Brigadoon - Cast

Gene Kelly was perfect in a role that included some beautiful songs ("Heather on the Hill," "It's Almost Like Being in Love") and great dance numbers, choreographed, of course, by Kelly. Cyd Charisse, although not a very good actress, was a superb dancer. However, she, apparently wasn't a singer so her singing was dubbed by Carol Richards, who had been used for dubbing Charisse's voice in other films, as well as dubbing other stars, such as Vera Ellen. Richards had also been a singer on radio programs in the 1940s and 1950s, singing with popular stars, such as Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.

Van Johnson was also not a great actor and, in the dancing scene with Gene Kelly, his dancing seemed quite inadequate.

Cyd Charisse(1921-2008)

Cyd Charisse was born in Texas as Tula Ellice Finklea. She studied ballet as a young child and by the age of 13 was already a member of the Ballet Russe.

Charisse made her first movie in 1943 ("Something to Shout About") using the name Lily Norwood. She danced in her early movies, but didn't receive any biling. However, her dancing role opposite Fred Astaire in 1945 led to a seven year contract with M-G-M.

In 1952, Cyd Charisse danced with Gene Kelly in the big production number in "Singin' in the Rain" and she finally was noticed by Hollywood for her dancing. She stopped dancing, however, in the 1960s but still made a few movies (approximately 10 from 1960 to 1994).

In 2006, Cyd Charisse was honored for her contributions to dance and she received the National Medal of Arts and Humanities.

Van Johnson(1916-)

Van Johnson got his start in show business on Broadway, starring in "New Faces of 1936." By 1942, M-G-M considered him valuable enough to give him a seven year contract. Although Johnson was only a mediocre actor and dancer, he had a prolific career, making over 75 movies, starring in seven Broadway plays and starring on TV and performing in road shows of Broadway plays.