History Creator / FredAstaire

He also popularised GravityScrew [[note]]Creator/DouglasFairbanks was the first to do it in ''When the Clouds Roll By'' (1919)[[/note]] by way of the SignatureScene from ''Royal Wedding'' (1951), where he tap-dances on the walls and ceiling of a room (as seen [[http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/288068/Royal-Wedding-Movie-Clip-You-re-All-The-World-To-Me.html here]]). The rotating room/fixed camera trick used to pull off the effect has since been borrowed by everyone from [[{{Series/LoisAndClark}} Superman]] to [[{{Film/Inception}} Christopher Nolan]].

His influence on Hollywood, music, and popular culture cannot be overestimated. A ton of classical dancers and choreographers, including Rudolf Nureyev, Creator/SammyDavisJr, Music/MichaelJackson, Creator/BobFosse, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Jerome Robbins have acknowledged Astaire's legacy and influence in their work. Creator/GeneKelly, another titan of American musical films, was a good friend and the two collaborated a couple of times. Astaire even came out of retirement to replace Kelly in ''Film/EasterParade'' (1948).

Popularised GravityScrew [[note]]Creator/DouglasFairbanks was the first to do it in 1919 in When the Clouds Roll By[[/note]], capable of tap-dancing across the ceiling in a signature scene from ''Royal Wedding'' (1951) (as seen [[http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/288068/Royal-Wedding-Movie-Clip-You-re-All-The-World-To-Me.html here]]). The rotating room/fixed camera trick has since been borrowed by everyone from [[{{Series/LoisAndClark}} Superman]] to [[{{Film/Inception}} Christopher Nolan]].

He is said to have introduced more classic songs from the Great American Songbook than any other performer. He worked with most of the great songwriters of his day, including Music/GeorgeGershwin, Music/IrvingBerlin, Music/ColePorter, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, and Harold Arlen.

Eventually, he retired from dancing on film and started a chain of dancing schools, then he returned to dancing musicals and kept going until ''Theatre/FiniansRainbow'' in 1968. After that, the rest of his career was in straight acting with a light comedic tone, often as an amiable con artist type in works as varied as ''Film/TheToweringInferno'' and the ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|1978}}'' episode, "The Man With Nine Lives," as Chameleon.[[note]]Given that Astaire's character does a little social dancing in that episode, the actress who did that with him, Anne Jeffreys, was technically Astaire's final dance partner on screen.[[/note]]

Astaire eventually passed away in 1987, at the of 88, from a bout of pneumonia. On his deathbed, he extended a heartfelt thanks to his fans for all their years of support.

* BeamMeUpScotty and ItWillNeverCatchOn: A famous comment about an early Screen Test about Astaire supposedly said, "Can't sing. Can't act. Balding. Can dance a little." Astaire's producer of his films with Rogers claims that the note was pure invention while Astaire claimed the note said, "[[ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne Can't act. Slightly bald. Also dances]]." Regardless, it's generally agreed that the test [[ItWillNeverCatchOn did not go well]].

* DancingWithMyself: In ''Royal Wedding,'' his dance partner is a piece of furniture, a coat rack. And he's so good he even makes [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pYOOErZ_xM his inanimate partner]] look good!

* GravityScrew: His dance on the ceiling in ''Film/RoyalWedding''.

* SiblingYinYang: Although Fred and Adele got along very well, they were opposites in many ways. Adele, once said to have [[TheFlapper "put all the flap in flapperdom,"]] loved parties, liked to shock people, and hated to rehearse. Fred was much calmer and more reserved (to the point of being shy in his later years), and he could happily spend a couple of days perfecting a few seconds of dancing. Adele's nickname for Fred was "Moaning Minnie" due to his tendency to worry about his performances; in return, he called her "Goodtime Charlie." Their relationship, including Adele's eventual marriage to an English nobleman, is loosely dramatized in ''Film/RoyalWedding.''

Popularised GravityScrew [[note]]Creator/DouglasFairbanks was the first to do it in 1919 in When the Clouds Roll By[[/note]], capable of tap-dancing across the ceiling in a signature scene from ''Film/RoyalWedding'' (1951) (as seen [[http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/288068/Royal-Wedding-Movie-Clip-You-re-All-The-World-To-Me.html here]]). The rotating room/fixed camera trick has since been borrowed by everyone from [[{{Series/LoisAndClark}} Superman]] to [[{{Film/Inception}} Christopher Nolan]].

His Website/{{IMDb}} article (yes, he's [[TropeMaker number 1]]) can be found [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000001/ here.]]

* DancingIsSeriousBusiness: Astaire made his dancing look far easier than it actually is. His routines, as Creator/RogerEbert said in his [[RogerEbertGreatMoviesList Great Movies]] [[https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-swing-time-1936 review]] of ''Swing Time'', "required unimaginable hours of rehearsal".

Frederick Austerlitz, better known as Fred Astaire (May 10, 1899 - June 22, 1987), was an American film and stage actor, choreographer, singer, musician, and [[DancingRoyalty the original dancing machine]]. He made 31 [[TheMusical musical]] films and was named [[AFIS100Years100Stars the fifth greatest male star of all time]] by the Creator/AmericanFilmInstitute.

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