Editing Adele Astaire (section)

==Early life and vaudeville (1896–1917)==
Adele Marie Austerlitz was born on September 10, 1896, in [[Omaha, Nebraska]].{{sfn|Riley|2012|p=18}} Her parents were Johanna "Ann" Geilus, an American-born [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] of German descent, and Frederic "Fritz" Austerlitz, an Austrian-born [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] of [[Jews|Jewish]] descent.{{sfn|Riley|2012|pp=16–18}} Adele's younger brother, [[Fred Astaire|Fred Austerlitz]], was born three years after her.{{sfn|Riley|2012|p=18}}

Adele's birth year is cited incorrectly in some sources.{{efn|E.g. her obituary in the ''New York Times'', {{harvnb|Gaiter|1981}}}} Adele's mother became pregnant shortly before turning 16 years old, and married in 1894 with her father's consent.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fred Astaire |url=https://www.german-way.com/notable-people/featured-bios/fred-astaire/ |website=The German Way |access-date=19 February 2024}}</ref> That pregnancy did not come to term,{{sfn|Riley|2012|p=18}} and the couple later told people they had married in 1896 in order to avoid a perception of impropriety. The fictional marriage year created a second perception of impropriety when Adele was born in 1896, so the family later changed references to Adele's birthdate to 1897 or 1898. The altered timelines create confusion over the age gap between Adele and her brother Fred, with various sources giving the difference as anywhere from half a year to three years.

After Adele showed an early propensity for dance, she was enrolled in a local dance school. She soon stood out for her natural ability as a dancer, and began making appearances at local recitals and parties. Her parents decided to enroll Fred as well&nbsp;— a somewhat frail child in his earliest years&nbsp;— with the intention of having him build strength through dance training, and he, too, showed the beginnings of aptitude. When Adele was eight and Fred was five, a teacher suggested that the two children might have a stage career if they received proper training. This prompted the family to move from Omaha to New York, though the father returned to Omaha to work. Adele, Fred and their mother lived in a boarding house, and the children began attending the Alviene Master School of the Theatre and Academy of Cultural Arts.{{sfn|Riley|2012|pp=20–22}} Adele and Fred adopted the more American-sounding surname Astaire after trying several variations on the original Austerlitz, and their mother Ann also adopted the new surname.{{sfn|Riley|2012|p=25}}

[[File:Fred & Adele Astaire, ca. 1906.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.2|Adele and her brother Fred in 1906]]
In late 1905, with the assistance of her dance instructor Claude Alvienne, Adele Astaire began a professional [[vaudeville]] act with Fred. Alvienne helped them develop a routine involving two large, elaborate set pieces in the form of wedding cakes. Astaire and her brother, dressed up as a small bride and groom, danced up and down the cakes and activated small electric lights and musical bells with their feet. They played a simple waltz through their dance steps.{{sfn|Riley|2012|p=26}} The siblings performed intermittently at first, with their mother Ann acting as their manager and costume designer. They gained additional training from the ballet school of the [[Metropolitan Opera]] and from American choreographer [[Ned Wayburn]].{{sfn|Riley|2012|p=28}} Ann Astaire home schooled her children, with the exception of a stint in New Jersey, when Adele and Fred put their performance career on hold and attended regular school for two and half years. The adolescent Adele had grown so tall at the time that her smaller, younger brother, still catching up in height, looked awkward dancing with her.{{sfn|Riley|2012|p=33}}

After returning to the vaudeville circuit in 1911, Astaire and her brother struggled to find steady work for the next couple of years. Agents were initially uninterested in representing the relatively unknown pair.{{sfn|Riley|2012|pp=35–36}} In 1913, Astaire's father introduced the siblings to Aurelio Coccia, an experienced dance instructor and showman. He taught several new dances to the young Astaires and developed a new, more mature vaudeville routine for them.{{sfn|Riley|2012|pp=42–42}} Bookings became more frequent after this, as the pair gradually improved their act and reputation.{{sfn|Riley|2012|p=50}} In 1916, the siblings encountered a difficult year when the [[White Rats of America]], a union of vaudeville performers, staged a workers' strike that spread nationally, creating tense working relations between performers and vaudeville managers. Astaire and her brother, although not union members, lost valuable income nonetheless, and their father, unlucky enough to be working at a Nebraska brewery when state-wide [[Prohibition in the United States|prohibition]] was approved, was unable to offer financial support. When the union strike finally ended, the Astaire siblings returned to work at last, achieving a highly successful season.{{sfn|Riley|2012|p=51}}

As they grew older, the contrasting personalities of the siblings grew more distinct. Adele was a "perennial live wire": lively, gregarious, and known for her raw frankness, along with her colorful swearing. Fred, the hardworking perfectionist, was quieter and constantly anxious about all the details of their day-to-day work.{{sfn|Epstein|2008|pp=7–8}} While Fred might come to a venue two hours early to prepare for their show, Adele was more likely to arrive only minutes before she was due on stage.{{sfn|Barnett|1951b|p=26}} Despite their differences in temperament, the siblings were close. Astaire affectionately nicknamed her younger brother "Moaning Minnie" for his tendency to worry about every possible thing that could go wrong.{{sfn|Riley|2012|p=7}}