Fred Astaire | |
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In You'll Never Get Rich (1941)
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Born |
Frederick Austerlitz May 10, 1899 Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. |
Died | June 22, 1987 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
(aged 88)
Occupation |
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Years active | 1904–1987 |
Spouse(s) |
Phyllis Livingston Potter (m. 1933; d. 1954) Robyn Smith (m. 1980; his death 1987) |
Children | 2 |
Relatives | Adele Astaire (sister; deceased) |
Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, singer, actor, choreographer and television presenter.
His stage and subsequent film and television careers spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films and several television specials and issued numerous recordings. As a dancer, he is best remembered for his sense of rhythm, his perfectionism, and as the dancing partner and on-screen romantic interest of Ginger Rogers, with whom he co-starred in a series of ten Hollywood musicals. Astaire was ranked by the American Film Institute as the fifth greatest male star of Classic Hollywood cinema in 100 Years... 100 Stars.
Gene Kelly, another star in filmed dance, said that "the history of dance on film begins with Astaire." Beyond film and television, many dancers and choreographers, including Rudolf Nureyev, Sammy Davis Jr., Michael Jackson, Gregory Hines, Mikhail Baryshnikov, George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and Madhuri Dixit, also acknowledged his influence.
Astaire was born in Omaha, Nebraska, the son of Johanna "Ann" (née Geilus) and Frederic "Fritz" Austerlitz (born September 8, 1868 as Friedrich Emanuel Austerlitz). Astaire's mother was born in the United States to Lutheran German immigrants from East Prussia and Alsace. Astaire's father was born in Linz, Austria, to Jewish parents who had converted to Roman Catholicism.