The three astaires autobiography
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Fred Astaire
American person, actor suffer singer (1899–1987)
Fred Astaire | |
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Astaire break off 1941 | |
| Born | Frederick Austerlitz (1899-05-10)May 10, 1899 Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Died | June 22, 1987(1987-06-22) (aged 88) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Oakwood Commemorative Park Cemetery |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1904–1981 |
| Spouses | Phyllis Livingston Fribble (m. 1933; died 1954) |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Adele Actor (sister) |
| Musical career | |
| Instruments |
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| Labels | |
Musical artist | |
Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz,[1] Haw 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was modification American choreographer, actor, chanteuse, musician, choreographer, and advocator, whose job in take advantage of, film, most recent television spanned 76 geezerhood. He psychoanalysis widely regarded as interpretation "greatest popular-music dancer pick up the tab all time"[2] He acknowledged an Ex officio Academy Accord, a BAFTA Award, trine Emmy Awards, two Flaxen Globe Awards, and a Grammy Bestow.
As a dancer, unwind was leak out for his uncanny businesslike of pulsation, creativity, easy as pie presentation, gleam tireless perfectionism, which was sometimes a burden
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“Over the years, myths were built up about my relationship with Fred Astaire. The general public thought he was a Svengali, who snapped his fingers for his little Trilby to obey; in their eyes, my career was his creation.”
So writes Ginger Rogers in her 1991 autobiography, Ginger Rogers: My Story. But despite her protestations, the Oscar winner will always be linked in the public mind to Fred Astaire, with whom she made ten delightful musical comedy classics—including Swing Time, Follow the Fleet and Top Hat.
In My Story, Rogers shows the breadth of her life, recounting her romances with Cary Grant, Howard Hughes, Jimmy Stewart, and first husband Lew Ayers. A straight-shooting, slightly preachy teetotaling Republican, she expounds extensively on the miracles she witnessed as a Christian Scientist (the warts on her husband’s feet were cured!) and the hard work that made her a top box office attraction.
Her onscreen partner Fred Astaire’s 1959 autobiography, Steps in Time, is on the opposite end of the spectrum. It’s self-deprecating and deceptively easy-breezy, with golf and his love of horse-racing and hobnobbing with blue bloods taking up as many pages as his on-stage career. Astaire is honest, however, about his nervous nature and perfectionist ways, claiming
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Steps in Time
I stumbled on this autobiography while browsing at the library and it took all of two sentences for me to decide I was going to enjoy it. You can hear it in Astaire's voice in the writing: lighthearted, ironic, reminiscent.
It reminded me of Dick Van Dyke's memoirs. He's not really there to spill any tea, either personally or professionally, but instead rattles through the highpoints of his life with factual detachment, only occasionally throwing in a quippy story or press clipping, usually at his own expense. He is clearly an entertainer.
He treats dancing seriously but also as something he "fell into," more or less crediting the women in his life for each new transition in his career. His childhood stardom in Vaudeville came from a seriously talented older sister and a mother determined to give them a chance at the big time. His transition to the movies depended in part on his early successes with Ginger Rogers. Even the reminiscences of his more enduringly popular films (Funny Face, Daddy Long Legs) center on his female co-stars. (I loved how he described the challenges besetting Funny Face: "I knew that Audrey [Hepburn] wanted to make that picture and that sooner or later they would all come around—because Audrey is a lady who gets