Leslie built a show around her and Kid Thompson at the Plantation Restaurant where she introduced her theme song, "I'm A Little Blackbird Looking For A Bluebird", a thinly disguised protest against racial inequality. She made her first tour of Europe in 1923 and despite some racial opposition, she was a smashing success. British theater impresario C.B. Cochran remembered, "That night, and every night she appeared at the London Pavilion, Florence Mills received an ovation each time she came onstage-before every song she sang. This is a tribute which in my experience I have never known to be offered to any other artist. In my humble opinion Florence Mills is one of the greatest artists of our time."

Back in the States, Lew Leslie created his first Blackbirds revue with a cast including Mills and Thompson and in 1926 it was launched to great acclaim. The show traveled to Europe and again Mills dazzled the audiences. Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1926 was such a success in London that Blackbird themed parties became all the rage as high society outdid itself in an effort to entertain the performers. The Prince of Wales saw the show so many times he was seen singing along to Mills. Mills used her celebrity status to raise money for children's charities, speak out against racism and urge support for the NAACP.

 In April of 1926, "Blackbirds" reached 250 performances at the London Pavilion. The strain of carrying a show through two shows a day plus matinees and charity benefits began to take a toll on the already fragile Mills. Despite failing health, Mills went on tour throughout England. In Liverpool she was told by a doctor that she needed to get medical treatment for tuberculosis or she would die.She and Thompson travel to Germany to take a cure and then headed back to the States.

Mill's mother was dying and Mills postponed her own medical treatment. As a result she was hospitalized in October of 1926 where she underwent surgery. An infection set in and even though Mills was dying, she sang songs to the nurses and Lew Leslie to cheer them up. Her last words were, "I don't want anyone to cry when I die. I just want to make people happy, always." She died at the age of 32. Her death was a shock to the entertainment world. Over 10,000 people attended the funeral home to pay respect and thousands attended the funeral. It was the biggest funeral that Harlem had ever experienced. Legend has it that a flow of blackbirds flew over the funeral cortege prompting Porter Grainger to remark, "She has gone to join the songbirds in Heaven."

Mills was memorialized in song by several musicians. Ellington wrote "Black Beauty" in her honor. Fat's Waller recorded four songs just days after her death including "Gone But Not Forgotten-Florence Mills. At 3:10 on this video you'll hear Ellington's 'Black Beauty' dubbed over one of only a couple of films shot of Mills dancing.

Sophie Tucker

Happy Birthday, Sophie Tucker... January 13, 1887-February 9, 1966... "The Last of the Red Hot Mamas" was born in Ukraine just as her parents planned to emigrate to the United States. The family settled in Hartford, Connecticut and opened a kosher restaurant and boarding house where Sophie first tested her talents with the customers. Many of the famous stars of Yiddish theater frequented the establishment and Sophie set her sights on joining them. Her parents didn't approve of the vaudeville performers who ate at the restaurant.Tucker wrote that her mother believed, "that marriage, having babies and helping her husband get ahead was career enough for any woman. I couldn't make her understand that it wasn't a career I was after. It was just that I wanted a life that didn't mean spending most of it at the cook stove and the kitchen sink."

At the age of 16 she eloped with a beer cart driver, Louis Tuck. They had a son three years later but Tucker was not impressed with her husband's work ethic and asked for a separation. With a letter of introduction to composer Howard Von Tilzer from a mutual friend, she changed her name to Tucker and left Hartford for New York. Von Tilzer wasn't impressed but she found work anyway in beer gardens and cafes singing for rent money and meals. Her big break came in 1907 singing in Chris Brown's amateur night. She overheard Brown telling a colleague, "This one's so big and ugly, the crowd out front will razz her. Better get some cork and black her up." Even though she protested, the only way they would employ her was if she wore blackface.

She was booked on the New England vaudeville circuit and quickly became known as a "world renowned coon singer", a role she was too ashamed to explain to her family. Two years into the circuit, her costumes failed to arrive at a Boston performance and Tucker was finally able to appear as herself, shocking her audience by denouncing the black face and claiming her Jewish heritage. She was a hit. Emboldened by her popularity as her authentic self, she began incorporating songs that made fun of her size into her act such as "I Don't Want To Be Thin" and "Nobody Loves A Fat Girl, But Oh How a Fat Girl Can Love" Songs with double meanings also became a staple as well as songs of female empowerment which included, "I'm Livin' Alone And I Like It", "I Ain't Takin' Orders From No One" and "No Man Is Ever Gonna Worry Me", all of them popular with female and male audiences alike.

In 1910, Tucker bought the rights to Sheldon Brooks' song "Some Of These Days" which became her theme song. Her connection to the African-American performing community was a strong one. Her friendships with Ethel Waters and Mamie Smith exposed her to jazz and the blues and Tucker became one of the first performers to introduce jazz to white vaudeville audiences. Experiencing racial prejudice as a Jewish female gave her a good deal of sympathy for her black friends and she was often a behind the scenes supporter. Later in life she would lend her energies and financial support to organizations such as the Negro Actors Guild and The Will Rogers Memorial Hospital among others.

In 1921, Tucker hired pianist and songwriter Ted Shapiro to be her accompanist and musical director, a relationship that would last throughout her career. Shapiro wrote several songs for her and would play piano. The two would tell jokes and wisecrack in between songs as part of her act. In 1925, Jack Yellon wrote "My Yiddishe Momme", one of her most famous songs. It was especially popular in cities with a sizable Jewish population but as Tucker stated, "You didn't have to be a Jew to be moved by 'My Yiddishe Momme'". Tucker's popularity spread across the Atlantic and she made her first tour of Europe in 1926, entertaining the King and Queen of England and recording with Ted Lewis' band.

As the age of vaudeville began to fade in the 20's, Tucker turned to film and radio to sustain her career, making 11 films between 1929 and 1957. She continued to sing songs attesting to her sexual appetites which endeared her to a public that was shocked and delighted by her continued challenges to gender, size and a woman's sexuality with a healthy dose of humor. She had her own radio show between 1938 and 1939 and was a frequent guest on other shows.

In the 50's and 60's she appeared on many television shows billed as "The First Lady of Show Business." She also continued to tour, especially in England where she was adored. Tucker never retired, working until weeks before her death of a lung aliment. Her legacy lives on in her contributions to many charities and her inimitable style which gave power and legitimacy to the idea of a strong woman with healthy appetites.

Slim Gaillard

Happy Birthday, Bulee "Slim" Gaillard...January 4, 1916-February 26, 1991...Best known as the first half of the comic jazz duo Slim and Slam, Gaillard's performing career spanned over 50 years and included tap dance, guitar, piano and vocals, movies, television and touring shows. He was also a master of languages and in addition to speaking 8, he also wrote a dictionary for his own made up language he called "Vout".

His date and place of birth and parental lineage are all up for debate. He could have been born in Cuba, Pensacola, Florida or Alabama to a Greek father and an Afro-Cuban mother or a German father and an African-American mother but we do know he grew up in Detroit and moved to New York City in the 1930's. He occasionally went to sea with his father who worked as a steward on cruise ships and at the age of 12 was accidentally left onshore on the Island of Crete. He worked for a while on the island until he could make his way back to Detroit.

Back in Detroit he worked in a slaughter house, for Ford Motor Works, as a boxer, trained as a mortician and worked as a rum-runner for the Purple Gang during the late 20's and early 30's. He eventually put his musical talent to work in a vaudeville act playing guitar and tap dancing at the same time. In 1936 he teamed up with bassist Slam Stewart as 'Slim and Slam', a novelty jazz act.

The duo achieved national fame with their song "Flat Foot Floogie" in 1938, which was soon covered by the Benny Goodman Orchestra and Fats Waller. They appeared in the now iconic film "Hellzapoppin'" in 1941 but WW2 broke the team up with Gaillard serving in the Air Force and Stewart serving in the Army. 1945 found Gaillard playing with bassist Bam Brown in Hollywood and another giant hit, "Cement Mixer (Putty-Putty).

Gaillard made several movies in the late 40's and early 50's and played Birdland with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. As interest in musicians of the big band era waned, Gaillard played mostly in and around New York City. In 1958 he toured and recorded with Stan Kenton. In the early 60's he worked as a hotel manager in San Diego before buying an orchard near Tacoma, Washington. But it was apparently hard to stay away from the spotlight and Gaillard returned to Los Angeles in the late 60's, playing in local clubs and eventually landing jobs on television.

He appeared in 'Mission Impossible', "Marcus Welby, M.D.', ,Along Came Bronson', 'Charlie's Angels' and 'Medical Center' and 'Roots:The Next Generation'. In 1970 he was briefly reunited with Slam Stewart at the Monterey Jazz Festival and in 1982 he was convinced by Dizzy Gillespie to make a tour of Europe. The tour was a big success and Gaillard made London his new home base. He also recorded again after a 24 year hiatus. In 1986 he appeared in the film "Absolute Beginners" singing the song 'Selling Out' and in 1989 he was the subject of a multi-part BBC series, "The World of Slim Gaillard". He died of cancer in London at the age of 75.