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{{Short description|American dancer and actor (1899–1987)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Fred Astaire
| image              = Astaire, Fred - Never Get Rich.jpg
| caption            = Astaire in 1941
| birth_name         = Frederick Austerlitz
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1899|05|10}}
| birth_place        = [[Omaha, Nebraska]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1987|06|22|1899|05|10}}
| death_place        = [[Los Angeles, California]], U.S.
| occupation         = {{hlist|Dancer|actor|singer|choreographer|presenter}}
| resting_place      = [[Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery]]
| years_active       = 1904–1981
| spouse             = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Phyllis Livingston Potter |1933|1954|end=died}}
* {{marriage|[[Robyn Smith]]|1980}}
}}
| children           = 2
| relatives          = [[Adele Astaire]] (sister)
| module             = {{Infobox musical artist|embed=yes
| background    = solo_singer
| label         = {{hlist|[[MGM Records|MGM]]|[[RCA Victor]]|[[Decca Records|Decca]]|[[Columbia Records|Columbia]]|[[Brunswick Records|Brunswick]]}}
| instruments   = {{hlist|Vocals|percussion|piano|accordion|clarinet}}
}}
}}
'''Fred Astaire''' (born '''Frederick Austerlitz''',<ref name="Billman">{{cite book
  | last = Billman
  | first = Larry
  | title = Fred Astaire: A Bio-bibliography
  | publisher = Greenwood Press
  | year = 1997
  | location = Connecticut
  | isbn=0-313-29010-5 }}</ref> May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "greatest popular-music dancer of all time".<ref>{{Britannica|39648}}</ref> He received an [[Academy Honorary Award|Honorary Academy Award]], a [[BAFTA Award]], three [[Primetime Emmy Awards|Emmy Awards]], two [[Golden Globe Awards]], and a [[Grammy Award]].

As a dancer, he was known for his uncanny sense of rhythm, creativity, effortless presentation, and tireless perfectionism, which was sometimes a burden to co-workers. His dancing showed elegance, grace, originality, and precision. He drew influences from many sources, including tap, classical dance, and the elevated style of [[Vernon and Irene Castle]]. His trademark style greatly influenced the [[American Smooth]] style of [[ballroom dance]]. He called his eclectic approach "outlaw style", a following of an unpredictable and instinctive muse. His motion was economical, yet endlessly nuanced. 

Astaire's most memorable dancing partnership was with [[Ginger Rogers]], with whom he co-starred in ten Hollywood musicals during the [[Classical Hollywood cinema|classic age of Hollywood cinema]], including ''[[Top Hat]]'' (1935), ''[[Swing Time (film)|Swing Time]]'' (1936), and ''[[Shall We Dance (1937 film)|Shall We Dance]]'' (1937).<ref>{{Cite book|title=Oxford illustrated encyclopedia|date=1985–1993|publisher=Oxford University Press|others=Judge, Harry George., Toyne, Anthony.|isbn=0-19-869129-7|location=Oxford [England]|pages=25|oclc=11814265}}</ref> Astaire's fame grew in films like ''[[Holiday Inn (film)|Holiday Inn]]'' (1942), ''[[Easter Parade (film)|Easter Parade]]'' (1948), ''[[The Band Wagon]]'' (1953), ''[[Funny Face]]'' (1957), and ''[[Silk Stockings (1957 film)|Silk Stockings]]'' (1957). For his performance in [[Irwin Allen]] and [[John Guillermin]]'s disaster film, ''[[The Towering Inferno]]'' (1974), Astaire received his only competitive Academy Award nomination for [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]], and he won the [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture]] and the [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role]].

Astaire received [[List of awards and nominations received by Fred Astaire|several honors]] including an [[Academy Honorary Award]] in 1950, the [[Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award]] in 1960, the [[Film at Lincoln Center|Film Society of Lincoln Center]] tribute in 1973, the [[Kennedy Center Honors]] in 1978, and [[AFI Life Achievement Award]] in 1980. He was inducted into the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] in 1960, [[American Theatre Hall of Fame]] in 1972, and the [[Television Hall of Fame]] in 1989. In 1999, the [[American Film Institute]] named Astaire the fifth-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood cinema in [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars|100 Years... 100 Stars]].

==Life and career==
===1899–1916: Early life and career===
[[File:Fred & Adele Astaire, ca. 1906.jpg|left|thumb|Fred and his sister Adele in 1906]]

Fred Astaire was born Frederick Austerlitz on May 10, 1899, in [[Omaha, Nebraska]], the son of Johanna "Ann" ({{née|Geilus}}; 1878–1975) and Friedrich "Fritz" Emanuel Austerlitz (1868–1923), known in the U.S. as Frederic Austerlitz.<ref name="Billman"/><ref name="Fred Astaire (1899-1987)">{{cite web |url=http://www.germanhollywood.com/astaire.html#pop4 |title=Fred Astaire (1899–1987) aka Friedrich Austerlitz |last=Flippo |first=Hyde |website=The German–Hollywood Connection |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090102022043/http://www.germanhollywood.com/astaire.html#pop4 |archive-date=January 2, 2009 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 10, 2015}}</ref><ref name="AdeleAusterlitzBiog">{{cite web |url=http://www.adherents.com/people/pa/Adele_Astaire.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060228182304/http://www.adherents.com/people/pa/Adele_Astaire.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=February 28, 2006 |title=The Religious Affiliation of Adele Astaire |publisher=Adherents |date=September 20, 2005 |access-date=August 24, 2008}}</ref><ref name=Way>{{cite web |title= Frederick Austerlitz (1899-1987): An American with Austrian Roots |website= The German Way and More |url= https://www.german-way.com/notable-people/featured-bios/fred-astaire/ |access-date= May 25, 2021}}</ref> Astaire's mother was born in the U.S. to [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] German immigrants from [[East Prussia]] and [[Alsace]]. Astaire's father was born in [[Linz]] in [[Upper Austria]], then part of the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]], to [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] parents who had converted from [[Judaism]].<ref name="Billman"/><ref name="Austerlitz">{{cite book
 |last        = Garofalo
 |first       = Alessandra
 |url         = http://www.uni-service.it/austerlitz-sounded-too-much-like-a-battle-the-roots-of-fred-astaire-family-in-europe
 |title       = Austerlitz sounded too much like a battle: The roots of Fred Astaire family in Europe
 |publisher   = Editrice UNI Service
 |year        = 2009
 |location    = Italy
 |isbn        = 978-88-6178-415-4
 |url-status  = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110722060132/http://www.uni-service.it/austerlitz-sounded-too-much-like-a-battle-the-roots-of-fred-astaire-family-in-europe
 |archive-date = July 22, 2011
}}</ref><ref name="bookref09">{{cite book|last=Levinson|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Levinson|title=Puttin' On the Ritz: Fred Astaire and the Fine Art of Panache, A Biography|publisher=St. Martin's Press|date=March 2009|pages=1–4|isbn=978-0-312-35366-7}}</ref><ref>Satchell, p. 8: "'Fritz' Austerlitz, the 23-year-old son of Stephen Austerlitz and his wife Lucy Heller"</ref>

Astaire's father Fritz Austerlitz arrived in New York City at the age of 25 on October 26, 1893, at [[Ellis Island]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/login/czo2ODoiL3Bhc3Nlbmdlci1kZXRhaWxzL2N6b3hNam9pTmpBME9URTNNRFV3T0RVMklqcz0vY3pvNE9pSnRZVzVwWm1WemRDSTciOw==|title=The Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island|website=Libertyellisfoundation.org|access-date=October 18, 2019|archive-date=July 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709145159/https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/login/czo2ODoiL3Bhc3Nlbmdlci1kZXRhaWxzL2N6b3hNam9pTmpBME9URTNNRFV3T0RVMklqcz0vY3pvNE9pSnRZVzVwWm1WemRDSTciOw==|url-status=dead}}</ref> Fritz was seeking work in the brewing trade and moved to Omaha, Nebraska, where he was employed by the [[Storz Brewing Company]]. Astaire's mother dreamed of escaping Omaha by means of her children's talents. Astaire's older sister [[Adele Astaire|Adele]] was an instinctive dancer and singer early in her childhood. Johanna planned a brother-and-sister act, common in [[vaudeville]] at the time, for her two children. Although Fred refused dance lessons at first, he easily mimicked his older sister's steps and learned [[piano]], [[accordion]] and [[clarinet]].

When their father lost his job, the family moved to New York City in January 1905 to launch the show business careers of the children. They began training at the Alvieni Master School of the Theatre and Academy of Cultural Arts.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news |last=Bentley |first=Toni |title=Two-Step: 'The Astaires,' by Kathleen Riley |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/03/books/review/the-astaires-by-kathleen-riley.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times Book Review]] |date=June 3, 2012 |page=BR32}}</ref> Fred and Adele's mother suggested that they change their name to Astaire, as she felt that Austerlitz was reminiscent of the [[Battle of Austerlitz]]. Family legend attributes the name to an uncle surnamed L'Astaire.<ref>Thomas p. 17</ref>

The children were taught dance, speaking and singing in preparation for developing an act. Their first act was called ''Juvenile Artists Presenting an Electric Musical Toe-Dancing Novelty''. Astaire wore a top hat and tails in the first half and a lobster outfit in the second. In an interview, Astaire's daughter Ava Astaire McKenzie, observed that he was often given a top hat to make him look taller.<ref>''A Couple of Song and Dance Men'', 1975</ref> In November 1905, the comedic act debuted in [[Keyport, New Jersey]] at a "tryout theater." The local paper wrote that "the Astaires are the greatest child act in vaudeville."<ref>Bill Adler, ''Fred Astaire: A Wonderful Life'', Carroll & Graf Publishers, 1987, p. 13, {{ISBN|0-88184-376-8}}</ref>

As a result of their father's salesmanship, Fred and Adele Astaire landed a major contract and played the [[Orpheum Circuit]] in the Midwest, West and some Southern cities in the U.S. Soon Adele grew to at least three inches taller than Fred, and the pair began to look incongruous. The family decided to take a two-year break from show business to let time take its course and to avoid trouble from the [[New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children|Gerry Society]] and the child-labor laws of the time. In 1912, Astaire became an [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopalian]].<ref name="Astaire">{{cite book
  | last = Astaire
  | first = Fred
  | title = Steps in Time
  | publisher = Heinemann
  | year = 1959
  | location = London
  | oclc=422937 }}</ref> The career of the Astaire siblings resumed with mixed fortunes, but with increasing skill and polish, as they began to incorporate [[Tap dance|tap dancing]] into their act. From vaudeville dancer Aurelio Coccia they learned the tango, waltz and other ballroom dances popularized by [[Vernon and Irene Castle]]. Some sources<ref>e.g., Croce, 1st edition, 1972, footnote p. 14, removed at Astaire's request in 2nd edition, 1974 – see Giles (p. 24). Satchell pp. 41–43 claims to have detected their presence as extras "Even with the benefit of an editing machine, slow-motion, and stop-frame, the Astaires are almost lost in the mass of bodies"</ref> state that the Astaire siblings appeared in a 1915 film titled ''[[Fanchon the Cricket|Fanchon, the Cricket]]'', starring [[Mary Pickford]], but the Astaires have consistently denied this.<ref>Astaire p. 42 and Billman p. 4: "They observed the filming as visitors, but insisted they did not appear in the film."</ref><ref>"The cast may also have included Fred Astaire, then sixteen, and his sister Adele. There is no proof of this, and they do not surface in surviving reels."—{{cite book | last=Brownlow | first=Kevin | title=Mary Pickford Rediscovered | publisher=Harry N. Abrams, Inc. | year=1999 | location=New York | isbn=0-8109-4374-3}}</ref><ref>{{rp|103}}</ref>

By age 14, Astaire  had assumed the musical responsibilities for their act.<ref name="nyt"/> He first met [[George Gershwin]], who was working as a [[song plugger]] for [[Jerome H. Remick]]'s music publishing company, in 1916.<ref>Astaire p. 65: "We struck up a friendship at once. He was amused by my piano playing and often made me play for him."</ref> Astaire had already been hunting for new music and dance ideas. Their chance meeting was to affect the careers of both artists profoundly. Astaire was always on the lookout for new steps on the circuit and was starting to demonstrate his quest for novelty and perfection.

===1917–1933: Stage career on Broadway and in London===
[[File:AdeleFred1921.jpg|right|thumb|Fred and Adele Astaire in 1921]]
The Astaires broke into Broadway in 1917 with ''Over the Top'', a patriotic revue, and performed for U.S. and Allied troops at this time as well. They followed up with several more shows. Of their work in ''[[The Passing Show of 1918]]'', [[Heywood Broun]] wrote: "In an evening in which there was an abundance of good dancing, Fred Astaire stood out&nbsp;... He and his partner, Adele Astaire, made the show pause early in the evening with a beautiful loose-limbed dance."<ref>Bill Adler, ''Fred Astaire: A Wonderful Life'', Carroll & Graf Publishers, 1987, p. 35, {{ISBN|0-88184-376-8}}</ref>

Adele contributed intuitive talent, whereas Fred's perfectionism provided support, as he took care of the planning behind the choreography and the logistics of the shows. He considered his skills were shadowed by his sister's talent, so he focused on boosting her performance. By the late 1920s he would begin to develop a dancing style of his own, gaining a greater psychological independence from his sister.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Adler |first=Bill |title=Fred Astaire : a wonderful life : a biography |publisher=Carroll & Graf |year=1987 |isbn=0881843768 |location=New York |pages=53–56 |language=en}}</ref>

During the 1920s, Fred and Adele appeared on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] and the [[West End theatre|London stage]]. They won popular acclaim with the theater crowd on both sides of the Atlantic in shows such as [[Jerome Kern]]'s ''[[The Bunch and Judy]]'' (1922), George and [[Ira Gershwin]]'s ''[[Lady, Be Good (musical)|Lady, Be Good]]'' (1924), and ''[[Funny Face (musical)|Funny Face]]'' (1927) and later in ''[[The Band Wagon (musical)|The Band Wagon]]'' (1931). Astaire's tap dancing was recognized by then as among the best. For example, [[Robert Benchley]] wrote in 1930, "I don't think that I will plunge the nation into war by stating that Fred is the greatest tap-dancer in the world."<ref name="Mueller"/> While in London, Fred studied piano at the [[Guildhall School of Music and Drama|Guildhall School of Music]] alongside his friend and colleague [[Noël Coward]],<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GBfVCQAAQBAJ&q=fred+astaire+guildhall+school&pg=PA36|title=Puttin' On the Ritz: Fred Astaire and the Fine Art of Panache, A Biography|first=Peter|last=Levinson|date=July 28, 2015|publisher=St. Martin's Publishing Group|isbn=9781250091499|via=Google Books}}</ref> and in 1926, was one of the judges at the '[[Charleston (dance)|Charleston]] Championship of the World ' competition at the [[Royal Albert Hall]], where [[Lew Grade]] was declared the winner.<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 December 1998 |title=Lord Grade |url=https://www.economist.com/obituary/1998/12/17/lord-grade |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131231235132/http://www.economist.com/node/180361 |archive-date=31 December 2013 |newspaper=The Economist}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Faith |first=Nicolas |date=13 December 1998 |title=Obituary: Lord Grade |url=https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/obituary-lord-grade-1191347.html |work=The Independent}}</ref>

After the close of ''Funny Face'', the Astaires went to Hollywood for a screen test at [[Paramount Pictures]], but the siblings were unhappy with the results and, although they were close to signing a deal to make a movie adaptation of ''Funny Face,'' the project was abandoned.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Astaire |first=Fred |title=Steps in Time |publisher=New York, Harper |year=1959 |edition=1st |pages=157 |language=en}}</ref>

They split in 1932 when Adele married her first husband, [[Lord Charles Cavendish (1905–1944)|Lord Charles Cavendish]], the second son of the [[Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire|9th Duke of Devonshire]]. Fred went on to achieve success on his own on Broadway and in London with ''[[Gay Divorce]]'' (later made into the film ''[[The Gay Divorcee]]'') while considering offers from Hollywood. The end of the partnership was traumatic for Astaire but stimulated him to expand his range.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Free of the brother-sister constraints of the former pairing and working with new partner [[Claire Luce]], Fred created a romantic partnered dance to [[Cole Porter]]'s "[[Night and Day (song)|Night and Day]]", which had been written for ''Gay Divorce''. Luce stated that she had to encourage him to take a more romantic approach: "Come on, Fred, I'm not your sister, you know."<ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|6}} The success of the stage play was credited to this number, and when recreated in ''The Gay Divorcee'' (1934), the film version of the play, it ushered in a new era in filmed dance.<ref name="Mueller">{{cite book
| last = Mueller
| first = John
| title = Astaire Dancing&nbsp;– The Musical Films
| publisher = Hamish Hamilton
| year = 1986
| location = London
| isbn= 0-241-11749-6 }}</ref>{{rp|23, 26, 61}} Recently, film footage taken by [[Fred Stone]] of Astaire performing in ''Gay Divorce'' with Luce's successor, Dorothy Stone, in New York in 1933 was uncovered by dancer and historian Betsy Baytos and now represents the earliest known performance footage of Astaire.<ref>{{cite web|author=Betsy Baytos |title=Information on this footage in the Fred Stone Collection of the Broadway show Gay Divorcee (1933) |url=http://www.faconference.org/bio_baytos.htm |work=Fred Astaire: The Conference |publisher=The Astaire Conference |access-date=May 14, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150602045934/http://www.faconference.org/bio_baytos.htm |archive-date=June 2, 2015 }}</ref>

===1933–1939: Astaire and Ginger Rogers at RKO===
[[File:Top-Hat-Rogers-Astaire.jpg|thumb|[[Ginger Rogers]] and Fred Astaire in ''[[Top Hat]]'' (1935)]]
According to Hollywood folklore, a screen test report on Astaire for [[RKO Pictures|RKO Radio Pictures]], now lost along with the test, is reported to have read: "Can't sing. Can't act. Balding. Can dance a little." The producer of the Astaire–Rogers pictures, [[Pandro S. Berman]], claimed he had never heard the story in the 1930s and that it only emerged years afterward.<ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|7}} Astaire later clarified, insisting that the report had read: "Can't act. Slightly bald. ''Also dances''."<ref>Astaire made the comment in a 1980 interview on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[20/20 (American TV program)|20/20]]'' with [[Barbara Walters]]. Astaire was balding at the time he began his movie career and thus wore a toupee in all of his films.</ref> In any case, the test was clearly disappointing, and [[David O. Selznick]], who had signed Astaire to RKO and commissioned the test, stated in a memo, "I am uncertain about the man, but I feel, in spite of his enormous ears and bad chin line, that his charm is so tremendous that it comes through even on this wretched test."<ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|7}}

However, this did not affect RKO's plans for Astaire. They lent him for a few days to MGM in 1933 for his significant Hollywood debut in the successful musical film ''[[Dancing Lady]]''. In the movie, he appeared as himself dancing with [[Joan Crawford]]. On his return to RKO, he got fifth billing after fourth-billed Ginger Rogers in the 1933 [[Dolores del Río]] vehicle ''[[Flying Down to Rio]]''. In a review, ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' magazine attributed its massive success to Astaire's presence:

<blockquote>The main point of ''Flying Down to Rio'' is the screen promise of Fred Astaire&nbsp;... He's assuredly a bet after this one, for he's distinctly likable on the screen, the mike is kind to his voice and as a dancer, he remains in a class by himself. The latter observation will be no news to the profession, which has long admitted that Astaire starts dancing where the others stop hoofing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1933/film/reviews/flying-down-to-rio-1200410897/|title=Flying Down to Rio|work=Variety|date=January 1, 1934}}</ref><ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|7}}</blockquote>

Having already been linked to his sister Adele on stage, Astaire was initially very reluctant to become part of another dance team. He wrote his agent, "I don't mind making another picture with her, but as for this 'team' idea, it's 'out!' I've just managed to live down one partnership and I don't want to be bothered with any more."<ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|8}} However, he couldn't help noticing the public appeal of the Astaire–Rogers pairing. Pandro Berman finally persuaded him to continue the partnership by giving him 10% of the Astaire-Rogers profits. After Astaire began receiving these dividend payments, according to Berman, there was no further objection from Astaire.<ref>Pandro S. Berman, interviewed in ''The RKO Story: Tales from Hollywood'', BBC Television, 1987.</ref>

Astaire and Rogers made nine films together at RKO: ''[[Flying Down to Rio]]'' (1933), ''[[The Gay Divorcee]]'' (1934), ''[[Roberta (1935 film)|Roberta]]'' (1935, in which Astaire also demonstrates his oft-overlooked piano skills with a spirited solo on "I Won't Dance"), ''[[Top Hat]]'' (1935), ''[[Follow the Fleet]]'' (1936), ''[[Swing Time (film)|Swing Time]]'' (1936), ''[[Shall We Dance (1937 film)|Shall We Dance]]'' (1937),  ''[[Carefree (film)|Carefree]]'' (1938), and ''[[The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle]]'' (1939). Six out of the nine Astaire–Rogers musicals became the biggest moneymakers for RKO; all of the films brought a certain prestige and artistry that all studios coveted at the time. Their partnership elevated them both to stardom; as [[Katharine Hepburn]] reportedly said, "He gives her class and she gives him sex."<ref name="Croce">{{cite book |last=Croce |first=Arlene |title=The Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Book |publisher=W.H. Allen |year=1987 |isbn=1934849324 |location=New York |pages=134 |language=en}}</ref> 

====Innovations====
Astaire revolutionized dance on film by having complete autonomy over its presentation.<ref>The only other entertainer to receive this treatment at the time was [[Greta Garbo]].</ref> He is credited with two important innovations in early film musicals.<ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|23, 26}} First, he insisted that a closely tracking dolly camera film a dance routine in as few shots as possible, typically with just four to eight cuts, while holding the dancers in full view at all times. This gave the illusion of an almost stationary camera filming an entire dance in a single shot. Astaire famously quipped: "Either the camera will dance, or I will."<ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|420}} Astaire maintained this policy from ''The Gay Divorcee'' in 1934 until his last film musical, ''[[Finian's Rainbow (1968 film)|Finian's Rainbow]]'' in 1968, when director [[Francis Ford Coppola]] overruled him.<ref>Coppola also fired Hermes Pan from the film. cf. Mueller p. 403</ref>

Astaire's style of dance sequences allowed the viewer to follow the dancers and choreography in their entirety. This style differed strikingly from those in the [[Busby Berkeley]] musicals. Those musicals' sequences were filled with extravagant aerial shots, dozens of cuts for quick takes, and zooms on areas of the body such as a chorus row of arms or legs.<ref name="Guardian">{{cite news |last1=Mackrell |first1=Judith |title=A kaleidoscope of legs: Busby Berkeley's flamboyant dance fantasies |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/mar/23/busby-berkeley-dance-42nd-street-choreography-film-musicals|newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=March 23, 2017}}</ref>

Astaire's second innovation involved the context of the dance; he was adamant that all song and dance routines be integral to the plotlines of the film. Instead of using dance as a spectacle as Busby Berkeley did, Astaire used it to move the plot along. Typically, an Astaire picture would include at least three standard dances. One would be a solo performance by Astaire, which he termed his "sock solo". Another would be a partnered comedy dance routine. Finally, he would include a partnered romantic dance routine.<ref name="Eiss">{{cite book |last1=Eiss |first1=Harry |title=The Mythology of Dance |date=September 18, 2013 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn=9781443852883 |page=213}}. While it would appear the passage in Wikipedia is a plagiarism of the book, the book's publication came AFTER the Wikipedia entry. It would appear the book plagiarized Wikipedia. The author is a full professor at U Michigan and the publisher is Cambridge, so it still is a reliable source.</ref>

====Assessment of the Rogers partnership====
[[File:fredginger.jpg|thumb|An RKO publicity still of Astaire and Rogers dancing to "[[Smoke Gets in Your Eyes]]" in ''[[Roberta (1935 film)|Roberta]]'' (1935)]]
Dance commentators [[Arlene Croce]],<ref name="Croce"/>{{rp|6}} Hannah Hyam<ref name="Hyam">{{cite book
  | last = Hyam
  | first = Hannah
  | title = Fred and Ginger: The Astaire–Rogers Partnership 1934–1938
  | publisher = Pen Press Publications
  | year = 2007
  | location = Brighton
  | isbn=978-1-905621-96-5}}</ref>{{rp|146–147}} and [[John Mueller]]<ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|8,9}} consider Rogers to have been Astaire's greatest dance partner, a view shared<ref name=GilesP33>Giles, p. 33 Pan: "I do not think [[Eleanor Powell]] was Fred's greatest dancing partner. I think Ginger Rogers was. Not that she was the greatest of dancers. Cyd Charisse was a much finer technical dancer"</ref> by Hermes Pan and [[Stanley Donen]].<ref name=GilesP33/> Film critic [[Pauline Kael]] adopts a more neutral stance,<ref>Kael: "That's a bit much", in an otherwise laudatory review of Croce's ''The Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Book'', writing in ''[[The New Yorker]]'', November 25, 1972</ref> while ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine film critic [[Richard Schickel]] writes "The nostalgia surrounding Rogers–Astaire tends to bleach out other partners."<ref>{{cite magazine |author-link=Richard Schickel |last=Schickel |first=Richard |date=July 6, 1987 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,964929,00.html |title=The Great American Flyer |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070223091706/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,964929,00.html |archive-date=February 23, 2007}}</ref>

Mueller sums up Rogers's abilities as follows:

<blockquote>Rogers was outstanding among Astaire's partners not because she was superior to others as a dancer, but because, as a skilled, intuitive actress, she was cagey enough to realize that acting did not stop when dancing began&nbsp;... the reason so many women have fantasized about dancing with Fred Astaire is that Ginger Rogers conveyed the impression that dancing with him is the most thrilling experience imaginable.<ref name="Mueller"/></blockquote>

According to Astaire, "Ginger had never danced with a partner before ''Flying Down to Rio''. She faked it an awful lot. She couldn't tap and she couldn't do this and that&nbsp;... but Ginger had style and talent and improved as she went along. She got so that after a while everyone else who danced with me looked wrong."<ref name="Satchell1">{{cite book |last=Satchell |first=Tim |date=1987 |title=Astaire: The Definitive Biography |publisher=Hutchinson |page=127 |isbn=978-0-09-173736-8}}</ref> On p.&nbsp;162 of his book ''Ginger: Salute to a Star'', author Dick Richards quotes Astaire saying to Raymond Rohauer, curator of the New York Gallery of Modern Art, "Ginger was brilliantly effective. She made everything work for her. Actually, she made things very fine for both of us and she deserves most of the credit for our success."{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

In 1976, British talk-show host [[Michael Parkinson]] asked Astaire who his favorite dancing partner was, on ''[[Parkinson (TV series)|Parkinson]]''. At first, Astaire refused to answer but ultimately he said "Excuse me, I must say Ginger was certainly, the one. You know, the most effective partner I ever had. Everyone knows."<ref>{{YouTube|id=xEaach8NrPUt=4m11s|title=Fred Astaire interview : Parkinson 1976}} The timestamp starts when he is asked who is his favorite dancing partner. The referenced quote is at 5:20.</ref>

Rogers described Astaire's uncompromising standards extending to the whole production: "Sometimes he'll think of a new line of dialogue or a new angle for the story&nbsp;... they never know what time of night he'll call up and start ranting enthusiastically about a fresh idea&nbsp;... No loafing on the job on an Astaire picture, and no cutting corners."<ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|16}}

Despite their success, Astaire was unwilling to have his career tied exclusively to any partnership. He negotiated with RKO to strike out on his own with ''[[A Damsel in Distress (1937 film)|A Damsel in Distress]]'' in 1937 with an inexperienced, non-dancing [[Joan Fontaine]], unsuccessfully as it turned out. He returned to make two more films with Rogers, ''[[Carefree (film)|Carefree]]'' (1938) and ''[[The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle]]'' (1939). While both films earned respectable gross incomes, they both lost money because of increased production costs,<ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|410}} and Astaire left RKO after being labeled "[[Box Office Poison (magazine article)|box office poison]]" by the ''Independent Theatre Owners of America''. Astaire was reunited with Rogers in 1949 at MGM for their final outing, ''[[The Barkleys of Broadway]]'', the only one of their films together to be shot in [[Technicolor]].

===1940–1947: Freelance performer, early retirement===
[[File:BroadwayMelody1940.JPG|thumb|With [[Eleanor Powell]] in ''Broadway Melody of 1940'']]
Astaire left RKO in 1939 to freelance and pursue new film opportunities, with mixed though generally successful outcomes. Throughout this period, Astaire continued to value the input of choreographic collaborators. Unlike the 1930s when he worked almost exclusively with Hermes Pan, he tapped the talents of other choreographers to innovate continually. His first post-Ginger dance partner was the redoubtable [[Eleanor Powell]], considered the most exceptional female tap-dancer of her generation. They starred in ''[[Broadway Melody of 1940]]'', in which they performed a celebrated extended dance routine to Cole Porter's "[[Begin the Beguine]]". In his autobiography ''Steps in Time'', Astaire remarked, "She 'put 'em down' like a man, no ricky-ticky-sissy stuff with Ellie. She really knocked out a tap dance in a class by herself."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Astaire|first=Fred|title=Steps in Time|publisher=Harper & Brothers|year=1959|isbn=9780306801419|location=New York|pages=242}}</ref>

He was hired by independent producer [[Boris Morros]] to star in a musical comedy, ''[[Second Chorus]]'' (1940). Morros had released a previous production through RKO, but with RKO no longer interested in Astaire, Morros had to find another distributor. [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] accepted the film for release.<ref>[[Scott MacGillivray]], ''Laurel & Hardy: From the Forties Forward'' (Second Edition), iUniverse, 2009, p. 182.</ref> Astaire received strong support from new dancing partner [[Paulette Goddard]], popular bandleader [[Artie Shaw]], and character actors [[Burgess Meredith]] and [[Charles Butterworth (actor)|Charles Butterworth]], but the lightweight film was only mildly successful and did not lead to further independent productions. ''Second Chorus'' was re-released in 1946 and was an early arrival on broadcast television. It soon became the most frequently revived Fred Astaire picture (to Astaire's bemusement) and has since lapsed into the public domain. Since 1980, with the advent of home video, ''Second Chorus'' has become even more ubiquitous and is probably Fred Astaire's most widely available film.

[[File:Astaire-Hayworth-dancing.JPG|thumb|left|With [[Rita Hayworth]] in ''You Were Never Lovelier'' (1942)]]

[[Harry Cohn]], president of [[Columbia Pictures]], made a practice of hiring talent that rival studios had dropped from their rosters. He engaged Fred Astaire for two pictures, in an effort to promote Cohn's own prospective musical star [[Rita Hayworth]]: ''[[You'll Never Get Rich]]'' (1941) and ''[[You Were Never Lovelier]]'' (1942). These films re-established Astaire as a major-studio attraction and launched Hayworth's starring career.

Astaire played alongside [[Bing Crosby]] in the enormously successful ''[[Holiday Inn (film)|Holiday Inn]]'' (1942), memorable for his virtuoso solo dance to "Let's Say it with Firecrackers". He returned to RKO for the wartime comedy ''[[The Sky's the Limit (1943 film)|The Sky's the Limit]]'' (1943), with 17-year-old [[Joan Leslie]] as his co-star.  In the film, he introduced [[Harold Arlen|Arlen]] and [[Johnny Mercer|Mercer]]'s "[[One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)|One for My Baby]]" while dancing on a bar counter in a dark and troubled routine. Astaire choreographed this film alone and achieved modest box office success. It represented a notable departure for Astaire from his usual charming, happy-go-lucky screen persona, and confused contemporary critics.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Tick |first1=Judith |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GzGQSt2L_osC&dq=The+Sky's+the+Limit+(1943)+astaire+critics&pg=PA525 |title=Music in the USA: A Documentary Companion |last2=Beaudoin |first2=Paul |date=2008-09-26 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-803203-8 |language=en}}</ref>

His next partner, [[Lucille Bremer]], was featured in two lavish vehicles, both directed by [[Vincente Minnelli]]. In the musical revue ''[[Ziegfeld Follies (film)|Ziegfeld Follies]]'' (filmed in 1944; previewed in November 1944 but held back from release until April 1946), Astaire danced with [[Gene Kelly]] to the Gershwin song "The Babbit and the Bromide", a song Astaire had introduced with his sister Adele back in 1927. The next film, ''[[Yolanda and the Thief]]'' (1945), was a fantasy featuring an avant-garde, surrealistic ballet. 

''Follies'', according to MGM records, earned $3,569,000 in the United States and Canada, and $1,775,000 elsewhere, but because of its high cost, it incurred a loss to the studio of $269,000.<ref name="Mannix">{{Cite document| title = The Eddie Mannix Ledger | publisher = Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study | place = Los Angeles}}</ref><ref>See also [https://archive.org/stream/variety165-1947-01#page/n54/mode/1up "60 Top Grossers of 1946", ''Variety'' 8 January 1947 p8]</ref> ''Yolanda'' fared even worse, bombing at the box office.<ref>{{cite web |title=Yolanda and the Thief |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/24667 |website=AFI Catalog |access-date=22 November 2024}}</ref>

Always insecure and believing his career was beginning to falter, Astaire surprised his audiences by announcing his retirement during the production of his next film, ''[[Blue Skies (1946 film)|Blue Skies]]'' (1946), which reunited him with Bing Crosby. Although reportedly dissatisfied with roles where he lost the girl to Crosby, he carefully planned "[[Puttin' On the Ritz]]", an innovative song-and-dance routine indelibly associated with him, as his farewell dance. He then concentrated on his horse-racing interests and in 1947 founded the [[Fred Astaire Dance Studios]], which he subsequently sold in 1966.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

===1948–1957: MGM films and second retirement===
[[File:Astaire, Fred - Daddy.jpg|thumb|In ''Daddy Long Legs'' (1955)]]
Astaire's retirement did not last long. He returned to the big screen to replace an injured [[Gene Kelly]] in ''[[Easter Parade (film)|Easter Parade]]'' (1948) opposite [[Judy Garland]], [[Ann Miller]], and [[Peter Lawford]]. He followed up with a final reunion with Rogers (replacing Judy Garland) in ''[[The Barkleys of Broadway]]'' (1949). Both of these films revived Astaire's popularity and in 1950 he starred in two musicals. ''[[Three Little Words (film)|Three Little Words]]'' with [[Vera-Ellen]] and [[Red Skelton]] was for MGM. ''[[Let's Dance (1950 film)|Let's Dance]]'' with [[Betty Hutton]] was on loan-out to Paramount. While ''Three Little Words'' did quite well at the box office, ''Let's Dance'' was a financial disappointment. ''[[Royal Wedding]]'' (1951) with [[Jane Powell]] and [[Peter Lawford]] proved to be very successful, but ''[[The Belle of New York (1952 film)|The Belle of New York]]'' (1952) with Vera-Ellen was a critical and box-office disaster. ''[[The Band Wagon]]'' (1953) received rave reviews from critics and drew huge crowds. However, because of its high cost, it failed to make a profit on its first release.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Soon after, Astaire, along with most of the other remaining stars at MGM, was dismissed by the studio due to the advent of television and the streamlining of film production. In 1954, Astaire was about to start work on a new musical, ''[[Daddy Long Legs (1955 film)|Daddy Long Legs]]'' (1955) with [[Leslie Caron]] at [[20th Century-Fox]]. Then, his wife Phyllis became ill and died of lung cancer. Astaire was so desolate that he wanted to shut down the picture and offered to pay the production costs out of his own pocket. However, [[Johnny Mercer]], the film's composer, and Fox studio executives convinced him that continuing to work would be the best thing for him. ''Daddy Long Legs'' was only moderately successful at the box office. His next film for Paramount, ''[[Funny Face]]'' (1957), teamed him with [[Audrey Hepburn]] and [[Kay Thompson]]. Despite the sumptuousness of the production and the good reviews from critics, the movie failed to recover its cost. Astaire's next film, ''[[Silk Stockings (1957 film)|Silk Stockings]]'' (1957), in which he co-starred with [[Cyd Charisse]] and his final musical for MGM, also lost money at the box office.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Afterward, Astaire announced that he was retiring from dancing in films. His legacy at this point was 30 musical films in 25 years.

===1957–1981: Television specials, serious roles ===
[[File:Fred Astaire 1962.JPG|thumb|Astaire in 1962]]
Astaire did not retire from dancing altogether. He made a series of four highly rated [[Emmy Award]]-winning musical specials for television in 1958, 1959, 1960, and 1968. Each featured [[Barrie Chase]], with whom Astaire enjoyed a renewed period of dance creativity. The first of these programs, 1958's ''[[An Evening with Fred Astaire]]'', won nine Emmy Awards, including "Best Single Performance by an Actor" and "Most Outstanding Single Program of the Year". It was also noteworthy for being the first major broadcast to be prerecorded on color videotape. Astaire won the Emmy for Best Single Performance by an Actor. The choice had a controversial backlash because many believed his dancing in the special was not the type of "acting" for which the award was designed. At one point, Astaire offered to return the award, but the Television Academy refused to consider it. A restoration of the program won a technical Emmy in 1988 for Ed Reitan, Don Kent, and Dan Einstein. They restored the original videotape, transferring its contents to a modern format and filling in gaps where the tape had deteriorated with [[kinescope]] footage.<ref>"Emmys" by Thomas O'Neil; Perigee Trade; 3 edition 2000; pp. 61–62</ref>

Astaire played Julian Osborne, a non-dancing character, in the nuclear war drama ''[[On the Beach (1959 film)|On the Beach]]'' (1959). He was nominated for a Golden Globe Best Supporting Actor award for his performance, losing to [[Stephen Boyd]] in ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-10-05 |title=The 32nd Academy Awards {{!}} 1960 |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1960 |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=www.oscars.org |language=en}}</ref> Astaire appeared in non-dancing roles in three other films and several television series from 1957 to 1969.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-03-06 |title=Biography Of Mr. Fred Astaire - Fred Astaire |url=https://www.fredastaire.com/mr-fred-astaire/ |access-date=2025-01-24 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Astaire also wrote his own autobiography, titled ''Steps in Time'', which he published in 1959.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/stepsintime0000asta/page/n5/mode/1up | title=Steps in time | date=January 5, 2024 | publisher=New York, Harper }}</ref>

Astaire's last major musical film was ''[[Finian's Rainbow (1968 film)|Finian's Rainbow]]'' (1968), directed by [[Francis Ford Coppola]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-08 |title=The final time Fred Astaire danced on screen |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/final-time-fred-astaire-danced-on-screen/ |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=faroutmagazine.co.uk |language=en-US}}</ref> Astaire shed his white tie and tails to play an Irish rogue who believes that if he buries a crock of gold in the shadows of [[United States Bullion Depository|Fort Knox]] the gold will multiply. Astaire's dance partner was [[Petula Clark]], who played his character's skeptical daughter. He described himself as nervous about singing with her, while she said she was worried about dancing with him.<ref>''Finian's Rainbow'' Original Soundtrack CD liner notes</ref> The film was a modest success both at the box office and among critics.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Finian's Rainbow, Box Office Information |url=https://www.worldwideboxoffice.com/movie.cgi?title=Finian%27s%20Rainbow&year=1968 |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=catalog.afi.com}}</ref>

Astaire continued to act in the 1970s. He appeared on television as the father of [[Robert Wagner]]'s character, Alexander Mundy, in ''[[It Takes a Thief (1968 TV series)|It Takes a Thief]]''. He appeared as "The Baltimore Kid" in the 1970 TV movie [[The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again]].  In the movie ''[[The Towering Inferno]]'' (1974), he danced with [[Jennifer Jones]] and received his only [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nomination, in the category of [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]. He voiced the mailman narrator S.D Kluger in the 1970s Rankin/Bass animated television specials ''[[Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (TV special)|Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town]]'' and ''[[The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town]]''. Astaire also appeared in the first two ''[[That's Entertainment!]]'' documentaries, in the mid-1970s. In the second compilation, aged seventy-six, he performed brief dance linking sequences with Kelly, his last dance performances in a musical film. In the summer of 1975, he made three albums in London, ''Attitude Dancing'', ''[[They Can't Take These Away from Me]]'', and ''[[A Couple of Song and Dance Men]]'', the last an album of duets with Bing Crosby. In 1976, Astaire played a supporting role, as a dog owner, in the cult movie ''[[The Amazing Dobermans]]'', co-starring [[Barbara Eden]] and [[James Franciscus]], and played Dr. Seamus Scully in the French film ''[[The Purple Taxi]]'' (1977).{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

In 1978, he co-starred with [[Helen Hayes]] in a well received television film ''[[A Family Upside Down]]'' in which they played an elderly couple coping with failing health. Astaire won an Emmy Award for his performance. He made a well publicized guest appearance on the [[Science fiction|science-fiction]] television series ''[[Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]'' in 1979, as Chameleon, the possible father of [[Lieutenant Starbuck|Starbuck]], in "The Man with Nine Lives", a role written for him by [[Donald P. Bellisario]]. Astaire asked his agent to obtain a role for him on ''Galactica'' because of his grandchildren's interest in the series and the producers were delighted at the opportunity to create an entire episode to feature him. This episode marked the final time that he danced on screen, in this case with [[Anne Jeffreys]]. He acted in nine different roles in ''[[The Man in the Santa Claus Suit]]'' in 1979. His final film was [[Ghost Story (1981 film)|the 1981 adaptation]] of [[Peter Straub]]'s novel ''[[Ghost Story (Straub novel)|Ghost Story]]''. This horror film was also the last for two of his most prominent castmates, [[Melvyn Douglas]] and [[Douglas Fairbanks Jr.]]{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

== Style and influence ==
{{Further|Fred Astaire's solo and partnered dances}}

[[File: Astaire - You're All the World to Me.jpg|left|thumb|Astaire dancing on the walls and ceiling for "[[You're All the World to Me]]"<ref>"You're All the World to Me" originated (with different lyrics) as "I Want to Be a Minstrel Man" in the [[Eddie Cantor]] musical ''[[Kid Millions]]'' (1934).</ref> from ''[[Royal Wedding]]'' (1951)]] Astaire was a virtuoso dancer, able when called for to convey light-hearted venturesomeness or deep emotion. His technical control and sense of rhythm were astonishing. Long after the photography for the solo dance number "I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man" was completed for the 1952 feature ''[[The Belle of New York (1952 film)|The Belle of New York]]'', it was decided that Astaire's humble costume and the threadbare stage set were inadequate and the entire sequence was reshot. The 1994 documentary ''[[That's Entertainment! III]]'' shows the two performances side by side in split-screen. Frame for frame, the two performances are identical, down to the subtlest gesture.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mueller |first=John E. |title=Astaire dancing: the musical films |date=1986 |publisher=Hamish Hamilton |isbn=978-0-241-11749-1 |location=London}}</ref>

Astaire's execution of a dance routine was prized for its elegance, grace, originality, and precision. He drew from a variety of influences, including tap, classical dance, and the elevated style of [[Vernon and Irene Castle]]. His was a uniquely recognizable dance style that greatly influenced the [[American Smooth]] style of [[ballroom dance]] and set standards against which subsequent film dance musicals would be judged. He termed his eclectic approach "outlaw style", an unpredictable and instinctive blending of personal artistry. His dances are economical yet endlessly nuanced. As [[Jerome Robbins]] stated, "Astaire's dancing looks so simple, so disarming, so easy, yet the understructure, the way he sets the steps on, over or against the music, is so surprising and inventive."<ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|18}} Astaire further observed:

{{blockquote|Working out the steps is a very complicated process—something like writing music. You have to think of some step that flows into the next one, and the whole dance must have an integrated pattern. If the dance is right, there shouldn't be a single superfluous movement. It should build to a climax and stop!<ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|15}}}}

Although Astaire was the primary choreographer of all his dance routines, he welcomed the input of collaborators and notably his principal collaborator [[Hermes Pan]]. But dance historian John Mueller believes that Astaire acted as the lead choreographer in his solos and partnered dances throughout his career. He notes Astaire's dance style was consistent in subsequent films made with or without the assistance of Pan. Furthermore, Astaire choreographed all the routines during his Broadway career with his sister Adele.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Frequently, a dance sequence was built around two or three key ideas, sometimes inspired by his steps or by the music itself, suggesting a particular mood or action.<ref name="Mueller" />{{rp|20}} Caron said that while Kelly danced close to the ground, she felt like she was floating with Astaire.<ref name="hattenstone20210621">{{Cite news |last=Hattenstone |first=Simon |date=June 21, 2021 |title='I am very shy. It's amazing I became a movie star': Leslie Caron at 90 on love, art and addiction |language=en |work=The Guardian |url=http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jun/21/i-am-very-shy-its-amazing-i-became-a-movie-star-leslie-caron-at-90-on-love-art-and-addiction |access-date=June 22, 2021}}</ref> Many dance routines were built around a "gimmick", like dancing on the walls in ''Royal Wedding'' or dancing with his shadows in ''Swing Time''. He or his collaborator would think of these routines earlier and save them for the right situation. They would spend weeks creating all the dance sequences in a secluded rehearsal space before filming would begin. They would work with a rehearsal pianist (often the composer Hal Borne) who in turn would communicate modifications to the musical orchestrators.

His perfectionism was legendary, but his relentless insistence on rehearsals and retakes was a burden to some. When time approached for the shooting of a number, Astaire would rehearse for another two weeks and record the singing and music. With all the preparation completed, the actual shooting would go quickly, conserving costs. Astaire agonized during the process, frequently asking colleagues for acceptance for his work. As [[Vincente Minnelli]] stated, "He lacks confidence to the most enormous degree of all the people in the world. He will not even go to see his rushes&nbsp;... He always thinks he is no good."<ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|16}} As Astaire himself observed, "I've never yet got anything 100% right. Still, it's never as bad as I think it is."<ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|16}}

[[Michael Kidd]], Astaire's co-choreographer on the 1953 film ''[[The Band Wagon]]'', found that his own concern about the emotional motivation behind the dance was not shared by Astaire. Kidd later recounted: "Technique was important to him. He'd say, 'Let's do the steps. Let's add the looks later.{{'"}}<ref name="Kisselgoff">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/13/movies/dance-view-for-michael-kidd-real-life-is-where-the-dance-begins.html| title=For Michael Kidd, Real Life Is Where The Dance Begins | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=March 13, 1994 | access-date=February 21, 2014 | author=Kisselgoff, Anna | pages=H10}}</ref> Astaire declared that his own tap heroes were the Nicholas Brothers, [[Fayard Nicholas|Fayard]] and [[Harold Nicholas|Harold]].<ref>[http://www.afi.com/laa/laa81.aspx "1981 Fred Astaire Tribute"] afi.com</ref><ref>[http://www.afi.com/100Years/stars.aspx "AFI'S 100 Years...100 Stars"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025072655/http://www.afi.com/100Years/stars.aspx |date=October 25, 2014 }} afi.com. Retrieved October 11, 2017</ref>

==Influence on popular song==
{{Further|List of songs introduced by Fred Astaire}}

Extremely modest about his singing abilities (he frequently claimed that he could not sing,<ref>e.g. Satchell, p. 144</ref> but the critics rated him as among the finest), Astaire introduced some of the most celebrated songs from the [[Great American Songbook]], in particular, Cole Porter's: "[[Night and Day (song)|Night and Day]]" in ''[[Gay Divorce]]'' (1932); "[[So Near and Yet So Far]]" in ''[[You'll Never Get Rich]]'' (1941); [[Irving Berlin]]'s "[[Isn't This a Lovely Day?]]", "[[Cheek to Cheek]]", and "[[Top Hat, White Tie and Tails]]" in ''[[Top Hat]]'' (1935); "[[Let's Face the Music and Dance]]" in ''[[Follow the Fleet]]'' (1936); and "[[Change Partners]]" in ''[[Carefree (film)|Carefree]]'' (1938). He first presented [[Jerome Kern]]'s "[[The Way You Look Tonight]]" in ''[[Swing Time (film)|Swing Time]]'' (1936), [[George Gershwin|the Gershwins']] "[[They Can't Take That Away from Me]]" in ''[[Shall We Dance (1937 film)|Shall We Dance]]'' (1937), "[[A Foggy Day]]" and "[[Nice Work If You Can Get It (song)|Nice Work if You Can Get it]]" in ''[[A Damsel in Distress (1937 film)|A Damsel in Distress]]'' (1937), [[Johnny Mercer]]'s "[[One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)|One for My Baby]]" from ''[[The Sky's the Limit (1943 film)|The Sky's the Limit]]'' (1943), "[[Something's Gotta Give (Johnny Mercer song)|Something's Gotta Give]]" from ''[[Daddy Long Legs (1955 film)|Daddy Long Legs]]'' (1955); and [[Harry Warren]] and [[Arthur Freed]]'s "[[This Heart of Mine]]" from ''[[Ziegfeld Follies (film)|Ziegfeld Follies]]'' (1946).

[[File:Astaire singing in Second Chorus.jpg|right|thumb|Astaire singing in ''[[Second Chorus]]'' (1940)]]
Astaire also co-introduced a number of song classics via song duets with his partners. For example, with his sister Adele, he co-introduced [[George Gershwin|the Gershwins]]' "[[Stairway to Paradise|I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise]]" from ''Stop Flirting'' (1923), "[[Fascinating Rhythm]]" in ''[[Lady, Be Good (musical)|Lady, Be Good]]'' (1924), "[[Funny Face (1927 song)|Funny Face]]" in ''[[Funny Face (musical)|Funny Face]]'' (1927), and, in duets with [[Ginger Rogers]], he presented [[Irving Berlin]]'s "[[I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket]]" in ''[[Follow the Fleet]]'' (1936), [[Jerome Kern]]'s "[[Pick Yourself Up]]" and "[[A Fine Romance (song)|A Fine Romance]]" in ''[[Swing Time (film)|Swing Time]]'' (1936), along with [[George Gershwin|the Gershwins]]' "[[Let's Call the Whole Thing Off]]" from ''[[Shall We Dance (1937 film)|Shall We Dance]]'' (1937). With [[Judy Garland]], he sang [[Irving Berlin]]'s "[[A Couple of Swells]]" from ''[[Easter Parade (film)|Easter Parade]]'' (1948); and, with [[Jack Buchanan]], [[Oscar Levant]], and [[Nanette Fabray]] he delivered [[Arthur Schwartz]]'s and [[Howard Dietz]]'s "[[That's Entertainment! (song)|That's Entertainment!]]" from ''[[The Band Wagon]]'' (1953).

Although he possessed a light voice, he was admired for his lyricism, diction, and phrasing<ref>Thomas p. 118</ref>—the grace and elegance so prized in his dancing seemed to be reflected in his singing, a capacity for synthesis which led [[Burton Lane]] to describe him as "the world's greatest musical performer".<ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|21}} [[Irving Berlin]] considered Astaire the equal of any male interpreter of his songs—"as good as [[Al Jolson|Jolson]], [[Bing Crosby|Crosby]] or [[Frank Sinatra|Sinatra]], not necessarily because of his voice, but for his conception of projecting a song."<ref name="en.wikiquote.org">[[q:Fred Astaire#Singers and songwriters on Astaire]]</ref> [[Jerome Kern]] considered him the supreme male interpreter of his songs.<ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|21}}And while [[George Gershwin]] was somewhat critical of Astaire's singing abilities, he wrote many of his most memorable songs for him.<ref name="Mueller" />{{rp|123, 128}} In his heyday, Astaire was referenced<ref name="en.wikiquote.org" /> in lyrics of songwriters [[Cole Porter]], [[Lorenz Hart]] and [[Eric Maschwitz]] and continues to inspire modern songwriters.<ref>e.g., the songs "I Am Fred Astaire" by [[Taking Back Sunday]], "No Myth" by [[Michael Penn]], "Take You on a Cruise" by [[Interpol (band)|Interpol]], "Fred Astaire" by [[Lucky Boys Confusion]], "Long Tall Glasses" by [[Leo Sayer]], "Just Like Fred Astaire" by [[James (band)|James]], "After Hours" by "The Bluetones", "Fred Astaire" by Pips, Chips and Videoclips, "Decadence Dance" by Extreme, and appeared on the cover of [[The Beatles]]' ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]'' album.</ref>

Astaire was a songwriter, with "I'm Building Up to an Awful Letdown" (written with lyricist [[Johnny Mercer]]) reaching number four in the [[Hit parade]] of 1936.<ref>Billman, p. 287.</ref> He recorded his own "It's Just Like Taking Candy from a Baby" with [[Benny Goodman]] in 1940 and nurtured a lifelong ambition to be a successful popular song composer.<ref>Thomas, p. 135: "I'd love to have been able to do more with my music, but I never had the time. I was always working on dance numbers. Year after year I kept doing that. Somehow or other I always blame myself, because I say, 'Well, I could have found the time; why the hell didn't I do it?'"</ref>

In 1952, Astaire recorded ''[[The Astaire Story]]'', a four-volume album with a quintet led by [[Oscar Peterson]]. The album, produced by [[Norman Granz]], provided a musical overview of Astaire's career. ''The Astaire Story'' later won the [[Grammy Hall of Fame|Grammy Hall of Fame Award]] in 1999, a special Grammy award to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/awards/hall-of-fame|title=Grammy Hall Of Fame|work=The Grammys|access-date=April 25, 2011|archive-date=February 19, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219001619/http://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/awards/hall-of-fame|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Astaire was also mentioned by the British rock band [[Queen (band)|Queen]] in the bridge of the song "Man on the Prowl", released on their 1984 album ''[[The Works (Queen album)|The Works]]''.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1fQ6PAZrGg&feature=youtu.be |title=Queen - Man On The Prowl (Official Lyric Video) |date=2014-09-24 |last=Queen Official |access-date=2024-12-06 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

==Personal life==
=== Marriage and family ===
In 1933, Astaire married 25-year-old Phyllis Potter (formerly Phyllis Livingston Baker [1908–1954]), a [[Boston]]-born New York socialite and former wife of Eliphalet Nott Potter III (1906–1981), despite the objections of his mother and sister.<ref name="nyt" /> Phyllis's death from lung cancer at the age of 46 ended 21 years of marriage and left Astaire devastated.<ref>Niven, David: ''Bring on the Empty Horses'', G. Putnam 1975, pp. 248, 255: "The combination of Fred and Phyllis was a joy to behold&nbsp;... Theirs was the prototype of a gloriously happy marriage."</ref> Astaire attempted to drop out of the film ''[[Daddy Long Legs (1955 film)|Daddy Long Legs]]'' (1955), offering to pay the production costs to date, but was persuaded to stay.<ref>Billman, p. 22: "Astaire's intense professionalism—and the memory that Phyllis had wanted him to make the film—made him report back for work. The first few weeks were difficult, with most of the time being spent on Leslie's ballets and requiring as little as possible from the grieving man. Caron remembered, "Fred used to sit down during a rehearsal and put his face in his towel and just cry."</ref>
[[File:Fred Astaire & daughter 1959.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Fred Astaire and his daughter Ava at a debutante ball (1959)]]
In addition to Phyllis Potter's son, Eliphalet IV (known as Peter), the Astaires had two children, Fred, Jr. (1936), and Ava (1942). Astaire's son appeared with him in the movie ''[[Midas Run]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-07-24 |title=LOOK: Can You Guess Which Icon's Son This Is? |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fred-astaire-photo-dancing-with-son_n_3645283 |access-date=2024-01-22 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}</ref>

[[File: Fred Astaire Grave.JPG|thumb|Grave of Fred Astaire, at Oakwood Memorial Park]]
[[File:FredAstairesFeet.jpg|right|thumb|Astaire's hand and footprints at Grauman's Chinese Theater]]

On June 24, 1980, at the age of 81, he married a second time. [[Robyn Smith]] was 45 years his junior and a jockey who rode for [[Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Jr.]] (she also dated Vanderbilt in the 1970s),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/archive/another-vanderbilt-break-up-and-a-pretty-robyn-bobs-onto-the-scene-vol-3-no-13/|title=Another Vanderbilt Break-up, and a Pretty Robyn Bobs Onto the Scene|website=People|access-date=October 18, 2019}}</ref> and appeared on the cover of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' on July 31, 1972.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-09-ca-6202-story.html|title=Astaire's Last Partner Copes With Life After Fred|last=Champlin|first=Charles|date=June 9, 1988|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=April 6, 2017|issn=0458-3035}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.si.com/vault/2000/04/17/278495/robyn-smith-trailblazing-jockey-july-31-1972|title=Robyn Smith, Trailblazing Jockey July 31, 1972|last=Moss|first=Deborah|magazine=Sports Illustrated|access-date=April 6, 2017}}</ref>

Astaire's life has never been portrayed on film.<ref>In 1986, [[Federico Fellini]] released ''[[Ginger and Fred]]'', which, although inspired by Astaire and Rogers, portrays an Italian ballroom dancing couple. In 1996, his widow allowed footage of him to be used in a commercial for [[Dirt Devil]] vacuum cleaners in which he dances with a vacuum. His daughter stated that she was "saddened that after his wonderful career he was sold to the devil." cf ''[[Royal Wedding]]''</ref> He always refused permission for such portrayals, saying, "However much they offer me—and offers come in all the time—I shall not sell."<ref>Satchell p. 253</ref> Astaire's will included a clause requesting that no such portrayal ever take place; he commented, "It is there because I have no particular desire to have my life misinterpreted, which it would be."<ref>Satchell p. 254. Billman (p. 26) believes Astaire couldn't countenance the portrayal of his first wife, who suffered from a [[Speech disorder|speech impediment]].</ref> On December 5, 2021, [[Tom Holland]] announced that he would be portraying Astaire in an upcoming [[biopic]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=December 6, 2021|title=Fred Astaire fans criticise 'bizarre' casting of Tom Holland in new biopic|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/tom-holland-fred-astaire-dance-b1970427.html|access-date=December 11, 2021|website=The Independent|language=en}}</ref>

=== Interests and politics ===
Intensely private, Astaire was rarely seen on the Hollywood social scene. Instead, he devoted his spare time to his family and his hobbies, which included horse racing, playing the drums, songwriting, and golfing. He was good friends with [[David Niven]], [[Randolph Scott]], [[Clark Gable]] and [[Gregory Peck]]. Niven described him as "a pixie—timid, always warm-hearted, with a penchant for schoolboy jokes." In 1946, his horse [[Triplicate (horse)|Triplicate]] won the [[Gold Cup at Santa Anita Stakes|Hollywood Gold Cup]] and [[San Juan Capistrano Handicap]]. He remained physically active well into his eighties. He took up [[skateboarding]] in his late seventies and was awarded a life membership in the National Skateboard Society.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Engvalson |first=Audrey |date=2024-09-04 |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/audreyworboys/wild-facts-about-old-hollywood-stars |title=17 Amazing Facts About Old Hollywood Stars |work=[[BuzzFeed]]}}</ref> At 78, he broke his left wrist while skateboarding in his driveway.<ref>(Thomas p. 301) Astaire was awarded a life membership in the National Skateboard Society (Satchell p. 221). He remarked, "Gene Kelly warned me not to be a damned fool, but I'd seen the things those kids got up to on television doing all sorts of tricks. What a routine I could have worked up for a film sequence if they had existed a few years ago. Anyway, I was practicing in my driveway." (Satchell p. 221)</ref>

Always immaculately turned out, Astaire and [[Cary Grant]] were called "the best-dressed actor[s] in American movies".<ref name="schwarz20070102">{{cite news |last=Schwarz |first=Benjamin |date=January–February 2007 |title=Becoming Cary Grant |newspaper=[[The Atlantic]] |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/01/becoming-cary-grant/5548/ |access-date=January 18, 2011}}</ref> Astaire remained a male fashion icon even into his later years, eschewing his trademark top hat, white tie, and tails, which he hated.<ref>Astaire, Steps in Time, p. 8: "At the risk of disillusionment, I must admit that I don't like top hats, white ties and tails.</ref> Instead, he favored a breezy casual style of tailored sport jackets, colored shirts, and slacks—the latter usually held up by the distinctive use of an old tie or silk scarf in place of a belt.

Astaire was a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] and a charter member of the Hollywood Republican Committee.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1947-10-20 |title=Film Notables Open Drive for G.O.P. President |pages=8 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>

=== Death ===
Astaire died of pneumonia on June 22, 1987, at the age of 88.<ref>{{Cite news|last=F. Shepard|first=Richard|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/23/obituaries/fred-astaire-the-ultimate-dancer-dies.html|title=Fred Astaire, The Ultimate Dancer, Dies|newspaper=New York Times|date=June 23, 1987}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Jones|first=Jack|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-fred-astaire-19870623-story.html|title=From the Archives: Fred Astaire, Movies' Greatest Dancer, Dies|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=June 23, 1987}}</ref> His body was buried at [[Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery]] in [[Chatsworth, Los Angeles|Chatsworth, California]].<ref>[[Ginger Rogers]], who died on April 25, 1995, was buried in the same cemetery.</ref>

==Acting credits and accolades ==
{{See also|Fred Astaire chronology of performances|Fred Astaire's solo and partnered dances|List of awards and nominations received by Fred Astaire}}
[[File: Lismore Astaire plaque.jpg|right|thumb|Plaque honoring Astaire in Lismore, Waterford, Ireland]]

He starred in numerous musical films such as ''[[The Gay Divorcee]]'' (1934), ''[[Top Hat]]'' (1935), ''[[Follow the Fleet]]'' (1936), ''[[Swing Time (film)|Swing Time]]'' (1936), ''[[Shall We Dance (1937 film)|Shall We Dance]]'' (1937), ''[[Holiday Inn (film)|Holiday Inn]]'' (1942), ''[[Easter Parade (film)|Easter Parade]]'' (1948), ''[[The Barkleys of Broadway]]'' (1949), ''[[Royal Wedding]]'' (1951), ''[[The Band Wagon]]'' (1953), ''[[Funny Face]]'' (1957), ''[[Silk Stockings (1957 film)|Silk Stockings]]'' (1957), and ''[[Finian's Rainbow (1968 film)|Finian's Rainbow]]'' (1968). He later starred in the drama ''[[The Towering Inferno]]'' (1974). He also acted and hosted in several compilation films such as ''[[That's Entertainment!]]'' (1974), ''[[That's Entertainment, Part II]]'' (1976), ''[[That's Dancing]]'' (1985), and ''[[That's Entertainment! III]]'' (1994).

Over his career he received [[List of awards and nominations received by Fred Astaire|several awards]] including a [[BAFTA Award]], three [[Primetime Emmy Awards]], and two [[Golden Globe Awards]]. He also received several honorary awards including the [[Academy Honorary Award]] in 1950, the [[Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award]] in 1960, the [[Kennedy Center Honors]] in 1970, and the [[AFI Life Achievement Award]] in 1981.

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* [[Fred Astaire discography]]
* [[List of dancers]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
*{{cite book| first=Fred | last=Astaire| title=Steps in Time | url=https://archive.org/details/stepsintime0000asta | url-access=registration | year=1959 | publisher=Harper Collins| isbn=978-0-06-156756-8 | oclc=422937 }}
*{{cite journal |last=Bernier |first=Michelle |title=Fred Astaire's Site-Specific Choreography: High Art for the Low-Art Consumer.|journal=Studies in Musical Theatre|volume=9 |issue=3 |date=December 2015 |pages=255–63|doi=10.1386/smt.9.3.255_1 }}
*{{cite book| first=Larry | last=Billman | title=Fred Astaire: A Bio-bibliography | year=1997 | publisher=Greenwood Press | isbn=0-313-29010-5 }}
*{{cite book| first=Bruce G. | last=Boyer | title=Fred Astaire Style | year=2005 | publisher=Assouline | isbn=2-84323-677-0 }}
*{{cite book | first=Arlene | last=Croce | title=The Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Book | year=1974 | publisher=Galahad Books | isbn=0-88365-099-1 | url=https://archive.org/details/fredastaireginge00croc }}
*{{cite journal |last=Crouse |first=Jeffrey |title=Letting His Wish Provide the Occasion: Fred Astaire in ''Top Hat'' |journal=Film International|volume=1 |issue=5 |pages=32–41 |year=2003 |issn=1651-6826 |doi=10.1386/fiin.1.5.32 }}
*{{cite book| first= Todd |last=Decker | title=Music Makes Me: Fred Astaire and Jazz |publisher= University of California Press | year=2011 }}
*{{cite book | first=Michael | last=Freeland | title=Fred Astaire: An Illustrated Biography | year=1976 | publisher=Grosset & Dunlap | isbn=0-448-14080-2 | url=https://archive.org/details/fredastaire00free }}
*{{cite book| first=Alessandra | last=Garofalo | title=Austerlitz sounded too much like a battle: The roots of Fred Astaire family in Europe | year=2009 | publisher=Editrice UNI Service | isbn=978-88-6178-415-4 }}
*{{cite book| first=Sarah | last=Giles | title=Fred Astaire: His Friends Talk | url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780385247412 | url-access=registration | year=1988 | publisher=Doubleday | location=Bloomsbury, London | isbn=0-7475-0322-2 }}
*{{cite book| first=Benny | last=Green | title=Fred Astaire | year=1980 | publisher=Bookthrift Co. | isbn=0-89673-018-2 }}
*{{cite book | last1=Green | first1=Stanley |author-link1=Stanley Green (historian)| last2=Goldblatt | first2=Burt | title=Starring Fred Astaire | year=1973 | publisher=Dodd | isbn=0-396-06877-4 | url=https://archive.org/details/starringfredasta00gree }}
*{{cite book| first=Hannah | last=Hyam | title=Fred and Ginger: The Astaire–Rogers Partnership 1934–1938 | year=2007 | publisher=Pen Press Publications | location=Brighton | isbn=978-1-905621-96-5 }}
*{{cite book| first=Colin | last=Jarman | title=Dancing On Astaire: The Quotable Fred Astaire | year=2010 | publisher=Blue Eyed Books | location=London | isbn=978-1-907338-08-3 }}
*{{cite book| first=Richard B. | last=Jewell | title=RKO Radio Pictures: A Titan is Born | year=2012 | publisher=University of California Press }}
*{{cite book| first=Richard B. | last=Jewell | title=Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures | year=2016 | publisher=University of California Press }}
*{{cite book| first=Richard | last=Lamparski | title=Manhattan Diary | year=2006 | publisher=BearManor Media | isbn=1-59393-054-2 }}
*{{cite book| first=Perikles| last=Monioudis| title=Frederick (a novel, in German) | year=2016 | publisher=dtv | isbn=978-3-423-28079-2 }}
*{{cite book| first= John |last=Mueller | title= Astaire Dancing – The Musical Films of Fred Astaire| publisher= Knopf | year=1985 | isbn=0-394-51654-0}}
*{{cite book| first= John |last=Mueller | title= Astaire Dancing – The Musical Films of Fred Astaire | edition=25th Anniversary Edition – Digitally Enhanced| publisher=The Educational Publisher | year=2010 | isbn=978-1-934849-31-6}}
*{{cite book| first=Tim | last=Satchell | title=Astaire, The Biography | year=1987 | publisher=Hutchinson | location=London | isbn=0-09-173736-2 }}
*{{cite journal |last=Sutton |first=Damian |title='Let the Dance Floor Feel Your Leather': Set Design, Dance, and the Articulation of Audiences in RKO Radio's Astaire-Rogers Series. |journal=Journal of Popular Film & Television |volume=43 |issue=1 |year=2015 |pages=2–13 |doi=10.1080/01956051.2014.961997 |s2cid=55843269 |url=https://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/15727/1/Article%20Let%20the%20Dancefloor%20Feel%20your%20Leather%20FINAL.pdf |access-date=February 2, 2020 |archive-date=February 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202122458/https://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/15727/1/Article%2520Let%2520the%2520Dancefloor%2520Feel%2520your%2520Leather%2520FINAL.pdf |url-status=dead }} 
*{{cite book| first=Bob | last=Thomas | title=Astaire, the Man, The Dancer | year=1985 | publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson | location=London | isbn=0-297-78402-1 }}
*''The Astaire Family Papers'', The Howard Gotleib Archival Research Center, Boston University, MA

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{wikiquote}}

* {{AFI person | 54767-Fred-Astaire | Fred Astaire }}
*{{IBDB name}}
*{{Playbill person}}
*{{IMDb name|0000001}}
*{{TCMDb name}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070108144230/http://www.alsodances.net/biography/Fred Astaire biography at AlsoDances.Net]
*{{cite magazine |author-link=Richard Schickel |last=Schickel |first=Richard |date=July 6, 1987 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,964929,00.html |title=The Great American Flyer |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070223091706/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,964929,00.html |archive-date=February 23, 2007}}
*{{cite magazine |author-link=Richard Corliss |last=Corliss |first=Richard |date=June 22, 2002 |url=http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,265339-1,00.html |title=That Old Feeling: A Stellar Astaire |magazine=Time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040115115503/http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,265339-1,00.html |archive-date=January 15, 2004}}
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20051107021938/http://www.adherents.com/people/pa/Fred_Astaire.html Astaire's religious views incl. many extracts from his biographers]}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160115081527/http://www.indianauteur.com/blog/?p=228#more-228 Astaire or Kelly: A Generation Apart at Indian Auteur]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/video/39522000/rm/_39522952_astaire08_astaire_vi.ram Ava Astaire discusses her father's legacy] ([[BBC Television]]—[[RealPlayer]] required)
*[http://www.kaneprod.com/astaire/astaire.htm Radio Interview—Fred Astaire—1968]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20150613123029/http://www.faconference.org/pdf/AstaireReview.pdf "Fred Astaire and the art of fun"]: an essay on the Oxford Fred Astaire conference from [http://www.the-tls.co.uk TLS], July 16, 2008.
*[http://www.virtual-history.com/movie/person/61/fred-astaire Photographs and literature] at Virtual History

{{Fred Astaire}}
{{Navboxes
|title = [[List of awards and nominations received by Fred Astaire|Awards for Fred Astaire]]
|list =
{{Academy Honorary Award}}
{{AFI Life Achievement Award}}
{{BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{Cecil B. DeMille Award}}
{{EmmyAward MiniseriesLeadActor}}
{{EmmyAward VarietyPerformance}}
{{Lincoln Center Gala Tribute}}
{{Golden Globe Award Best Actor Motion Picture Musical or Comedy}}
{{Golden Globe Award Best Supporting Actor Motion Picture}}
{{Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award}}
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{{1989 Television Hall of Fame}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Astaire, Fred}}
[[Category:Fred Astaire| ]]
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