ALL ABOUT ASTAIRE Lord dance of the
1 Born in 1899, Astaire started dancing aged four. His mother would bring him to pick up his sister Adele from ballet class. By the time he was six and his sibling was eight, they were performing professionally.
But he was considered the less talented of the duo. The
2 pair had a vaudeville act into their 30s, only splitting when Adele quit to marry. Critics were dubious he could succeed solo with one writing: “Two Astaires are better than one.” His first screen test was notoriously bad. The screen
3 legend said the notes about him read: “Balding. Can’t act. Can dance a little.”
But one producer, David O Selznick, was so blown away
4 by Astaire’s dancing that despite his “enormous ears and bad chin line”, he gave him a contract at the RKO studios. He made 10 films with Ginger Rogers between 1933
5 and 1949 including Top Hat, Shall We Dance and The Gay Divorcee. He also starred in 1948’s Easter Parade with Judy Garland.
Top Hat is often considered his greatest film and produced
6 the famous numbers Top Hat, White Tie And Tails and Cheek To Cheek.
Astaire also starred with Audrey Hepburn in 1957’s
7
Funny Face and did three movies with Bing Crosby. At the height of his fame in the late 1930s,
8
Astaire’s legs were insured for a million dollars. Astaire was a huge fan of Michael Jackson,
9 calling him “the greatest dancer of the century”.
10 His last screen dance was on Battlestar Galactica, at 80, in 1979 – appearing because his grandkids watched it.
11 He began skateboarding in his 70s and broke his wrist aged 78. Twicemarried
12 Astaire, whose career spanned an incredible 76 years, died in 1987 aged 88. He had pneumonia. His life has never been portrayed on film and his will included a clause requesting that no such portrayal ever take place.