Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire (1899 – 1987) was a film and stage dancer, choreographer, singer, musician and actor. He made thirty-one musical films, and was named the fifth greatest male star of all time by the American Film Institute. He had several partners throughout his career, starting with his sister Adele and ending in the 1960s with Barrie Chase, but the most famous of them was Ginger Rogers.
Filmography:
- Dancing Lady (1933)
- Flying Down to Rio (1933)
- The Gay Divorcee (1934)
- Roberta (1935)
- Top Hat (1935)
- Follow the Fleet (1936)
- Swing Time (1936)
- Shall We Dance (1937)
- A Damsel in Distress (1937)
- Carefree (1938)
- The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
- Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940)
- Second Chorus (1940)
- You'll Never Get Rich (1941)
- Holiday Inn (1942)
- You Were Never Lovelier (1942)
- The Sky's the Limit (1943)
- Yolanda and the Thief (1945)
- Ziegfeld Follies (1946)
- Blue Skies (1946)
- Easter Parade (1948)
- The Barkleys of Broadway (1949)
- Three Little Words (1950)
- Let's Dance (1950)
- Royal Wedding (1951)
- The Belle of New York (1952)
- The Band Wagon (1953)
- Daddy Long Legs (1955)
- Funny Face (1957)
- Silk Stockings (1957)
- Finian's Rainbow (1968)
- Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (1970)
- That's Entertainment, Part II (1976) (narrator and performer)
Fred Astaire provides examples of the following tropes:
- Academy Award: He received an honorary award in 1949/1950 for "for his unique artistry and his contributions to the technique of musical pictures" which was presented to him by Ginger Rogers.
- The Cast Showoff: Fortunately, musicals allow opportune moments for people to get behind the piano (from Roberta).
- Enforced Method Acting: The drunken dance he performed in Holiday Inn: he drank two shots of bourbon before the first take, and another shot before each additional take. What ended up in the final film is something like the seventh take.
- Nice Hat
- The Oner: His dance routines were often these, especially the solos. Example.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Always.
- Those Two Actors: Him and Ginger Rogers.
