Fred Astaire

Fred Astaire could dance like no one else. Rudolph Nureyev rated him the greatest dancer of the twentieth century, and he is generally acknowledged to have been the most influential dancer in the history of filmed and televised musicals. His films with Ginger Rogers transformed the movie musical forever, and in them he proved that he wasn't just a dancer -- he was a talented actor and comedian too.

Biography

Fred Astaire was born Frederick Austerlitz in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 10, 1899. His father was Frederic E. Austerlitz, an Austrian immigrant and traveling salesman. His sister Adele, older by eighteen months, showed a talent for dancing at an early age, and although only four years old, young Fred accompanied his sister to ballet school. The team gave their first professional performance in November 1905 in Keyport, New Jersey. Fred was 6 1/2 years old, Adele 9.

They grew up grew up dancing together in vaudeville, and were bonafide stars while still in their teens and twenties. Although neither Fred nor Adele was especially good looking, they were both slim, stylish and agile dancers.

They made their their Broadway debut in Over the Top (1917) and remained celebrities throughout the Twenties. Adele eventually retired to marry an English lord, so her brother appeared alone in what proved to be his last Broadway show, Gay Divorce (1932). The musical gave him the chance to introduce one final great song, "Night and Day."

Fred now agreed to test for films. One studio executive's report on this screen test has been quoted many times over the years: "Can't act. Slightly bald. Also dances."

Despite this Astaire did receive a contract and he and his brand new wife Phyllis headed for Hollywood in 1933. He was cast as an accordion player in a musical love-triangle story called Flying Down To Rio(1933). His female counterpart in the film was an up-and-coming RKO contract player named Ginger Rogers, and after their one dance number together stole the picture from the three stars. Fans of the film besieged the studio with demands to see more of those two funny people who danced in the middle of the picture. Fred and Ginger became the silver screen's most popular dancing duo and made a total of nine musicals together.

By 1940 Fred and Ginger's popularity had waned and both decided to go their separate ways. Fred was wary of the possible repercussions of being again known only as part of a pair, and Ginger was anxious to try her hand at more serious dramatic acting.

Fred left RKO at the end of his contract and for the next few years made several musicals with various partners including Rita Hayworth in You'll Never Get Rich (1941) and a memorable pairing with Gene Kelly in Ziegfield Follies (1946).

In 1948, Gene Kelly was scheduled to make Irving Berlin's Easter Parade with Judy Garland, but he broke an ankle and MGM talked Astaire out of his "retirement" to fill in. The film was a major success and Fred went on to make more musicals throughout the 1950s including Royal Wedding (1951) with Jane Powell, Three Little Words (1950) and The Belle of New York (1952) with Vera Ellen, The Bandwagon (1953) and Silk Stockings (1957) with Cyd Charisse, Daddy Long Legs (1955) with Leslie Caron, and Funny Face (1957) with Audrey Hepburn.

His legacy now was thirty musical films in a twenty-five year period. Afterwards, Astaire announced that he was retiring from dancing in film to concentrate on dramatic acting, scoring rave reviews for the nuclear war drama On the Beach (1959).

In 1978 Fred was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors, and in 1981 he received the American Film Institute's prestigious Life Achievement Award.

Fred got married for the second time in 1980 to Robyn Smith, a young woman who shared his devotion to race horses (she was a jockey).

Fred Astaire died on June 22, 1987, from complications arising from pneumonia. He was buried at Oakwood Memorial Park in Chatsworth, California, next to his beloved Phyilis, his mother, Ann, and sister and most successful partner, Adele.