Who was Fred Astaire's dancing partner in the musical film The Band Wagon
"film for Paramount, ""Funny Face"" (1957), teamed him with Audrey Hepburn and Kay Thompson and despite the sumptuousness of the production and the strong reviews from critics, it failed to make back its cost. Similarly, Astaire's next project – his final musical at M-G-M, ""Silk Stockings"" (1957), in which he co-starred with Cyd Charisse, also lost money at the box office. As a result, Astaire withdrew from motion pictures for two years. During 1952, Astaire recorded ""The Astaire Story"", a four-volume album with a quintet led by Oscar Peterson. The album, produced by Norman Granz, provided a musical overview of"
"of one of the two motion pictures made from this show. (The other was ""The Band Wagon."") This was the first New York production to use the double revolving stage for the songs and sketches. Although it had incomparable dancing by Fred and Adele Astaire, it was the last time the brother and sister team appeared together. In 2011, Lost Musicals, aka The Lost Musicals Charitable Trust, presented the UK premier of ""The Band Wagon"". Ian Marshall Fisher, director, Jason Carr, Music Director. A parody of the set pieces of the typical show, involved moonlight serenade, the waltz number, and"
"Broadway Melody of 1940 Broadway Melody of 1940 is a 1940 MGM film musical starring Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell and George Murphy. It was directed by Norman Taurog and features music by Cole Porter, including ""Begin the Beguine"". The film was the fourth and final entry in MGM's ""Broadway Melody"" series of films, and is notable for being the only on-screen pairing of Astaire and Powell, who were considered the finest film musical dancers of their time. Johnny Brett (Fred Astaire) and King Shaw (George Murphy) are a dance team so down on their luck they're working in a dance"
"Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, singer, actor, choreographer and television presenter. He is widely regarded as the most influential dancer in the history of film. His stage and subsequent film and television careers spanned a total of 76 years, during which he starred in more than 10 Broadway and London musicals, made 31 musical films, 4 television specials, and issued numerous recordings. As a dancer, he is best remembered for his uncanny sense of rhythm, his perfectionism, his innovation, and as the dancing partner and on-screen romantic"
"Nanette Fabray Nanette Fabray (born Ruby Bernadette Nanette Theresa Fabares; October 27, 1920 – February 22, 2018) was an American actress, singer, and dancer. She began her career performing in vaudeville as a child and became a musical-theatre actress during the 1940s and 1950s, winning a Tony Award in 1949 for her performance in ""Love Life"". In the mid-1950s, she served as Sid Caesar's comedic partner on ""Caesar's Hour"", for which she won three Emmy Awards, as well as co-starring with Fred Astaire in the film musical ""The Band Wagon"". From 1979 to 1984, she appeared as Katherine Romano on"
"very close friends with Rita Hayworth, and he served as a pallbearer at her funeral. Towards the end of his life, he visited Greece, especially his father's city, and met his relatives. Hermes Pan died on September 19, 1990, aged 80, from undisclosed causes. He was survived by his sister Vasso, nieces Michelene Laski, Mary Ann Johnson and Christa Meade, and by his nephew Rock Meade. Hermes Pan Hermes Pan (December 10, 1909 – September 19, 1990) was an American dancer and choreographer, principally remembered as Fred Astaire's choreographic collaborator on the famous 1930s movie musicals starring Astaire and Ginger"
"Hermes Pan Hermes Pan (December 10, 1909 – September 19, 1990) was an American dancer and choreographer, principally remembered as Fred Astaire's choreographic collaborator on the famous 1930s movie musicals starring Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Pan was born Hermes Joseph Panagiotopoulos in 1909 in Memphis, Tennessee to Pantelis Panagiotopoulos, a Greek immigrant, and Mary Aljeanne Huston, a Southerner. Pantelis, a confectioner by trade, was from a prominent family in Aigio in Peloponnese, where his family had opened the first theater. In 1895, at the age of twenty-seven, Pantelis was chosen to represent Aigio at the Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition"
"partner, Adele Astaire, made the show pause early in the evening with a beautiful loose-limbed dance."" By this time, Astaire's dancing skill was beginning to outshine his sister's, though she still set the tone of their act and her sparkle and humor drew much of the attention, owing in part to Fred's careful preparation and strong supporting choreography. During the 1920s, Fred and Adele appeared on Broadway and on the London stage in shows such as Jerome Kern's ""The Bunch and Judy"" (1922), George and Ira Gershwin's ""Lady, Be Good"" (1924), and ""Funny Face"" (1927) and later in ""The Band"
"Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Fred Astaire (May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) and Ginger Rogers (July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) were iconic dance partners who made motion pictures together from 1933 to 1949. They made a total of 10 films, nine of them with RKO Radio Pictures from 1933 to 1939, and one, ""The Barkleys of Broadway"", with M-G-M in 1949, their only color (Technicolor) film. Many years later, they became known by the portmanteau nickname of ""Fringer"", popularised by Australian entertainer Dave Gorr. Astaire started dancing in the early 1900s as a child on stage"
"Let's Dance (1950 film) Let's Dance is a 1950 musical romantic comedy Technicolor film starring Betty Hutton and Fred Astaire, and released by Paramount Pictures. A war widow returns to work with her former dancing partner, but her upper class mother-in-law is against that her grandson is being exposed to show business and takes legal steps to gain custody. Buoyed by the great success of MGM teaming Astaire with their biggest female musical star Judy Garland in the 1948 musical blockbuster ""Easter Parade"", Paramount decided to team Astaire with their biggest female musical star (Hutton) hoping that the same box-office"
"of $2,325,420. ""The Barkleys of Broadway"" would be Astaire and Rogers' final movie together, although both would continue to make films with other stars. In the 50s, Rogers' movie career declined due to a move away from classic film stars, but Astaire remained in the industry and branched out into television. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Fred Astaire (May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) and Ginger Rogers (July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) were iconic dance partners who made motion pictures together from 1933 to 1949. They made a total of 10 films, nine of them with RKO"
"Easter Parade (film) Easter Parade is a 1948 American musical film starring Judy Garland, Fred Astaire and Peter Lawford, featuring music by Irving Berlin, including some of Astaire and Garland's best-known songs, such as ""Easter Parade"", ""Steppin' Out with My Baby"", and ""We're a Couple of Swells"". It was the most financially successful picture for both Garland and Astaire as well as the highest-grossing musical of the year. In 1912, Broadway star Don Hewes (Fred Astaire) is buying Easter presents for his sweetheart (""Happy Easter""). At one store, he must persuade a young boy to part with a cuddly Easter"
"by the team of composer Arthur Schwartz and lyricist Howard Dietz. (Schwartz was a prolific Hollywood composer who teamed with numerous lyricists over the years, while Dietz, a studio publicist, generally collaborated with Schwartz.) Some of the songs in the film had been created for the original 1931 Broadway musical by Schwartz and Dietz which was also called ""The Band Wagon,"" with a book by George S. Kaufman and starring Fred Astaire and his sister Adele. The movie's dances and musical numbers were staged by Michael Kidd. The song ""That's Entertainment!"", which Schwartz and Dietz wrote specifically for the film,"
"Michael Kidd, Astaire's co-choreographer on the 1953 film ""The Band Wagon"", found that his own concern about the emotional motivation behind the dance was not shared by Astaire. Kidd later recounted: ""Technique was important to him. He'd say, 'Let's do the steps. Let's add the looks later.' "" Although he viewed himself primarily as an entertainer, his artistry won him the admiration of twentieth century dancers such as Gene Kelly, George Balanchine, the Nicholas Brothers, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Margot Fonteyn, Bob Fosse, Gregory Hines, Rudolf Nureyev, Michael Jackson, and Bill Robinson. Balanchine compared him to Bach, describing him as "","" while"
"Cyd Charisse Tula Ellice Charisse (née Finklea; March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008), known professionally as Cyd Charisse, was an American dancer and actress. After recovering from polio as a child and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s. Her roles usually focused on her abilities as a dancer, and she was paired with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly; her films include ""Singin' in the Rain"" (1952), ""The Band Wagon"" (1953), ""Brigadoon"" with Gene Kelly and Van Johnson (1954) and ""Silk Stockings"" (1957). She stopped dancing in films in the late 1950s, but continued acting in film and"
"Storz House in Omaha includes the ""Adele and Fred Astaire Ballroom"" on the top floor, which is the only memorial to the siblings' roots in Omaha. Adele Astaire Adele, Lady Charles Cavendish (born Adele Marie Austerlitz; September 10, 1896 – January 25, 1981), was an American dancer, stage actress and singer. She was Fred Astaire's elder sister, and his partner in a 27-year career in vaudeville and theater, beginning when he was five and she was eight. Adele Marie Austerlitz was born on September 10, 1896, in Omaha, Nebraska. Her parents were Johanna ""Ann"" Geilus, an American-born Lutheran of German"
"after a successful stint with Fred in the revue ""The Band Wagon"" on Broadway, Astaire retired from the stage. On May 9 of that year, Astaire married Lord Charles Cavendish, receiving the courtesy title of ""Lady Charles"". They moved to County Waterford in Ireland, where they lived at Lismore Castle. She had three children: a daughter in 1933 and twin sons in 1935, all of whom died soon after birth. She visited Hollywood and appeared in January 1936 on the Music Variety Show, but she admitted to feeling intimidated by her brother's reputation. During their partnership, Fred, whose perfectionism earned"
"(1934). In 1937, Burns and Allen starred with Fred Astaire in ""A Damsel in Distress"", a musical with an original score by George Gershwin, which introduced the song ""A Foggy Day"". It was Astaire's first RKO film without dancing partner Ginger Rogers. Astaire's co-star Joan Fontaine was not a dancer, and he was reluctant to dance on screen alone. He also felt the script needed more comic relief to enhance the overall appeal of the film. Burns and Allen had each worked in vaudeville as dancers (""hoofers"") before forming their act, and when word of the project reached them, they"
"but as for this 'team' idea, it's 'out!' I've just managed to live down one partnership and I don't want to be bothered with any more."" However, he was persuaded by the obvious public appeal of the Astaire-Rogers pairing. The partnership, and the choreography of Astaire and Hermes Pan, helped make dancing an important element of the Hollywood film musical. Astaire and Rogers made nine films together at RKO, including ""The Gay Divorcee"" (1934), ""Roberta"" (1935, in which Astaire also demonstrates his oft-overlooked piano skills with a spirited solo on ""I Won't Dance""), ""Top Hat"" (1935), ""Follow the Fleet"" (1936),"
"""Bojangles"" Robinson and John ""Bubbles"" Sublett. From vaudeville dancer Aurelio Coccia, they learned the tango, waltz, and other ballroom dances popularized by Vernon and Irene Castle. Some sources state that the Astaire siblings appeared in a 1915 film titled ""Fanchon, the Cricket"", starring Mary Pickford, but the Astaires have consistently denied this. By age 14, Fred had taken on the musical responsibilities for their act. He first met George Gershwin, who was working as a song plugger for Jerome H. Remick's music publishing company, in 1916. Fred had already been hunting for new music and dance ideas. Their chance meeting"
"Swing Time (film) Swing Time is a 1936 American RKO musical comedy film set mainly in New York City, and starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It features Helen Broderick, Victor Moore, Betty Furness, Eric Blore and Georges Metaxa, with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Dorothy Fields. The film was directed by George Stevens. Noted dance critic Arlene Croce considers ""Swing Time"" Astaire and Rogers' best dance musical, a view shared by John Mueller and Hannah Hyam. It features four dance routines that are each regarded as masterpieces. According to ""The Oxford Companion to the American Musical"", ""Swing"
"screen debut of dancer Fred Astaire, who appears as himself, as well as the first credited film appearance of Nelson Eddy, and an early feature film appearance of the Three Stooges – Moe Howard, Curly Howard, and Larry Fine – in support of the leader of their act at the time, Ted Healy, whose role in the films is considerably larger than theirs. The Algonquin Round Table humorist Robert Benchley plays a supporting role. Janie Barlow (Joan Crawford) is a young dancer who is reduced to stripping in a burlesque show. Arrested for indecent exposure, she is bailed out by"
"He always refused permission for such portrayals, saying, ""However much they offer me—and offers come in all the time—I shall not sell."" Astaire's will included a clause requesting that no such portrayal ever take place; he commented, ""It is there because I have no particular desire to have my life misinterpreted, which it would be."" Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, singer, actor, choreographer and television presenter. He is widely regarded as the most influential dancer in the history of film. His stage and subsequent film and television"
"""Let Yourself Go"", ""I'm Putting all My Eggs in One Basket"", and ""Let's Face the Music and Dance"" reached their highest positions of 3rd, 2nd, 3rd respectively in the US Hit Parade. Harriet Hilliard and Tony Martin made their screen debuts in this film. RKO borrowed Randolph Scott from Paramount and Astrid Allwyn from Fox for the production. Seaman ""Bake"" Baker (Fred Astaire) and Sherry (Ginger Rogers) are former dance partners, now separated, with Baker in the Navy and Sherry working as a dance hostess in a San Francisco ballroom, ""Paradise"". Bake visits the ballroom with his Navy buddy ""Bilge"""
"in ""The Mark of the Renegade"" (1951). Back at MGM Charisse was the leading lady in ""The Wild North"" (1951) with Stewart Granger, which was a huge hit. As Debbie Reynolds was not a trained dancer, Gene Kelly chose Charisse to partner with him in the celebrated ""Broadway Melody"" ballet finale from ""Singin' in the Rain"" (1952), which was acknowledged soon after release as one of the greatest musicals of all time. Charisse had an excellent role in ""Sombrero"" (1953). She had the lead female role in ""The Band Wagon"" (1953), where she danced with Astaire in the acclaimed ""Dancing"
"Scenic design by Frank E. Gates, and Edward A. Morange. Costume design by Wanamaker, Paul Poiret, and George Barber. It ran for 63 performances, closing on January 20, 1923. The cast was headlined by Fred Astaire (Gerald Lane), Adele Astaire (Judy Jordan), and Philip Tonge (Lord Kinlock). The Astaire siblings played the romantic couple. Gerald Bordman reports that ""Broadway’s critics were not bowled over. Although many headlines implied reviews would be raves, notices themselves were filled with qualifications. Most of the enthusiasm was reserved for the Astaires. When it came to Kern's score, the critics were generally unhappy"". Judy Jordan"
"(1951) with Jane Powell and Peter Lawford proved to be very successful, but ""The Belle of New York"" (1952) with Vera-Ellen was a critical and box-office disaster. ""The Band Wagon"" (1953), which is considered to be one of the finest musicals ever made, received rave reviews from critics and drew huge crowds. But because of its excessive cost, it failed to make a profit on its first release. Soon after, Astaire, along with all the other remaining stars at M-G-M, was let go from his contract because of the advent of television and the downsizing of film production. In 1954,"
"dialogue, music and effects, and an isolated music-only track intended for international release. The film earned $4,144,000 in the US and Canada and $1,659,000 overseas, resulting in a hefty profit. According to ""Variety"" it was the second most popular one of 1948. Easter Parade (film) Easter Parade is a 1948 American musical film starring Judy Garland, Fred Astaire and Peter Lawford, featuring music by Irving Berlin, including some of Astaire and Garland's best-known songs, such as ""Easter Parade"", ""Steppin' Out with My Baby"", and ""We're a Couple of Swells"". It was the most financially successful picture for both Garland and"
"Adele Astaire Adele, Lady Charles Cavendish (born Adele Marie Austerlitz; September 10, 1896 – January 25, 1981), was an American dancer, stage actress and singer. She was Fred Astaire's elder sister, and his partner in a 27-year career in vaudeville and theater, beginning when he was five and she was eight. Adele Marie Austerlitz was born on September 10, 1896, in Omaha, Nebraska. Her parents were Johanna ""Ann"" Geilus, an American-born Lutheran of German descent, and Frederic ""Fritz"" Austerlitz, an Austrian-born Roman Catholic of Jewish descent. Adele's younger brother, Fred, was born two years after her. When Adele was eight"
"Wagon"" (1931), winning popular acclaim with the theater crowd on both sides of the Atlantic. By then, Astaire's tap dancing was recognized as among the best, as Robert Benchley wrote in 1930, ""I don't think that I will plunge the nation into war by stating that Fred is the greatest tap-dancer in the world."" After the close of ""Funny Face"", the Astaires went to Hollywood for a screen test (now lost) at Paramount Pictures, but Paramount deemed them unsuitable for films. They split in 1932 when Adele married her first husband, Lord Charles Cavendish, second son of the 9th Duke"
"musical ""Gay Divorce"" (1932). Astaire tried to get Luce for the film version of ""Gay Divorce"", ""The Gay Divorcee"" (1934) but was overruled by the studio, RKO Radio Pictures, which preferred to use their contract player, Ginger Rogers. Of her performance in ""Gay Divorce"" the critic Brooks Atkinson wrote: ""In the refulgent Claire Luce, Fred Astaire has found a partner who can match him step for step and who flies over the furniture in his company without missing a beat."" Unfortunately, during the London run of ""Gay Divorce"", Luce suffered a serious injury during the ""Table Dance"" routine—a routine which"
"was a hit and has become a standard. Another song orchestrated by Conrad Salinger, ""Dancing in the Dark"", is considered part of the Great American Songbook and was from the original Broadway production. Astaire's early number in the film, ""A Shine On Your Shoes"" was actually written for a 1932 Broadway revue with music and lyrics by Dietz and Schwartz called ""Flying Colors"". It had originally been performed by the dancing team of Buddy and Vilma Ebsen. In the movie version of ""The Band Wagon"", the song was reworked to show off Astaire's musical talents. The film was nominated for"
"York Times"" wrote, ""It is for the most part quite a lively affair... The dancing of Fred Astaire and Miss Crawford is most graceful and charming. The photographic effects of their scenes are an impressive achievement...Miss Crawford takes her role with no little seriousness."" Box office<br> According to MGM records the film earned $1,490,000 in the US and Canada and $916,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $744,000. Dancing Lady Dancing Lady is a 1933 American pre-Code musical film starring Joan Crawford and Clark Gable, and featuring Franchot Tone, Fred Astaire, Robert Benchley, and Ted Healy and His Stooges (who"