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Engraved portrait of Fred Astaire
Film & Screen · 1930s

Fred Astaire

In memoriam 1899–1987

“The dancer who made impossible grace look effortless and reinvented how dance was filmed.”

Frederick AusterlitzReal name
May 10, 1899, Omaha, NebraskaBorn
June 22, 1987, Los Angeles, CaliforniaDied
Honorary Oscar (1950) and AFI Life Achievement Award (1981)Honors
Danced in ten films with Ginger RogersSignature partner
The Turning Point

After decades as a Broadway and vaudeville dancer with his sister Adele, Astaire signed with RKO and was paired with Ginger Rogers. Their 1933 film Flying Down to Rio made him a movie star at age 34, redefining the Hollywood musical.

Fred Astaire in 1962
Fred Astaire in 1962

Vaudeville and Broadway

Born in Omaha, he and his sister Adele became a celebrated dance act in vaudeville and on Broadway and the London stage. When Adele married and retired in 1932, Fred reinvented himself as a solo Hollywood performer.

Astaire with Ginger Rogers in Follow the Fleet (1936)
Astaire with Ginger Rogers in Follow the Fleet (1936)

The Astaire-Rogers Era

At RKO he was paired with Ginger Rogers across ten films, from Top Hat to Swing Time, that set the standard for the film musical. His elegant, meticulously rehearsed routines emphasized grace and effortless precision.

Enduring Influence

He continued at MGM with hits like Easter Parade and The Band Wagon, and later earned dramatic acclaim and an Oscar nomination for The Towering Inferno. Choreographers from Gene Kelly to Mikhail Baryshnikov hailed him as a defining artist of dance on film.

Career Timeline

  1. 1899Born Frederick Austerlitz in Omaha, Nebraska
  2. 1905Begins performing in vaudeville with sister Adele
  3. 1917Debuts on Broadway with Adele
  4. 1932Adele retires; Fred goes solo to Hollywood
  5. 1933Flying Down to Rio pairs him with Ginger Rogers
  6. 1935Top Hat becomes a box-office smash
  7. 1948Stars in Easter Parade with Judy Garland
  8. 1949Receives an honorary Academy Award
  9. 1953Stars in The Band Wagon
  10. 1958Wins Emmys for TV special An Evening with Fred Astaire
  11. 1974Nominated for an Oscar for The Towering Inferno
  12. 1987Dies in Los Angeles, aged 88

Biggest Hits

1933
Flying Down to RioFirst film teaming him with Ginger Rogers
1935
Top HatHit musical featuring "Cheek to Cheek"
1936
Swing TimeAcclaimed Astaire-Rogers film with "The Way You Look Tonight"
1937
Shall We DanceGershwin score, including "They Can't Take That Away from Me"
1948
Easter ParadeTop-grossing musical with Judy Garland
1953
The Band WagonBeloved MGM musical, "Dancing in the Dark"
1957
Funny FaceParis-set musical opposite Audrey Hepburn
Did You Know
  • An apocryphal early screen-test memo reportedly read: "Can't act. Can't sing. Slightly bald. Can dance a little."
  • He insisted his dance numbers be filmed in full-figure, unbroken takes to show the whole body.

The Moment You Remember

Many recall Astaire and Ginger Rogers gliding through Cheek to Cheek in Top Hat, a feather-trimmed whirl of romance that became the lasting emblem of their partnership.

Portrait: Columbia Pictures (studio publicity still) · Public domain (studio publicity still) · via Wikimedia Commons

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