Thursday, January 15, 2015

NICO CHARISSE: A HOLLYWOOD OFFSPRING STORY

You probably do not recognize the name Nico Charisse, but he is the son of famous parents dancer Cyd Charisse (1921-2008) and singer Tony Martin (1913-2012). Actually his real father was Nico Charisse Sr (1906-1971). Nico Sr. was actually his mother's dance teacher and Cyd married the much older dance teacher in 1939 at the young age of 18. The age difference and Cyd making a move to Hollywood was too much for the marriage, and the couple divorced on February 17, 1947. The elder Nico would remarry and have another child in the 1950s.


Nico Jr. would be pratically adopted by Tony Martin after Martin married Cyd on May 18, 1948. With two parents now happy and in love, as well as with a new half brother Tony Martin Jr born on August 28, 1950, Nico had pretty much a perfect Hollywood family and upbringing. His parents were both healthy and raised their sons without the drama that face other Hollywood families.

In the late 1960s, Nico met the beautiful Shelia Marie Snodgrass. They were married and life seemed pretty good for the couple. Nico was going to school to become a lawyer, and he was admitted to the star bar in 1977 and began practicing law in California. Tragedy would strike the family when Shelia was killed on May 25, 1979 when the American Airlines Flight 191 crashed just outside of Chicago. All 258 passengers and 13 crew on board were killed, along with two people on the ground. It is the deadliest aviation accident to occur on U.S. soil. The disaster and investigation received widespread coverage in the media, assisted by new news gathering technologies. The impact on the public was increased by the dramatic effect of an amateur photo taken of the aircraft rolling which was published on the front page of the Chicago Tribune on the Sunday following the crash (the crash was on a Friday).


Nico remarried a second time - unfortunately unsuccessfully. His career as a lawyer was almost ruined when he was disciplined for misconduct. Charisse's misconduct involved three separate clients and included failing to properly maintain and supervise his client trust account, keep clients informed about the status of their case, perform legal services competently, and improper withdrawal from representation.

In one instance, Charisse was employed by a client who maintained that trees in his orchard were damaged by a crop dusting company. Charisse filed the complaint but did not comply with fast track rules; the case was dismissed and he was sanctioned for failing to appear at a hearing.

His client was unsuccessful at many attempts to check on the status of his case and Charisse did not tell him that the case was dismissed. The client requested an accounting and refund of unearned fees, which Charisse neglected to do.

In mitigation, Charisse was suffering from extreme clinical depression which was exacerbated by a personal family law matter, including a child custody fight from his second wife. Charisse was suffering from alcoholism at the time of his misconduct, but has received inpatient treatment and is involved in a continuing program of sobriety. Nico rose above these tough times and continued to practice law until he retired in 2007.

After receiving the National Medal Of Freedom from President George Bush in 2006, Cyd Charisse began having heart troubles. She suffered a massive heart attack on June 16, 2008 and died the following day at the age of 86. Nico openly wept at the funeral of his mother who was buried at the Hillside Memorial Park.

More tragedy struck on April 10, 2011 when his half brother Tony Martin Jr died at the age of 60. I have not discovered the exact cause of death, but it was reported that Tony Martin Jr had been in ill health for years, and his parents had to pay most of the medical bills. It was also reported that Tony Jr was in a car accident in 2001, but I am not sure if that contributed to his death.

At this point Nico helped to care for the now elderly Tony Martin Sr. Tony was always a pillar of health and energy and performed into 2008, but after the death of his beloved Cyd and then the death of their only son together, Tony Sr. stopped performing. Tony Martin Sr. died on the evening of July 27, 2012 at the age of 98. Nico Jr has had a lot of tragedy in his life, and despite having a happy upbringing from his famous parents, you never quite know where life will take you.


UPDATE: Sadly Nico died on October 28, 2019...

23 comments:

  1. Hi there,

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  2. What an interesting article about Mr. Charisse, thanks so much for posting it. To be honest I had no idea that Cyd Charisse had a son from her first marriage. I had never heard of him till today and always thought that Tony Martin Jr. was her only son. I guess it was Mr. Charisse who had the estate auction of many of his mothers gowns and personal effects a couple of years ago. It was nice of him to share all of that stuff with her fans...

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    1. ....who knows who ws ressponsible for the items going to auction. When people die, sometimes the family follows a s specific set of duties/assignments, other ties, the surviving family decides together....other times with ONE family member only: usually the surviving spouse.

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  3. His second wife, Barbara Nardini, ran a ROCKIN' restaurant, Nardoni's, in Atascadero. Great folks, both if them.

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  4. This is Nico Charisse. I am Nico's son and Cyd's grandson. If you'd like a more accurate story look me up on Facebook and I'd be happy to share some info.

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    1. Hi Nico, I contacted you on facebook. I would love to do an interview with you and set everything straight or hear things from your side.

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    2. I'm looking for a Nico Charisse, Jr living possibly in Norway or Sweden to get them info on surface rights and a payment to them. Is there a relation. Not sure how common of a name this is. Thanks

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    3. Nico Charisse I am looking for could also be in a nursing home and I am looking to get them information from a company needing to pay him for a surface rights easement. Any direction you could send me would be great.

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    4. My name is glenn and iam nico charisse private caregiver.

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    5. Hi Glenn! I have been trying to get hold of Nico. Is he okay? I wanted to interview him for his side of the story.

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    6. You should contact his son.

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    7. Hi Glen, I have not been able to get hold of Nico's son. Can you pass him my email address...davidlobosco@yahoo.com

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    8. Hello Nico. I went to California Military Academy with your dad in the 1950'. He was my best friend up to Beverly Hills high school. I knew Cyd and Tony growing up and spent many sleep-over nights in their shadowhill way home. Hopefully your dad remembers me (Les Schwartz)

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    9. I attended the California Military Academy and graduated in 1966. Lieutenant Charisse was one of our tactical officers. My email is jfn 007 at yahoo.com.

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  5. Hello, since I was a little girl I admired your mother, I think she was one of a kind. She was beautiful and graceful.

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  6. I spoke with him on the phone several ties after his mom's passing.
    He was very nice.
    I just heard about his passing.

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  7. Hi Nico. I knew your dad and Sheila. They both had an indelible effect on me as a young girl. I am so sorry to hear of his passing. Geri Green

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  8. My memories with Nico when we were sharing our office together at the Century Park Center - 9911 West Pico Blvd 8th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 1979.
    Rest In Peace

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    Replies
    1. I would love to talk to you more about Nico. He was kind of sad in his later years.

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  9. Love to find all the information on Cyd and Tony and a grandson of Charisse is very welcome. Love to know how and what he is doing now, 2023. t.g.

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  10. I adored Cyd Charisse as a teen and desperately wanted to be able to dance like her! I am now 82 crippled but still get so much pleasure watching her dance in musicals on TCM. So grateful for the joy she gave to so many.

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  11. I was one of the the Calif. Army National Guard troops in 3 "deuce and a half" trucks on the 2nd night we were at the 1965 Watts Riot. We were following Lieutenant Charisse who was in a jeep with a 30 cal machine gun mounted in the back.About 11 pm we pulled onto Broadway at 49th just after passing two L.A.P.D. officers behind their cars w their guns draw

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