Fred Astaire had no shortage of titles and titles. He was not just an American actor, dancer, choreographer, singer, but also one of the longest-livers of stage and screen, performing in public for 76 years. According to the American Film Institute, he was one of the ten “greatest Hollywood movie stars.” Having starred in 31 films, Astaire is considered the founder of modern musical comedy. Recognized modern dancers Balanchine and Nureyev admired his choreography and impeccable sense of style.
His real name is Frederick Austerlitz. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, in May 1899. His father was from Austria and his mother was the daughter of German immigrants.
It was the parents who made Fred and his sister Adele stars of the first magnitude, and in this sense, today’s mothers and fathers of small prodigies can take their teaching experience into account. At first, the children were sent to dance school (usually they did not study at all). And when Fred was only five years old, his mother and children went to New York, where, as parents believed, their son and daughter will have a bright future.
Little dancers were lucky - they were accepted into the group "Orpheum", in which they toured almost all of America. Later, Fred recalled that his entire childhood was spent on stage, in a black coat and a white muffin.
Adele and Fred got their first roles in musical performances in 1915. The turning point in their lives was the musical “Breaking the Top”, with which they debuted on Broadway in 1917. The audience rolled into the concert halls to see the magnificent Astaires in the musicals “Lady, be good”, “Smiles”, “Music Car”, “Merry Divorced”.
In 1932, their wonderful duo broke up - Adele became the wife of Lord Charles Cavendish and left the stage, and Fred had no choice but to become a world star.
For the first time on the screen Fred appeared in 1933 in the film “Dancing Lady”, where his partner was Joan Crawford, and the real popularity to him as a film artist came after the release of the film “Flight to Rio”. The audience enjoyed watching the movie musicals with the participation of Fred: "Merry divorce",
"Cylinder" "Swing Time," "Let's Dance," "Careless," "Royal Wedding," "Funny Face,"
"Silk stockings" "The end of the world."
When he was young, he fell in love with Phyllis Potter, who was married and had a son. After Fred and Phyllis became lawful husband and wife, the actor adopted her child, they gave birth to two more children and lived a long and happy life together. Phyllis died of cancer in 1954 at the age of 46. When Fred was 81, he married Robin Smith, who was only 36. Seven years later, on June 22, 1987, Fred Astaire, a Hollywood legend, died of pneumonia in the arms of his young wife. /