Cyd Charisse dies at 86

Dancing queen: Cyd Charisse, the long-legged beauty who danced with the Ballet Russe as a teenager and starred in MGM musicals with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly died yesterday.

Long-legged beauty: Cyd Charisse appeared in dramatic films, but her fame came from the Technicolor musicals of the 1940s and 1950s.

Tribute to the diva: Her flawless beauty and jet-black hair contributed to an aura of perfection that Astaire described in his 1959 memoir, Steps in Time, as beautiful dynamite.

Breathtakingly beautiful: Her beauty was breathtaking, Debbie Reynolds, who starred with Charisse in the 1952 classic Singin' in the Rain, said in a statement. The world will miss her dancing.

Origin: Her name was Tula Ellice Finklea when she was born in Amarillo, Texas, on March 8, 1922. From her earliest years she was called Sid, because her older brother couldn't say sister. Teen queen: At 14 she auditioned for the head of the famed Ballet Russe, and became part of the corps de ballet and toured the U.S. and Europe.

Teen queen: At 14 she auditioned for the head of the famed Ballet Russe, and became part of the corps de ballet and toured the U.S. and Europe.

Married to Charisse: At one point during the European tour, she met up again with Nico Charisse, a handsome young dancer, she had studied with for a time in Los Angeles. They married in Paris in 1939.

Always remembered: The Ballet Russe disbanded after the war broke out, and the newlyweds returned to Hollywood. In 1942, a son, Nicky, was born.