Fred Astaire (1900–1987)

I just spent a delightful 3 days reading the autobiography of Fred Astaire, or "Mr. A," as he was known at RKO. He was a talented inventor of dance routines and an astonishing performer on stage and screen.

In the book, Astaire describes his career with sister Adele onstage in New York City and London. The pair appeared in many musicals, including Apple Blossoms; For Goodness Sake; Lady, Be Good!; and Funny Face. After her retirement in 1932 to marry a British royal, Charles Cavendish, she moved to Lismore Castle in Ireland. Astaire went on to become a motion picture star in Hollywood.

The Astaires came from humble beginnings in Omaha, Neb. Their father started out in the leather industry. Their mother loved the theatre. She took Adele and Fred to New York to pursue a vaudeville career. They left their father at home to run a brewing business later.

The Astaires trained at several dance academies. Adele took lessons at Chambers Dancing Academy in Omaha. The Astaires found an ad in the New York Clipper for Claude's Dancing School in New York. In one of their early shows, the Astaires appeared in a vaudeville act featuring a wedding cake prop with bells and lights. They became a successful child act in New York and took the show to venues across the country.

The Astaires made excellent money from the beginning. Their salaries grew from $350 to $5,000 a week. This would be about $5,000 to $80,000 weekly in today's wages. Keep in mind that this was around 1910-1920.

Astaire shares many interesting stories about his career. Here are some of the best.

* He notes in the book that he and his sister disliked being the opening act to no applause, or the #2 billing to people trickling in and slamming down seats. He did well at #5 in big shows.

* Fred relates that he used a "rosin sock" to sprinkle the stage to make it safer for dancing. Otherwise, he said, he'd fall.

* Fred states that he liked songwriting best. He enjoyed composing music to the lyrics of songwriters.

* He also loved golf. It was his favorite pastime, other than training horses for races later in his career.

* Fred cites Aurelia Coccia as influential in his vaudeville career.

* Fred credits Eduardo Cansino, father of Rita Hayworth, for jumpstarting his movie career.

* He had an unrequited crush on an actress named Jessie Reed, who went on to appear in the Ziegfeld Follies.

* He met and married Phyllis Potter after pursuing her for 2 years.

* Fred hung up his shoes in old theatres so that mice wouldn't get into them.

* Fred got his best dancing ideas at 4 a.m.

* Fred liked the "early-to-bed, early-to-rise feeling" of Hollywood.

* From Ginger Rogers, he learned how to deliver dialogue on camera.

* In some films, he filmed dances first, solos last, and dubbed tap dance sounds "matched back to picture."

* Fred helped pick dresses for Ginger Rogers because their style and materials affected the dance choreography.

* Fred interspersed doing radio shows with films.

* There was a break between Astaire and Rogers after Adele showed Fred an article from the Cork Examiner stating that it was time for them to switch it up a bit.

* In the Holiday Inn movie, Fred really drank bourbon between takes to be inebriated for the New Year's Eve nightclub sequence.

* During a War Bond luncheon in Cleveland, his old tap shoes sold for $100,000 and his laces $16,000. This would be about $2 million and $350,000 today.

* During a USO tour of France and England, Fred danced up and down the aisles at hospitals.

* Fred brought back souvenirs from the tour, like German false teeth, an Italian pistol, and parachute silk for his kids.

* Fred loved working with Ann Miller in Easter Parade.

Overall, this is a quick, easy read filled with everything you ever wanted to know about America's dancing man, Fred Astaire.… (meer)