Man, it seems like everyone I worked with is passing away these days: Chuck Heston, Stan Winston, now Cyd Charisse.
I did my favourite dinner theatre show ever with Cyd Charisse at Country Dinner Playhouse in Dallas. It was MOVE OVER, MRS. MARKHAM, an hilarious British farce by Ray Cooney. I played a very flamboyant decorator who everyone thought was gay, but was actually boffing the Swedish maid. It changed a director's whole perception of me and we worked together continually after that. Cyd also brought two master farceurs with her...Bill Tregoe and a wild Aussie, Peter Pagan, who were a joy to act with. She and Tony Martin were very nice to me and always included me in after-show dinners and whatnot with her inner circle.
If anybody went up on stage, she could always bail them out; it was only went you weren't standing where you were supposed to be, that she got confused. I guess being a dancer, everything was locked to blocking and movement.
I saw her a few years back at the City of Angels/City of Light French Film Festival in LA. As always, she was very gracious and at least acted like she remembered me...whether she did or not.
