Fred Astaire

Fred Astaire

Fred Astaire was born May 10, 1899 in Omaha, Nebraska. He was originally born Frederick Austerlitz. He and his sister took the name Astaire for their Vaudeville, which means multi-act, theater act when they were about 5 years old. Together, Fred and Adele appeared on Broadway and on the London stage. In 1932, they split when she married. He went on to achieve success on his own.

In his second film, he was paired with Ginger Rogers for the first time. The Astaire-Rogers series are among the top films of the 1930’s. He was credited with two important innovations in film musicals, first, on his insistence that they film a dance routine with the dancers in full view at all times. Second, he was persistent that all the songs and dances be integrated into the plot lines of the film.

He announced his retirement in 1946, but he didn’t give up dancing completely. He made series of specials