The son of an Austrian immigrant, Fred Astaire entered show business at age 5. He was successful both in vaudeville and on Broadway in partnership with his sister, Adele Astaire. After Adele retired to marry in 1932, Astaire headed to Hollywood. Signed to RKO, he was loaned to MGM to appear in
Dancing Lady before starting work on RKO's
Flying Down to Rio...See full bio »
–
Mother's Help
(2010)
(performer: "Puttin' on the Ritz" - uncredited)
2009Johnny Mercer: The Dream's on Me
(TV documentary)
(music: "I'm Building Up to an Awful Let-Down" / performer: "One for My Baby and One More for the Road", "That's Entertainment", "Dearly Beloved", "Something's Gotta Give")
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The Fred Astaire Songbook
(1991)
(music: "I'm Building Up to an Awful Letdown" / performer: "They Can't Take That Away from Me", "Flying Down to Rio", "Night and Day", "Isn't It a Lovely Day", "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails", "This Is A Fine Romance", "Lovely to Look At", "Slap That Bass", "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off", "The Babbitt and the Bromide", "A Foggy Day", "He Loves and She Loves", "Steppin' Out with My Baby", "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket", "Cheek to Cheek", "Let's Face the Music and Dance", "A Couple of Swells", "I've Got My Eyes on You", "Drum Crazy", "I'm Building Up to an Awful Letdown", "I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man", "One for My Baby", "A Shine on Your Shoes", "By Myself", "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan", "I Love Louisa", "The Half of It, Dearie, Blues", "Oh, Lady Be Good", "How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life", "You're All the World to Me", "'s Wonderful")
1989Loverboy
(performer: "They Can't Take That Away From Me")
1988Rain Man
(performer: "Bouncin' the Blues" 1948 - uncredited, "They Can't Take That Away from Me" 1937 - uncredited, "Shoes with Wings On" 1948 - uncredited)
1985That's Dancing!
(documentary)
(performer: "I Won't Dance", "Night and Day", "Pick Yourself Up", "I Left My Hat in Haiti", "Thinking of You", "A Shine on Your Shoes")
1981AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Fred Astaire
(TV documentary)
(performer: "Putting All my Eggs in One Basket", "All Aboard for Alabam", "Begin the Beguine", "S'Wonderful", "Something's Gotta Give", "Chang Partners and Dance", "Cheek to Cheek", "Hold That Tiger", "Puttin' on the Ritz", "Top Hat" / "A Foggy Day", "A Fine Romance")
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Episode dated 16 July 1976
(1976)
(writer: "Life is Beautiful" - uncredited, "City of the Angels" - uncredited / performer: "Life is Beautiful" - uncredited, "City of the Angels" - uncredited)
1976That's Entertainment, Part II
(documentary)
(performer: "That's Entertainment" 1953 - uncredited, "I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man" 1951 - uncredited, "Be a Clown" 1948 - uncredited, "All of You" 1955 - uncredited, "Easter Parade" 1933 - uncredited, "Three Little Words" 1930 - uncredited, "Shubert Alley" 1976 - uncredited, "Triplets" 1937 - uncredited, "Steppin' Out with My Baby" 1948 - uncredited, "Cartoon Sequence" 1976 - uncredited, "A Couple of Swells" 1948 - uncredited, "Bouncin' the Blues" 1948 - uncredited, "Finale" 1976 - uncredited)
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Episode dated 4 May 1976
(1976)
(writer: "Life is Beautiful" - uncredited, "City of the Angels" - uncredited / performer: "Life is Beautiful" - uncredited, "City of the Angels" - uncredited)
1974That's Entertainment!
(documentary)
(performer: "Begin the Beguine" 1935 - uncredited, "The Babbitt and the Bromide" 1927 - uncredited, "They Can't Take That Away from Me" 1937 - uncredited, "Heigh-Ho, the Gang's All Here" 1933 - uncredited, "Let's Go Bavarian" 1933 - uncredited, "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan" 1929 - uncredited, "Sunday Jumps" 1951 - uncredited, "Shoes with Wings On" 1948 - uncredited, "You're All the World to Me" 1950 - uncredited, "Dancing in the Dark" 1931 - uncredited, "By Myself" 1937 - uncredited)
1970Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
(TV movie)
(performer: "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town", "What Better Way to Tell You")
1968Finian's Rainbow
(performer: "Look To The Rainbow" 1946 - uncredited, "If This Isn't Love" 1946 - uncredited, "When The Idle Poor Become The Idle Rich" 1946 - uncredited)
1957Silk Stockings
(performer: "Too Bad We Can't Go Back to Moscow" - uncredited, "Paris Loves Lovers" - uncredited, "Stereophonic Sound" - uncredited, "All of You" - uncredited, "Fated to Be Mated" - uncredited, "The Ritz Roll and Rock" - uncredited)
1957Funny Face
(performer: "Funny Face", "Bonjour, Paris!", "Let's Kiss and Make Up", "He Loves and She Loves", "Clap Yo' Hands", "'S Wonderful", "Overture: Funny Face/'S Wonderful/Think Pink!")
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Episode #1.19
(1956)
(performer: "The Babbitt and the Bromide")
1955Daddy Long Legs
(performer: "Something's Gotta Give", "Dream", "Sluefoot", "Texas Millionaire", "International Playboy", "Guardian Angel", "Nightmare Ballet Paris, Hong Kong, Rio" / "History of the Beat")
1953The Band Wagon
(performer: "By Myself" 1937 - uncredited, "A Shine on Your Shoes" 1932 - uncredited, "That's Entertainment" 1953 - uncredited, "Dancing in the Dark" 1931 - uncredited, "You and the Night and the Music" 1934 - uncredited, "I Love Louisa" 1931 - uncredited, "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan" 1929 - uncredited, "Triplets" 1937 - uncredited, "The Girl Hunt" 1953 - uncredited / "That's Entertainment" 1953 - uncredited)
1952The Belle of New York
(performer: "Who Wants to Kiss the Bridegroom?" - uncredited, "Seeing's Believing" - uncredited, "Baby Doll" - uncredited, "Oops" - uncredited, "A Bride's Wedding Day Song Currier and Ives" - uncredited, "I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man" - uncredited)
1951Royal Wedding
(performer: "EV'RY NIGHT AT SEVEN", "SUNDAY JUMPS", "OPEN YOUR EYES", "YOU'RE ALL THE WORLD TO ME", "I LEFT MY HAT IN HAITI", "HOW COULD YOU BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAID I LOVED YOU WHEN YOU KNOW I'VE BEEN A LIAR ALL MY LIFE")
1950Let's Dance
(music: "Piano Dance" - uncredited / performer: "Can't Stop Talking About Him" - uncredited, "Piano Dance" - uncredited, "Jack and the Beanstalk" - uncredited, "Oh Them Dudes" - uncredited, "The Hyacinth" - uncredited, "Tunnel of Love" - uncredited)
1950Three Little Words
(performer: "Where Did You Get That Girl?", "Mr. and Mrs. Hoofer at Home" - uncredited, "My Sunny Tennessee", "So Long! Oo-Long How Long You Gonna Be Gone?", "Test Dance" - uncredited, "Nevertheless", "Thinking of You", "Three Little Words")
1949The Barkleys of Broadway
(performer: "They Can't Take That Away from Me" 1937, "Swing Trot" 1949 - uncredited, "You'd Be Hard to Replace" 1949 - uncredited, "Bouncin' the Blues" 1949 - uncredited, "My One and Only Highland Fling" 1949 - uncredited, "Week-End in the Country" 1949 - uncredited, "Shoes with Wings On" 1949 - uncredited, "Manhattan Downbeat" 1949 - uncredited)
1948Easter Parade
(performer: "Happy Easter" - uncredited, "Drum Crazy" - uncredited, "It Only Happens When I Dance with You" - uncredited, "Beautiful Faces Need Beautiful Clothes" - uncredited, "I Love a Piano" - uncredited, "Snooky Ookums" - uncredited, "Ragtime Violin" - uncredited, "When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam'" - uncredited, "Steppin' Out with My Baby" - uncredited, "A Couple of Swells" - uncredited, "Easter Parade" - uncredited)
1946Blue Skies
(music: "Heat Wave" / performer: "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody", "Puttin' on the Ritz", "A Couple of Song and Dance Men", "Heat Wave")
1945Yolanda and the Thief
(performer: "Coffee Time" - uncredited, "Yolanda" - uncredited)
1945Ziegfeld Follies
(performer: "Here's to the Girls", "This Heart of Mine", "Limehouse Blues", "The Babbitt and the Bromide")
1943The Sky's the Limit
(performer: "My Shining Hour" - uncredited, "A Lot in Common with You" - uncredited, "Cuban Sugar Mill" - uncredited, "One for My Baby and One More for the Road" - uncredited)
1942You Were Never Lovelier
(performer: "You Were Never Lovelier" 1942 - uncredited, "Dearly Beloved" 1942 - uncredited, "Audition Dance" - uncredited, "Los Hijos de Buda" - uncredited, "Bim Bam Bum" - uncredited, "Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 in C Sharp Minor" 1847 - uncredited, "Eco" - uncredited, "I'm Old Fashioned" 1942 - uncredited, "The Shorty George" 1942 - uncredited)
1942Holiday Inn
(performer: "I'll Capture Your Heart Singing" 1942, "You're Easy to Dance With" 1942, "Be Careful, It's My Heart" 1942, "I Can't Tell a Lie" 1942, "Let's Say It with Firecrackers" 1942)
1941You'll Never Get Rich
(performer: "Boogie Barcarolle" 1941, "Shootin' the Works for Uncle Sam" 1941, "Since I Kissed My Baby Goodbye" 1941, "March Milastaire A-Stairable Rag" 1941, "So Near and Yet So Far" 1941, "The Wedding Cake Walk" 1941)
1940Second Chorus
(performer: "Sugar" - uncredited, "Sweet Sue Just You" - uncredited, "Would You Like to Be the Love of My Life", "I'm Yours" - uncredited, "The New Moon Is Shining" - uncredited, "Would You Like to Be the Love of My Life" reprise, "Poor Mr. Chisholm", "Poor Mr. Chisholm" reprise, "Dig It")
1940Broadway Melody of 1940
(performer: "Please Don't Monkey with Broadway" 1939 - uncredited, "I've Got My Eye on You" 1939 - uncredited, "Jukebox Dance" 1939 - uncredited, "I Concentrate on You" 1939 - uncredited, "Begin the Beguine" 1935 - uncredited)
1939The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle
(performer: "Only When You're in My Arms" 1939, "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" - uncredited, "King Chanticleer" - uncredited, "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee" - uncredited, "The Syncopated Walk" - uncredited, "Too Much Mustard Tres Moutarde" - uncredited, "Rose Room" - uncredited, "Tres Jolie" - uncredited, "Little Brown Jug" - uncredited, "Dengozo" - uncredited, "You're Here and I'm Here" - uncredited, "Chicago" - uncredited, "Hello, Frisco, Hello" - uncredited, "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans" - uncredited, "Take Me Back to New York Town" - uncredited, "Hello! Hello! Who's Your Lady Friend" - uncredited, "La Marseillaise" - uncredited / "Cecile Waltz" - uncredited, "Nights of Gladness" - uncredited, "Missouri Waltz" - uncredited)
1938Carefree
(performer: "Since They Turned Loch Lomand into Swing" 1938 - uncredited, "Carefree" 1938 - uncredited, "I Used To Be Color Blind" 1938 - uncredited, "The Yam" 1938 - uncredited, "Change Partners" 1938 - uncredited, "Jingle Bells" 1857 - uncredited)
1937Shall We Dance
(performer: "Slap That Bass" 1937 - uncredited, "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off" 1937 - uncredited, "They Can't Take That Away from Me" 1937 - uncredited, "Shall We Dance" 1937 - uncredited, "They All Laughed" 1937 - uncredited, "Beginner's Luck" 1937 - uncredited)
1937A Damsel in Distress
(performer: "I Can't Be Bothered Now" 1937 - uncredited, "The Jolly Tar and the Milkmaid" 1937 - uncredited, "Put Me to the Test" I've Just Begun to Live / 1937 - uncredited, "Stiff Upper Lip" 1937 - uncredited, "Things Are Looking Up" 1937 - uncredited, "A Foggy Day" 1937 - uncredited, "Nice Work If You Can Get It" 1937 - uncredited)
1936Swing Time
(performer: "Pick Yourself Up" 1936 - uncredited, "The Way You Look Tonight" 1936 - uncredited, "Waltz in Swing Time" 1936 - uncredited, "A Fine Romance" 1936 - uncredited, "Bojangles of Harlem" 1936 - uncredited, "Never Gonna Dance" 1936 - uncredited / "The Way You Look Tonight" 1936 - uncredited, "A Fine Romance" 1936 - uncredited)
1936Follow the Fleet
(performer: "We Saw the Sea" 1936 - uncredited, "Let Yourself Go" 1936 - uncredited, "I'd Rather Lead a Band" 1936 - uncredited, "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket" 1936 - uncredited, "Let's Face the Music and Dance" 1932 - uncredited)
1935Top Hat
(performer: "No Strings I'm Fancy Free" 1935 - uncredited, "Isn't This a Lovely Day to Be Caught in the Rain?" 1935 - uncredited, "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails" 1935 - uncredited, "Cheek to Cheek" 1935 - uncredited, "The Piccolino" 1935 - uncredited)
1935Roberta
(performer: "Let's Begin" 1933 - uncredited, "I'll Be Hard to Handle" 1933 - uncredited, "I Won't Dance" 1934 - uncredited, "Lovely to Look At" 1935 - uncredited, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" 1933 - uncredited)
1934The Gay Divorcee
(performer: "Don't Let It Bother You" 1934, "A Needle In a Haystack" 1934, "Night and Day" 1932, "The Continental" 1934, "The Continental" 1934 - uncredited)
1933Flying Down to Rio
(performer: "Carioca" 1933 - uncredited, "Orchids in the Moonlight" 1933 - uncredited, "Music Makes Me" 1933 - uncredited, "Flying Down to Rio" 1933 - uncredited)
1933Dancing Lady
(performer: "Heigh-Ho, the Gang's All Here" 1933, "Let's Go Bavarian" 1933)
1945Ziegfeld Follies
Fred Astaire ('Here's to the Ladies')/Raffles ('This Heart of Mine')/Tai Long ('Limehouse Blues')/Gentleman ('The Babbit and the Bromide')
[on actress/dancer Leslie Caron] A ballet dancer really, but technically good. I called her the sergeant major.
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Trivia:
Politically, Astaire was a conservative and a lifelong Republican Party supporter, though he never made his political views publicly known. Along with Bing Crosby, George Murphy, Ginger Rogers, and others, he was a charter (founding) member of the Hollywood Republican Committee.
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,4,136,14,196,arialbd,7,255,255,255,1_.jpg "It Takes a Thief: Season 3: Episode 22 -- Alistair Mundy recruits his son Al to join him in a plan to help King Armand save his country and daughter from scheming Gen. Contrell. Alistair buys a circus, which is scheduled to visit the kingdom to entertain Princess Carlotta and disguises himself.")
company.