Cyd Charisse, 86; Actress Danced Across Silver Screen

She won an audition with the famed Ballet Russe, touring the capitals of Europe before using a ballet connection to meet Hollywood movie director Gregory Ratoff. Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer signed her to a seven-year contract.

Working with producer Arthur Freed, she began appearing in small dancing roles in "Something to Shout About," "Thousands Cheer" and "Mission to Moscow" (all 1943) before earning more prominence as a featured ballerina in the all-star musical "Ziegfeld Follies" (1946).

She went through a number of stage and screen names, including Lily Norwood, before settling on Cyd Charisse. (Her brother, unable to pronounce "Sis" as a youngster, had called her Sid; Freed suggested changing the spelling to the more elegant Cyd.)

She had supporting roles in several major musicals, including "The Harvey Girls" and "Till the Clouds Roll By," both with Judy Garland, and a much-praised cameo as a fiesta dancer in "The Kissing Bandit" with Frank Sinatra.

MGM attempted to broaden her range, and her first star billing came in a low-budget drama, "Tension" (1949), with Richard Basehart. But her straight acting was never widely accepted by the public or the critics, who tended to focus on her loveliness above all else.

"Silk Stockings" was her last movie dancing role, at a time when musicals were going out of style. She remained one of MGM's last contract performers and freelanced as a dramatic actress in such fare as "Two Weeks in Another Town" (1962), as Kirk Douglas's randy wife, and "The Silencers" (1966), with Dean Martin as Matt Helm.

In addition to her dramatic roles in the post-musical era, Ms. Charisse made TV specials and appeared in a nightclub act with her second husband, singer-actor Tony Martin. In the 1980s, she appeared in the London production of "Charlie Girl."

In her early 70s, capitalizing on her still-impressive dancer's assets, she made an exercise video, appeared in a Janet Jackson music video and made her Broadway debut as the unhappy ballerina in Tommy Tune's "Grand Hotel."

Survivors include her husband of 60 years, who continues to perform at 95; a son from the first marriage, Nicky Charisse, and a son from the second marriage, Tony Martin Jr.; and two grandchildren.