Actress Cyd Charisse poses for photographers during a reception at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to screen the re-mastered digital presentation of the 1974 film, "That's Entertainment," in Beverly Hills, California in this September 17, 2004 file photo. Charisse, 86, died in Los Angeles on June 17, 2008, her spokesman Gene Schwam said. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, June 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Actress and dancer Cyd Charisse, who made her name in the glory days of Hollywood musicals and for her performance in the famous Broadway bellet "Singin' in the Rain," has died in Los Angeles at 86, media reported Wednesday.　

    Charisse, who paired with Hollywood dance greats Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, died early on Tuesady morning of a heart attack at a Los Angeles-area hospital, said her agent Scott Stander.

    "What was special about Cyd was that she was always stylish and graceful, and when I saw her two weeks ago, she was still dressed beautifully and her hair was done properly," her publicist Gene Schwam told the media. "She was such a loving and gracious woman throughout her life."

Actress Cyd Charisse is shown in her role as Ninotchka in the 1957 film "Silk Stocking" in this undated publicity photo from Warner Bros Studios released June 17, 2008.  (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Born in Texa, she took her professional surname from her first husband, ballet instructor Nico Charisse.

    Her exceptional dancing ability emerged from a young age when, as a teenager, she appeared with the Ballet Russe. She came to the notice of movie-makers in the 40s who were transferring the disciplines of ballet onto celluloid.

    Charisse astonished movie-goers with her dancing skills in "Singin' in the Rain" in 1952 with her flowing white dress and Chinese silk scarf that floated in the air, blown by a wind machine.

    Charisse's movie career went downward as the popularity of Hollywood musicals waned at the end of the 1950s.

    But she later performed in nightclubs, often with her singer husband Tony Martin. She made her Broadway debut in 1991 in the musical "Grand Hotel," starring in the role originated in the 1932 film by Greta Garbo.

    (Agencies)

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