History Creator / FredAstaire

Frederick Austerlitz, better known as '''Fred Astaire''' (May 10, 1899 -- June 22, 1987), was a film and stage actor, choreographer, singer, musician, and the original dancing machine. He made 31 musical films and was named the fifth greatest male star of all time by the American Film Institute.

* ''FiniansRainbow'' (1968)

* ValuesDissonance:[[invoked]] Performing "Bojangles of Harlem" in ''Film/SwingTime''...in {{blackface}}. Whoops. He also did a less-known {{yellowface}} number in a tribute to... Florenz Ziegfeld?? [[hottip:*:(Don't ask. The 1945 film was supposedly about the Follies, but was mostly a variety show with random Red Skelton skits and songs.)]]

* BeamMeUpScotty & 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]].

->''"When Creator/GingerRogers danced with Astaire, it was the only time in the movies when [[EvenTheGuysWantHim you looked at the man, not the woman]]."''

* ''HolidayInn'' (1942)

* ''Carefree'' (1938)

* BreakupBreakout: He started his career as a child performer in vaudeville with his sister Adele, and they went on to star in a string of hugely successful stage musicals in the 1920s. During this time, Adele was the bigger attraction and got the bulk of critics' praise. Shortly after she left the stage to get married, Fred went into movies. He was initially reluctant to be teamed with Creator/GingerRogers because he had only just begun to be accepted by the critics as a solo performer, having done only one stage show ''(The [[HaveAGayOldTime Gay]] Divorce)'' on his own.

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 several times. Astaire even came out of retirement to replace Kelly in ''Film/EasterParade''.

'''Fred Astaire''' (May 10, 1899 -- June 22, 1987) was a film and stage actor, choreographer, singer, musician, and the original dancing machine. He made 31 musical films and was named the fifth greatest male star of all time by the American Film Institute.

Eventually, he retired from dancing on film and started a chain of dancing schools, then he returned to dancing musicals and kept going until ''Literature/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|Classic}}'' episode, "The Man With Nine Lives," as Chameleon.

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, and Johnny Mercer.

* ''Shall We Dance'' (1937)

* BreakupBreakout: He started his career as a child performer in vaudeville with his sister Adele, and they went on to star in a string of hugely successful stage musicals in the 1920s. Adele was the bigger attraction during this time. Shortly after she left the stage to get married, Fred went into movies. He was initially reluctant to be teamed with Creator/GingerRogers because he had only just begun to be accepted by the critics as a solo performer, having done only one stage show ''(The [[HaveAGayOldTime Gay]] Divorce)'' on his own.

* 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"; in return, he called her "Goodtime Charlie." Their relationship, including Adele's eventual marriage to an English nobleman, is loosely dramatized in ''Film/RoyalWedding.''

** Offstage, he was the Blue Oni to his sister Adele's Red (see SiblingYinYang below). Because he seemed more mature, people frequently assumed he was her older brother, although in fact he was a couple of years younger.

* [[Series/ItTakesAThief1968 It Takes a Thief]] (Played the RecurringCharacter of Alistair Mundy in several third season episodes of this TV series)

* BreakupBreakout: He started his career as a child performer in vaudeville with his older sister Adele, and they went on to star in a string of hugely successful stage musicals in the 1920s. During this time, Adele was the bigger attraction. Shortly after she left the stage to get married, Fred went into movies. He was initially reluctant to be considered part of a team with Creator/GingerRogers because he had only just begun to be accepted by the critics as a solo performer, having done one stage show ''(The [[HaveAGayOldTime Gay]] Divorce)'' on his own.

* MayDecemberRomance: He played romantic leads until he was close to sixty, often opposite women thirty or so years younger. In his later films, he's often the "sophisticated older man" type.
** In real life, he married his second wife when he was over eighty and she was in her mid-thirties. Despite the age difference, they were reportedly happy.

* RedOniBlueOni: A perennial Blue Oni in most pairings.
** Offstage, he was the Blue Oni to his sister Adele (see SiblingYinYang below). Because he seemed more mature, people frequently assumed he was her older brother, although in fact he was a couple of years younger. This relationship sometimes [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY2RkGT5-qo carried over into their onstage performances]] as well.

* SharpDressedMan: Astaire was a huge influence on 20th Century fashion. The style of clothes he wore in his films (such as "Isn't It A Lovely Day?" in ''Film/TopHat'') would become extremely popular. He chose and provided his own outfits for the entirety of ''Top Hat'' and many of his other movies that were set in contemporary times.
** He had his suits made at Saville Row's Anderson & Sheppard because their house style fit him perfectly while allowing him complete freedom of movement. The tailors still tell stories of how he would jump up on their tables and dance to prove it.

* SiblingYinYang: Although Fred and his sister Adele got along very well, they were opposites in many ways. Adele, once said to have [[TheFlapper "put all the flap in flapperdom,"]] was extroverted, loved parties, liked to say things that would 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. Their relationship, including Adele's eventual marriage to an English nobleman, is loosely dramatized in ''Film/RoyalWedding.''

Although his singing was less strong than his phenomenal dancing, he is said to have introduced more standards 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, and Johnny Mercer. Many songs that are now classics were originally written specifically for him.

'''Fred Astaire''' (May 10, 1899 -- June 22, 1987) was a film and stage actor, choreographer, singer, musician, and the original dancing machine. He made 31 musical films, and was named the fifth greatest male star of all time by the American Film Institute.

* Shall We Dance (1937)
* A Damsel in Distress (1937)
* Carefree (1938)
* The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
* Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940)
* Second Chorus (1940)
* You'll Never Get Rich (1941)

* You Were Never Lovelier (1942)
* The Sky's the Limit (1943)
* Yolanda and the Thief (1945)
* Ziegfeld Follies (1946)
* Blue Skies (1946)
* Easter Parade (1948)
* The Barkleys of Broadway (1949)
* Three Little Words (1950)
* Let's Dance (1950)
* Royal Wedding (1951)
* The Belle of New York (1952)

* That's Entertainment, Part II (1976) (narrator and performer)

* BreakupBreakout: During his early career, when he danced with his sister Adele, she was always the bigger star. Shortly after she left the stage to get married, he went into movies. This is why he was initially reluctant to be considered part of a team with Creator/GingerRogers--he had only just begun to be accepted by the critics as a solo performer.

* DancingIsSeriousBusiness: Astaire made his dancing look far more easy than it actually is.
* DancingWithMyself: In ''Royal Wedding'', his dance partner is a piece of furniture, a coat rack. And he's so good he even makes [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pYOOErZ_xM his inanimate partner]] look good!

** In real life, he married his second wife when he was over eighty and she was in her mid-thirties.

* SharpDressedMan: Astaire was a huge influence on 20th Century fashion. The style of clothes he wore in his films (such as "Isn't It A Lovely Day?" in ''Film/TopHat'') would become extremely popular. He chose and provided his own outfits for the entirety of ''Top Hat''.

* SiblingYinYang: He started his career as a child performer in vaudeville with his older sister Adele. Although the two got along very well, they were opposites in many ways.

* Dancing Lady (1933)
* Film/FlyingDownToRio (1933)
* The [[HaveAGayOldTime Gay]] Divorcee (1934)
* Film/{{Roberta}} (1935)
* Film/TopHat (1935)
* Film/FollowTheFleet (1936)
* Swing Time (1936)

* HolidayInn (1942)

* TheBandWagon (1953)
* Literature/DaddyLongLegs (1955)
* Film/FunnyFace (1957)
* Film/SilkStockings (1957)
* Literature/OnTheBeach (1959)
* FiniansRainbow (1968)

* SantaClausIsCominToTown (1970)
* Film/TheToweringInferno (1974) He doesn't dance, he has a small roll as a con man who tries to swindle widows but isn't very good at it.

* SharpDressedMan: Astaire was a huge influence on 20th Century fashion. The style of clothes he wore in his films (such as "Isn't It A Lovely Day?" in ''Film/TopHat'') would become extremely popular. He chose and provided his own outfits for the entirity of ''Top Hat''.

* StageNames: He was born as Frederick Austerlitz, to Catholic parents of German-Jewish descent.

* ValuesDissonance:[[invoked]] Performing "Bojangles of Harlem" in ''Swing Time''...in {{blackface}}. Whoops. He also did a less-known {{yellowface}} number in a tribute to... Florenz Ziegfeld?? [[hottip:*:(Don't ask. The 1945 film was supposedly about the Follies, but was mostly a variety show with random Red Skelton skits and songs.)]]

* SmallReferencePool: He is still ''the'' name to drop whenever people talk about perfect dancers, especially in the field of tap dancing.

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, 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 several times. Astaire even came out of retirement to replace Kelly in ''Easter Parade''.

Also an originator of the GravityScrew, 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]].

Eventually, he retired from dancing on film and started a chain of dancing schools, then he returned to dancing musicals and kept going until ''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|Classic}}'' episode, "The Man With Nine Lives," as Chameleon.

* BeamMeUpScotty & ItWillNeverCatchOn: A 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]].

** Interestingly, people tend to forgive this because of his tribute to Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, in which his admiration for a fellow dancer shines through. Contrast with Al Jolson, who will never live down "[[TheJazzSinger Mammy]]".

* AcademyAward: He received an honorary award in 1949/1950 for "for his unique artistry and his contributions to the technique of musical pictures" which was presented to him by Creator/GingerRogers.

* Film/FollowtheFleet (1936)

* Follow the Fleet (1936)

* Silk Stockings (1957)

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

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, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Jerome Robbins have acknowledged Astaire's legacy and influence in their work.

His influence on Hollywood, music, and popular culture cannot be overestimated. A ton of classical dancers and choreographers, including Rudolf Nureyev, [[RatPack Sammy Davis, Jr.]], MichaelJackson, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Jerome Robbins have acknowledged Astaire's legacy and influence in their work.

'''Fred Astaire''' (May 10, 1899 - June 22, 1987) was a film and stage actor, choreographer, singer, musician, and the original dancing machine. He made 31 musical films, and was named the fifth greatest male star of all time by the American Film Institute.

Fred Astaire (May 10, 1899 - June 22, 1987) was a film and stage actor, choreographer, singer, musician, and the original dancing machine. He made 31 musical films, and was named the fifth greatest male star of all time by the American Film Institute.