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Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter. He is widely regarded as the "greatest popular-music dancer of all time". [2]
IMDb provides an extensive overview of Fred Astaire's life and career, from his early vaudeville and Broadway days to his Hollywood musicals and later roles. Browse his photos, videos, credits, trivia, and more on the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content.
- January 1, 1
- Omaha, Nebraska, USA
- January 1, 1
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Overview
- Early career
- Astaire and Rogers
- Later musicals: Easter Parade, Royal Wedding, and The Band Wagon
- Awards and other films
Fred Astaire (born May 10, 1899, Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.—died June 22, 1987, Los Angeles, California) was an American dancer onstage and in motion pictures who was best known for a number of highly successful musical comedy films in which he starred with Ginger Rogers. He is regarded by many as the greatest popular-music dancer of all time.
Astaire studied dancing from the age of four, and in 1906 he formed an act with his sister, Adele, that became a popular vaudeville attraction. The two made their Broadway debut in Over the Top (1917–18). They achieved international fame with stage hits that included For Goodness Sake (1922), Funny Face (1927–28), and The Band Wagon (1931–32). When Adele retired after marrying Lord Charles Cavendish in 1932, Astaire made a screen test, reportedly receiving an unencouraging verdict from executives: “Can’t act, can’t sing. Balding. Can dance a little.” He was nevertheless cast as a featured dancer in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production Dancing Lady (1933), which starred Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, and the Three Stooges.
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Also in 1933 Astaire was paired with Ginger Rogers in the RKO Radio Pictures production Flying Down to Rio. They were a sensation, stealing the picture from stars Delores del Rio and Gene Raymond. Public demand compelled RKO to feature the pair in a classic series of starring vehicles throughout the 1930s, with The Gay Divorcee (1934), Top Hat (1935), and Swing Time (1936) often cited as the best of the lot. Although Astaire worked well with several leading ladies throughout his career, his partnership with Rogers had a special chemistry. Their respective elegance (Astaire) and earthiness (Rogers) rubbed off on one another, and it has often been said that he gave her class and she gave him sex appeal. Their dance routines, often in the midst of sumptuous Art Deco settings, were intricate tap or graceful ballroom numbers that served as sophisticated statements of romantic love. Only once—in Carefree (1938)—did Astaire and Rogers share an on-screen kiss, and then only in a dream sequence.
Astaire’s immensely popular dancing style appeared relaxed, light, effortless, and largely improvised. In reality, he was a hardworking perfectionist who tirelessly rehearsed routines for hours on end. Working in collaboration with legendary choreographer Hermes Pan for his films with Rogers, Astaire eschewed the then-popular Busby Berkeley approach to filmed musicals and its emphasis on special effects, surreal settings, and chorus girls in ever-changing kaleidoscope patterns. Instead, Astaire revolutionized the movie musical by simplifying it: solo dancers or couples were shot in full-figure, and dances were filmed with a minimum of edits and camera angles. He is regarded as a pioneer in the serious presentation of dance on film.
After the last RKO Astaire-Rogers film, The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939), Astaire appeared with various other partners, such as Eleanor Powell, Rita Hayworth (whom Astaire cited as his favourite on-screen partner), and Lucille Bremer. He retired temporarily in 1946 but returned to the screen in 1948 and appeared in a series of Technicolor musicals for MGM that, next to his films with Rogers, constitute his most highly regarded body of work. Several of Astaire’s most-famous dance routines appear in these films, such as the slow-motion dance in Easter Parade (1948), which also featured Judy Garland; the dance with empty shoes in The Barkleys of Broadway (1949), which was his 10th and final film with Rogers; the ceiling dance and the duet with a hat rack in Royal Wedding (1951); and the dance on air in The Belle of New York (1952). The best of Astaire’s films during this period was The Band Wagon (1953), often cited as one of the greatest of film musicals; it featured Astaire’s memorable duet with Cyd Charisse to the song “Dancing in the Dark.”
Astaire’s run of classic MGM musicals ended with Silk Stockings (1957), after which his screen appearances were mostly in nondancing character roles. He continued to dance with new partner Barrie Chase for several Emmy Award-winning television specials throughout the 1950s and ’60s, and he danced again on-screen in Finian’s Rainbow (1968) and for a few steps with Gene Kelly in That’s Entertainment, Part II (1976).
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Astaire’s most-notable dramatic roles were in On the Beach (1959); The Pleasure of His Company (1962); The Towering Inferno (1974), for which he received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor; and Ghost Story (1981), his final film. He was awarded an honorary Academy Award for his contributions to film in 1950, and he received a Life Achiev...
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Apr 3, 2014 · Learn about the life and career of Fred Astaire, the legendary dancer of stage and film who starred with Ginger Rogers in several musicals. Find out about his early years, his film roles, his awards, his marriages and his legacy.
Learn about the life and career of Fred Astaire, a legendary dancer, singer and actor who starred in many musicals with Ginger Rogers and others. Find out his birth name, height, family, trivia, quotes and more on IMDb.
- Actor, Additional Crew, Producer
- June 22, 1987
- May 10, 1899
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Jun 23, 1987 · Fred Astaire, whose flashing feet and limber legs not only made him America's most popular dancer but also set standards for motion picture musical comedies that have rarely been met and never...
Died: June 22, 1987. Los Angeles, California. American actor, dancer, and choreographer. Fred Astaire was a famous dancer and choreographer (one who creates and arranges dance performances) who worked in vaudeville (traveling variety entertainment acts), musical comedy, television, radio, and Hollywood musicals.
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