Fred Astaire's
Top 10 Records |
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Fred Astaire |
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Name: Fred Astaire
| Nee: |
Frederick Austerlitz |
| Born: |
10 May 1899 |
| Died: |
22 Jun 1987 |
| Origin: |
Omaha, Nebraska, United States |
| Instruments: |
Vocal, Dancer |
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| Fred Astaire was born 'Frederick Austerlitz' in Omaha, Nebraska, and was an American film and Broadway ballroom dancer and actor. He is particularly associated with Ginger Rogers, with whom he made ten films.
'Astaire' was a name taken by him and his sister Adele for their vaudeville act when they were about 5 years old. It is said to have come from an uncle surnamed 'L'Astaire'. During the 1920's, Fred and Adele appeared on Broadway, splitting in 1932 when she married her first husband, Lord Charles Cavendish, a son of the duke of Devonshire. Famously, a Paramount Pictures screen test report on Fred Astaire read simply: 'Can't sing. Can't act. Slightly balding. Can dance a little.' In the opinion of millions of fans of his popular films, Fred Astaire could actually dance quite a bit.
His singing voice was weak, yet Cole Porter wrote a number of songs especially for him, and quite a few are among evergreen ballroom foxtrots: 'Night and Day', 'Cheek to Cheek', 'The Way You Look Tonight', 'A Fine Romance', 'They Can't Take that Away from Me', 'Change Partners' His second film, 'Flying Down to Rio', paired him with Ginger Rogers for the first time. |
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