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His birth name was Fred Austerlitz and he went on to become known as one of the greatest tappers of all time - Fred Astaire. He used his training as Broadway dancer to bring a unique fluidity and beauty to his tap dancing that had a big impact on how future generations of tappers would perform.
Fred Astaire started on Vaudeville performing alongside his sibling, Adele. She eventually retired, leaving Fred to seek film work. Though his initial screen tests were disappointing, he managed to convince the RKO studio "Head of Production" that he had something special to contribute. This led to his appearance in many great movies, including those that feature him dancing alongside the incredible Ginger Rogers.
Though Fred Astaire always appeared to be improvising his steps, dancers that worked with him revealed that he actually spent countless hours choreographing each of his movements. Because his movies earned so much money, he was given complete choreographic autonomy. Taking advantage of this freedom, he introduced innovations to how dancers were shown on film, demanding that the entire body be included in each frame without having the camera switch to closeups of the face, feet, or anything else. Moreover, Fred Astaire felt that it was important that dance moved the plot of the film forward, rather than just featuring the moves. Pulling together dance steps and acting made the segments more appealing to Depression-era audiences. Through his incredible genius he became a leader in making tap an important part of Hollywood productions!
Fred Astaire died of pneumonia on June 22, 1987. He was interred wearing a smoking jacket, black pants, and patent leather shoes. Fred Astaire's life will likely never be portrayed on film as this would be against his wishes. He felt that any such portrayal would misinterpret his life and fail to honor his truth. Footage of him dancing was allowed to be used in a Dirt Devil vacuum commercial in accord with his wish that he only be seen dancing with an electrical appliance after his death.
Fred Astaire's impact on the world's of dance and film cannot be denied. He was a true film legend!
Fred Astaire started on Vaudeville performing alongside his sibling, Adele. She eventually retired, leaving Fred to seek film work. Though his initial screen tests were disappointing, he managed to convince the RKO studio "Head of Production" that he had something special to contribute. This led to his appearance in many great movies, including those that feature him dancing alongside the incredible Ginger Rogers.
Though Fred Astaire always appeared to be improvising his steps, dancers that worked with him revealed that he actually spent countless hours choreographing each of his movements. Because his movies earned so much money, he was given complete choreographic autonomy. Taking advantage of this freedom, he introduced innovations to how dancers were shown on film, demanding that the entire body be included in each frame without having the camera switch to closeups of the face, feet, or anything else. Moreover, Fred Astaire felt that it was important that dance moved the plot of the film forward, rather than just featuring the moves. Pulling together dance steps and acting made the segments more appealing to Depression-era audiences. Through his incredible genius he became a leader in making tap an important part of Hollywood productions!
Fred Astaire died of pneumonia on June 22, 1987. He was interred wearing a smoking jacket, black pants, and patent leather shoes. Fred Astaire's life will likely never be portrayed on film as this would be against his wishes. He felt that any such portrayal would misinterpret his life and fail to honor his truth. Footage of him dancing was allowed to be used in a Dirt Devil vacuum commercial in accord with his wish that he only be seen dancing with an electrical appliance after his death.
Fred Astaire's impact on the world's of dance and film cannot be denied. He was a true film legend!
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See Fred Astaire and many of the most famous tap dancers that ever lived at www.FamousTapDancers.com. It's a great collection of tap video clips that will keep you enthralled for hours Grab a totally unique version of this article from the Uber Article Directory
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