HWOF

The evaluation of Fred Astaire’s first screen test: “Can’t act. Can’t sing. Balding. Can dance a little.” Little did they know that Fred Astaire was soon to be one of the greatest male stars of all time. Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor whose stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of seventy-six years, during which he made thirty-one musical films. Fred Astaire entered show business at age 5 and soon became successful both in vaudeville and on Broadway in partnership with his sister, Adele Astaire. After Adele retired to marry in 1932, Astaire headed to Hollywood. Signed to RKO, he was loaned to MGM to appear in Dancing Lady (1933) before starting work on RKO’s Flying Down to Rio (1933). In the latter film, he began his highly successful partnership with Ginger Rogers, with whom he danced in nine RKO pictures. During these years, he was also active in recording and radio.

After a temporary retirement from 1945-1947, during which he opened Fred Astaire Dance Studios, Astaire returned to film to star in more musicals through 1957. Some of Fred Astaire’s most memorable films include Ziegfeld Follies (1946), Three Little Words (1950), for which he won a Globen Globe, and Royal Wedding (1951), in which he performed his famous “Ceiling Dance.” According to Gene Kelly, “The history of dance on film begins with [Fred] Astaire.” Beyond film and television, many classical dancers and choreographers, including Rudolf Nureyev and Jerome Robbins, also acknowledge Astaire’s importance and influence. In 1999, Fred Astaire was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute.

Fred Astaire is proof that to make it in Hollywood, you must never give up even if you are first met with disappointment.

• Born: Frederick Austerlitz May 10, 1899 Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
• Died: June 22, 1987 (aged 88) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
• Occupation: Actor, dancer, singer, choreographer, percussionist
• Years active: 1904–1981
• Spouse: Phyllis Livingston Potter (m.1933-1954; her death) Robyn Smith (m.1980-1987; her death)
• Relatives: Adele Astaire (sister, deceased)

Read more about Fred Astaire at Wikipedia or at the Internet Movie Database

Astaire's daughter backs Top Hat
BBC Entertainment, 2012-05-10 13:48:55
Tom Chambers says he felt honoured that Fred Astaire's daughter was in the audience for the West End opening of the musical Top Hat.

THE DVD SHELF: "Brief Encounter," "Vanya on 42nd Street," "A Night to Remember," Fred Astaire, "Car 54"
Playbill Combined , 2012-04-22 04:01:00
This month we watch a new set of films from Noel Coward and David Lean, including "Brief Encounter"; the Titanic tale, "A Night to Remember"; Louis Malle's "Vanya on 42nd Street"; Fred Astaire in "The Sky's the Limit"; and more.

THE DVD SHELF: "Brief Encounter," "Vanya on 42nd Street," "A Night to Remember," Fred Astaire, "Car 54"
Playbill Combined , 2012-04-22 04:01:00
This month we watch a new set of films from Noel Coward and David Lean, including "Brief Encounter"; the Titanic tale, "A Night to Remember"; Louis Malle's "Vanya on 42nd Street"; Fred Astaire in "The Sky's the Limit"; and more.