Osterspaziergang fred astaire biography

The movie established Astaire's debonair image, which included his trademark look of elegant evening suits and top hats. Over the next six years ten films pitted the perfectionistic Astaire with the relaxed and confident Rogers. It was not just their dancing, but their special chemistry together that made their roles in films like The Gay Divorcee , Roberta , Follow the Fleet , Swing Time , Shall We Dance , and Carefree , so successful.

Speaking of the unique chemistry that existed between Astaire and Rogers, his biographer said, "By s standards their dancing was sexless, yet in the twirling movements, the angle of the body, the juxtaposition of the two dancers and often by the sheer energy, vitality and excitement of their movements, there existed a distinct, if clean, kind of sensuality.

Their final movie together during the s was The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, a special tribute to another dancing couple, the Castles, who pioneered ballroom dance in America. As the United States entered World War II studios were reluctant to spend money on movie extravaganzas and Astaire and Rogers looked to other projects and solo careers.

Astaire is credited with two important innovations in early film musicals. First, his insistence that the almost stationary camera film a dance routine in a single shot, if possible, while holding the dancers in full view at all times. Astaire famously quipped:"Either the camera will dance, or I will. Astaire's style of dance sequences contrasted with the Busby Berkeley musicals, which were known for dance sequences filled with extravagant aerial shots, quick takes, and zooms on certain areas of the body, such as the arms or legs.

Also Astaire was adamant that all song and dance routines be seamlessly integrated into the plot lines of the film. Instead of using dance as mere spectacle, Astaire used it to move the plot along. Another important element that set Astaire apart was his ability to dance with his entire body. His sense of lightness, his grace, and his ability to communicate with every part of his being, including his eyes, set him apart in both ability, flair and style.

Astaire was a virtuoso dancer who was able to convey both a lighthearted attitude and a deep emotional moment. His technical control and sense of rhythm were impeccable. According to one anecdote, he was able, when called back to the studio to redo a dance number he had filmed several weeks earlier, to reproduce the routine with pinpoint accuracy, down to the last gesture.

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 and other African-American rhythms, classical dance and the elevated style of Vernon and Irene Castle, to create a uniquely recognizable dance style which greatly influenced the American Smooth style of ballroom dance , and set standards against which subsequent filmed dance musicals would be judged.

Although he possessed a light voice, he was admired for his lyricism, diction and phrasing [3] - 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. One of his first post-Rogers dance partners was Eleanor Powell, with whom he appeared in Broadway Melody of Ziegfeld Follies contains a memorable teaming of Astaire with Gene Kelly.

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Fred Astaire. Awards for Fred Astaire. Academy Honorary Award.

Osterspaziergang fred astaire biography

Warner Bros. Ryder , Harry D. Authority control. MusicBrainz artist. Germany Emmy Awards Trove. Toggle the table of contents. Astaire in June 22, aged 88 Los Angeles, California, U. Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery. Adele Astaire sister. We told more through our movements instead of the big clinch. We did it all in the dance. I had some ballet training but didn't like it.

It was like a game to me. People think I was born in top hat and tails. Contribute to this page Suggest an edit or add missing content. Learn more about contributing. Edit page. More from this person. View agent, publicist, legal and company contact details on IMDbPro. More to explore. Recently viewed. She faked it an awful lot. She couldn't tap and she couldn't do this and that She got so that after a while everyone else who danced with me looked wrong.

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. In , British talk-show host Michael Parkinson asked Astaire who his favorite dancing partner was, on Parkinson. At first, Astaire refused to answer but ultimately he said "Excuse me, I must say Ginger was certainly, [uh, uh,] the one.

You know, the most effective partner I ever had. Everyone knows. 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 No loafing on the job on an Astaire picture, and no cutting corners. 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 in with an inexperienced, non-dancing Joan Fontaine , unsuccessfully as it turned out. Astaire was reunited with Rogers in at MGM for their final outing, The Barkleys of Broadway , the only one of their films together to be shot in Technicolor. Astaire left RKO in 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 s 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 , 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. But, in spite of the enormous financial success of both, he was reportedly dissatisfied with roles where he lost the girl to Crosby.

The former film is memorable for his virtuoso solo dance to "Let's Say it with Firecrackers". The latter film featured " Puttin' On the Ritz ", an innovative song-and-dance routine indelibly associated with him. Other partners during this period included Paulette Goddard in Second Chorus , in which he dance-conducted the Artie Shaw orchestra.

He made two pictures with Rita Hayworth. He next appeared opposite the seventeen-year-old Joan Leslie in the wartime comedy The Sky's the Limit In it, he introduced Arlen and Mercer 's " 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. His next partner, Lucille Bremer , was featured in two lavish vehicles, both directed by Vincente Minnelli. The fantasy Yolanda and the Thief featured an avant-garde surrealistic ballet. While Follies was a hit, Yolanda bombed at the box office.

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 He nominated "Puttin' on the Ritz" as his farewell dance. He then concentrated on his horse-racing interests and in founded the Fred Astaire Dance Studios , which he subsequently sold in Astaire's retirement did not last long.

Both of these films revived Astaire's popularity and in he starred in two musicals. 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. The Band Wagon 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.

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. 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. 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 , in which he co-starred with Cyd Charisse and his final musical for MGM, also lost money at the box office.

Afterward, Astaire announced that he was retiring from dancing in films. His legacy at this point was 30 musical films in 25 years. Astaire did not retire from dancing altogether. He made a series of four highly rated Emmy Award -winning musical specials for television in , , , and Each featured Barrie Chase , with whom Astaire enjoyed a renewed period of dance creativity.

It was also noteworthy for being the first major broadcast to be prerecorded on color videotape. 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.

They restored the original videotape, transferring its contents to a modern format and filling in gaps where the tape had deteriorated with kinescope footage. Astaire played Julian Osborne, a non-dancing character, in the nuclear war drama On the Beach Astaire also wrote his own autobiography, titled Steps in Time , which he published in 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. Astaire continued to act in the s. He voiced the mailman narrator S. Astaire also appeared in the first two That's Entertainment! In the second compilation, aged seventy-six, he performed brief dance linking sequences with Kelly, his last dance performances in a musical film.

In , 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 television series Battlestar Galactica in , as Chameleon, the possible father of Starbuck , in "The Man with Nine Lives", a role written for him by Donald P.

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. His final film was the adaptation of Peter Straub 's novel Ghost Story.

This horror film was also the last for two of his most prominent castmates, Melvyn Douglas and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. 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 feature 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 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. 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. 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!