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Fred Astaire, born Frederick Austerlitz (Omaha (Nebraska), 10 may 1899 – Los AngelesJune 22, 1987) was an American Broadway and filmballroom dancersingerand actor. He is often mentioned together with Ginger Rogers, with whom he made ten films.

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[hide]*1 Biography

Biography[Edit][]

Youth[Edit][]

"Astaire" was a name he together with his sister Adele had adopted for their vaudeville act when they were about 5 years old. It is said that the name comes from an uncle who had L'Astaire as a surname. In the 1920s, Adele and Fred regularly performed in Broadway theaters, this stopped in 1932 when she married her first husband, Lord Charles Cavendish, a son of the Duke of Devon.

There is a well-known story about the Fred Astaire's RKO screen test that was rejected with "can't sing. Can not acting. Is a bit bare. Can a little dance ". Many of the millions of fans of his films felt that he could dance well anyway. Cole Porter wrote a number of songs specifically for him.

Career[Edit][]

He worked for the first time with Ginger Rogers in his second film Flying down to Rio. The combination of the two dancers and choreography by Hermes Pan made sure that dance was an important element of the Hollywood filmmusical. Other films with Rogers are The Gay Divorcee (1934), Top Hat (1935) and Carefree (1938). He also worked with other big stars, especially with Bing Crosby in the movie Holiday Inn (1942) and Blue Skies (1946). After he withdrew from show business that year, he soon came back to the white screen to the role of the injured Gene Kelly in Easter Parade (1948) opposite Judy Garland and Peter Lawford. Later he played in The Band Wagon (1953) with Cyd Charisse.

Even though he had given up dancing remained Astaire acting, and appeared in films such as On the Beach (1959), Finian's cemetary Rainbow (1968), and The Towering Inferno (1974) where he received his only Oscar nomination in the Best supporting Actorcategory. His last film was the movie Ghost Story (1981).

Fred Astaire died in 1987 following a pneumonia and is just like Ginger Rogers buried in the Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery in ChatsworthCalifornia.

Filmography[Edit][]

(*) with Ginger Rogers

Television Work[Edit][]

Palmares[Edit][]

[1]Astaire in Royal Wedding*1950- Golden Globe as "Best lead actor-Music/Comedy" for Three Little Words

Trivia[Edit][]

Others about Astaire[Edit][]

[2]Astaire in Royal Wedding*Frank SinatraI only have one thing to say about Fred: he's probably the best dancer I have ever seen during my years in show business!

  • Audrey Hepburnhe had style. Its habits were settled banal, and even worse, extremely elegant, because he had class. Or was he nice? I think he had charm, and charm is the most beautiful in the world, right?
  • Michael Jacksonno one will ever Mr. Astaire can match, but I never stopped trying to imitate him; it's his style, all aspects of his art: he exercises and exercises until he can as he wants it.

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