How did a dancer dismissed as having big hands, big ears, a weak chin, and no acting ability
go on to inspire Jackie Chan and The Beatles? And why did his more talented sister disappear
from the spotlight? Keep watching to find out the truth of Fred Astaire!
Fred Austerlitz was born in 1899 and began his career as a child, performing with his sister
Adele. This was encouraged by their mother, who fantasized about leaving Omaha, Nebraska, and
building a better life. According to the biography "Fred Astaire," the story started with Adele,
who started taking dancing lessons as a child. She was the main driver behind all the effort
put into the kids' upbringing; Fred just went along with it, mimicking his sister. After the
siblings moved to New York with their mother to pursue their stage careers, the only person they
knew was a dance teacher, who suggested they change their name from Austerlitz to Astaire.
Their first appearance on Broadway took place in the show "Over the Top" in 1917, and their
stage careers continued well into the 1920s, with musicals such as "Lady Be Good" and "Funny Face."
But they didn't really hit it big, so they moved to London, where they lived from 1928 to 1932.
There, they achieved success on the West End, regularly performing for many important people,
including Winston Churchill, the royal family, and Lord Charles Cavendish.
Adele and Fred's last performance took place in 1932,
just before Adele got married to Cavendish and ended her career for good. Fred always
regretted losing Adele as a dance partner, and he decided he would dance as a soloist from then on.
When the doors of Hollywood opened to a wider set of talents, including dancers and musicians in
1927, Fred and Adele Astaire were ready. After achieving a fair amount of success on Broadway
and Britain's West End, they confidently did a screen test for a "Funny Face" movie, but that
didn't result in a triumph as they expected. As Clive Barnes reported for Dance Magazine, the
producers did not like Adele at all, describing her as merely "lively." They found Fred unsuitable
as well, famously stating he, quote, "Can't act. Can't sing. Balding. Can dance a little."
That account may be apocryphal. What's a fact is that David O. Selznick,
the head of RKO studio and later an executive for MGM, saw potential in Fred. In 1933,
following Astaire's successful run in London, Selznick described him as, quote,
"one of the great artists of the day" in a letter to RKO assistants. He did mention Astraire's big
ears and weak chin line, but still thought that his charm came through even in the infamous
screening test. Soon after, MGM and Astaire signed a three-week contract for $1,500 per week.
The work he did during those three weeks would impress enough to launch a legendary career,
even though he later told Dick Cavett that he ultimately agreed that he wasn't a great actor.
"I don't think I'm much of an actor, frankly."
Fred Astaire was a perfectionist, always striving towards excellence. For him, it wasn't just
important to nail the choreography and perfect the rhythm, but to look good on camera as well.
According to Fred Astaire Dance Studios, he insisted that film dance scenes must
resemble a stage performance, meaning the dancer was fully framed in the shot with
as little interruptions from the camera as possible. He wasn't keen on close ups at all,
arguing for a wider angle which showed every part of the dancer's body. Quick transitions between
shots and lots of cuts drove him crazy because they interfered with the fluidity of movement.
As Anna Kisselgoff from The New York Times observes, the films he made more closely
resembled theater pieces than a regular movie which includes dance numbers. It didn't really
matter whether you saw him on stage or in a film, the effect on the viewer was the same. By this,
he invented a rare and completely new art form: the "film dance."
Fred Astaire's reaction to the idea of continuing to pair up with Ginger Rogers was very telling.
After his sister Adele left the business, he wrote to agent Leland Howard in 1934:
"What's all this talk about me being teamed with Ginger Rogers? I will not have it,
Leland — I did not go into pictures to be teamed with her or anyone else,
and if that is the program in mind for me, I will not stand for it."
According to "Fred Astaire," neither of them wanted to succeed in a partnership — Astaire
wanted a solo career, and Rogers wanted to be perceived more as an actress than a dancer.
And their personalities sometimes clashed. Astaire was a perfectionist and took the
concept of practice to a completely different level — even to the point where Rogers couldn't
take on new projects, since she spent so much time practicing dance numbers with Astaire.
He interfered with her performance clothes, losing his mind over feathers that got in
his mouth or bell-shaped sleeves which hit his face during spins. In turn,
she resented him for his massive success and felt she should deserve more praise for her work.
Astaire always paid attention to his clothes, but his style became even more notable during his days
in London. He started to follow fashion more closely, aspiring to look like a member of the
British upper class. He often visited Savile Row and its tailoring studios; his favorite
was Anderson & Sheppard, which was well known among the members of the royal family as well.
Lady Alexandra Metcalfe told biographer Sarah Giles in "Fred Astaire:
His Friends Talk" that, later in life, Astaire greatly admired the style
of Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, and his love of waistcoats.
When the information got out that the Prince of Wales dressed himself at Hawes & Curtis studio,
Astaire was there in no time. He also loved crisp shirts created by Beale and Inman.
According to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, Astaire often used his own suits
in movies. When he tried out the suits, he always performed some dance steps, to confirm
that the suit was suitable for dancing, and the tailoring stayed perfect even while moving around.
The suits had to be made in a special way, to allow more flexibility.
Fred Astaire crossed paths with the Beatles on several occasions throughout his life.
When the group was selecting the celebrities who would be portrayed on their legendary
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" cover in 1967, they thought of dancing icon Astaire.
The idea was to use paper cut outs of a crowd of famous people, who would surround the band,
photographed by Michael Cooper. Astaire was reportedly excited to participate.
John Lennon and Fred Astaire later met in summer of 1971, when Lennon and Yoko Ono moved to New
York. Neighbors at the famous St. Regis hotel in Manhattan, Astaire knocked on Lennon's door and
greeted the musician. Soon, they were working on Ono and Lennon's autobiographical movie,
"Imagine," with Astaire agreeing to play a small part — he played himself.
When Paul McCartney published an album of his American classical songs, he mentioned his
admiration for Fred Astaire. As McCartney told Laurence Juber in the One Track Mind podcast,
he always wanted jackets as Astaire had, smooth and straight.
But more than his dressing style, he loved Astaire's singing approach,
and he tried to imitate it when they recorded "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
Although Fred Astaire was quite small and very slender, his hands were unusually big.
As described in "Fred Astaire," his thinness was usually hidden under suits and jackets, always on
the verge of revealing how small-scaled Astaire actually was. But the hands — that was another
story: compact palms with bulky fingers, like the hands of a physical worker. The disproportionately
lengthy thumb didn't fit the rest of the hand, and the overall look was drastically
different from the elegant hands of ballet dancers. He told fellow dancer Leslie Caron,
"My hands are huge, look at them. In ballet you need to hold your hands
so gracefully, and my hands are so big that I would look ridiculous."
To cover this imperfection, he learned how to hide his hands in photo shoots as well as when dancing.
The latter was trickier, since he used the whole body while dancing,
including his hands, but he still managed to find a solution. He shortened and narrowed
the hand by bending his middle finger, while covering the fourth finger with it,
which made hands look smaller. He did pay special attention to hand gestures specifically,
rehearsing even minor actions, such as putting his hand in a pocket.
It's no secret that dance choreographies resemble the intricate pattern of martial arts techniques.
Jackie Chan, the legend of on-screen Kung-Fu fighting,
knew where to look for inspiration. He told the New York Post that Fred
Astaire is one of his heroes, along with Charlie Chaplin, Gene Kelly, and others:
"The silent veterans amaze me with what they were willing to do in an era where special
effects were unknown! They really did all the stunts themselves. Kelly and Astaire on the
other hand impressed me with their timing and rhythm. They influenced me a great deal in my
action choreography, especially in the use of impromptu on-the-set articles and objects."
According to Mental Floss, critics often correlate Chan's movie performances with the
ones of the famous dancers, and Chan confirmed this on many occasions, claiming he, quote,
"totally copied from Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire." But it wasn't just choreography;
Chan learned a great deal about framing and filming movement from Astaire's dance films.
He has claimed to choreograph his fighting scenes with a scene of Astaire dancing with a chair in
his mind, and looks up to his impeccable timing when creating comic sequences.
When Mikhail Baryshnikov presented the American Film Institute's Life Achievement
Award to Astaire in 1981, he revealed the truth about how others perceive Astaire:
“It's no secret. We hate him. He gives us complexes, because he's too perfect."
Baryshnikov wasn't the only dance icon who publicly praised Astaire for his brilliance.
Astaire inspired generations and generations of dancers.
Margot Fonteyn adored the ease of Astaire's dancing, which seemed, quote, "more natural
than breathing." And George Balanchine explained how rare a talent like Astaire is:
"He is like Bach, who in his time had a great concentration of ability,
essence, and knowledge [...]. Astaire has that same concentration of genius;
there is so much of the dance in him that it has been distilled."
Jerome Robbins, who included footage of Astaire and Rita Hayworth in his ballet "I'm
Old-Fashioned," in 1983, also included Astaire as one of his biggest influences. Even Rudolf
Nureyev himself admired Astaire, performing a tap piece in homage to Astaire in "The Muppet Show."
And Merce Cunningham told New York Magazine that it was Astaire's movies which inspired
him to first take dance lessons. When Cunningham presented Astaire with the Capezio Award in 1987,
he commended the unique character he had while dancing:
"The sheer pleasure of his dancing — a quality that makes us lose track of
mental gymnastics. It gives the mind a rest and the spirit a big boost."
Still, despite the accolades, Astaire expressed
to Dick Cavett a complicated relationship with his own work.
"I don't like watching myself. I don't know why. You always wish you had done something better."
Fred Astaire was fit and active in later life as well,
never giving up on his love of movement. He loved skateboarding,
a hobby he started when he was more than 70 years old, and of course he never stopped dancing.
He got married for the second time as well,
after spending 26 years as a widower, following the death of his first wife,
Phyllis, from cancer in 1954. He married Robyn Smith, a 35-year-old professional jockey, in 1980.
She told "Wide World of Sports,"
"Racing was my number one love. And finally it was displaced by Fred."
Astaire died seven years later, with Smith telling The Los Angeles Times:
"We'd had seven years of bliss. It was fate, absolutely; I know God put us together."
At 88, Astaire's life ended due to pneumonia,
which happened unexpectedly but didn't last long, according to Smith:
"I think his life just ran its course.
It's devastating to see someone you love fade away but thank God he didn't suffer."
Burial ceremonies took place in a private circle, and his will remained secret from the public,
although Smith did state he didn't wish to receive any additional acclaims posthumously.
She took over his matters after he died, fighting against anyone who would want
to unlawfully capitalize on Astaire's name or body of creative work. She said,
"I'm just trying to protect my husband. What he wanted,
what he didn't want. I'll do everything I can to carry out his wishes. I hope it
doesn't make me look bad or seem like a power trip. But if it does, so be it."
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