Fred Astaire

Born: 10 May 1899
Where: Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Died: 22 June 1987

Together with his partner Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire helped re-define musical comedy in film of the 1930s. A dancer and choreographer, he was also a capable dramatic player, an engaging light comedian, and a great singer.

At the age of seven, Frederick Austerlitz started touring the vaudeville circuit with his sister Adele. The duo began a highly successful Broadway dancing career in 1917.

During the 1920s and early 30s, they won over both Broadway and London stage audiences in hit shows like Lady, Be Good, Funny Face and The Band Wagon. After Adele retired to marry, Astaire successfully remolded his image into leading man material with the musical, Gay Divorce, which he starred in both on Broadway and in London.

Eager to explore the possibilities of dance in the cinema, Astaire made his first (small) film appearance opposite Joan Crawford in 1933's Dancing Lady, despite the famous verdict on his Hollywood screen test: "Can't act. Can't sing. Slightly bald. Can dance a little."

His partnership with Rogers began shortly afterwards when they stole the spotlight from the leads of Flying Down to Rio. The partnership with Rogers lasted through ten films; among their finest were Roberta, Top Hat, Follow the Fleet, and Swing Time.

Toward the end of the decade the team's popularity began to ebb. Rogers wanted to pursue a wider range of roles in comedy and drama herself. Astaire regained popularity helping boost Rita Hayworth to stardom in You'll Never Get Rich and You Were Never Lovelier. The failure of Yolanda and the Thief, and two films with Bing Crosby led Astaire to retire from film in 1946.

He kept busy opening up a chain of Fred Astaire Dance Studios and enjoyed travel for a time, but his plans for a relaxed future soon came to an end.

In 1948, he returned to films to replace an injured Gene Kelly opposite Judy Garland in Easter Parade. One of the biggest hits of the year, this gave the aging dancer a momentum which carried him through a highly successful decade with Arthur Freed's musical unit at MGM.

He reunited with Rogers for The Barkleys of Broadway, and in 1953 appeared in one of his best films, the semi-autobiographical The Band Wagon, loosely based on the stage musical.

In 1957, Astaire made his last regular song-and-dance films, Funny Face and Silk Stockings, before appearing in four Emmy-winning TV specials with dancer Barrie Chase.

Astaire's first straight dramatic role came with 1959's On the Beach, after which he appeared in the comedy The Pleasure of His Company. His one-shot return to musical films in 1968, in Francis Ford Coppola's Finian's Rainbow, was a disaster.

He also graced such diverse films as The Towering Inferno for which he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, before making his last acting role in a feature film in 1980's Ghost Story.