Editing Fred Astaire (section)

==Life and career==
===1899–1916: Early life and career===
[[File:Fred & Adele Astaire, ca. 1906.jpg|left|thumb|Fred and his sister Adele in 1906]]

Fred Astaire was born Frederick Austerlitz on May 10, 1899, in [[Omaha, Nebraska]], the son of Johanna "Ann" ({{née|Geilus}}; 1878–1975) and Friedrich "Fritz" Emanuel Austerlitz (1868–1923), known in the U.S. as Frederic Austerlitz.<ref name="Billman"/><ref name="Fred Astaire (1899-1987)">{{cite web |url=http://www.germanhollywood.com/astaire.html#pop4 |title=Fred Astaire (1899–1987) aka Friedrich Austerlitz |last=Flippo |first=Hyde |website=The German–Hollywood Connection |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090102022043/http://www.germanhollywood.com/astaire.html#pop4 |archive-date=January 2, 2009 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 10, 2015}}</ref><ref name="AdeleAusterlitzBiog">{{cite web |url=http://www.adherents.com/people/pa/Adele_Astaire.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060228182304/http://www.adherents.com/people/pa/Adele_Astaire.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=February 28, 2006 |title=The Religious Affiliation of Adele Astaire |publisher=Adherents |date=September 20, 2005 |access-date=August 24, 2008}}</ref><ref name=Way>{{cite web |title= Frederick Austerlitz (1899-1987): An American with Austrian Roots |website= The German Way and More |url= https://www.german-way.com/notable-people/featured-bios/fred-astaire/ |access-date= May 25, 2021}}</ref> Astaire's mother was born in the U.S. to [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] German immigrants from [[East Prussia]] and [[Alsace]]. Astaire's father was born in [[Linz]] in [[Upper Austria]], then part of the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]], to [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] parents who had converted from [[Judaism]].<ref name="Billman"/><ref name="Austerlitz">{{cite book
 |last        = Garofalo
 |first       = Alessandra
 |url         = http://www.uni-service.it/austerlitz-sounded-too-much-like-a-battle-the-roots-of-fred-astaire-family-in-europe
 |title       = Austerlitz sounded too much like a battle: The roots of Fred Astaire family in Europe
 |publisher   = Editrice UNI Service
 |year        = 2009
 |location    = Italy
 |isbn        = 978-88-6178-415-4
 |url-status  = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110722060132/http://www.uni-service.it/austerlitz-sounded-too-much-like-a-battle-the-roots-of-fred-astaire-family-in-europe
 |archive-date = July 22, 2011
}}</ref><ref name="bookref09">{{cite book|last=Levinson|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Levinson|title=Puttin' On the Ritz: Fred Astaire and the Fine Art of Panache, A Biography|publisher=St. Martin's Press|date=March 2009|pages=1–4|isbn=978-0-312-35366-7}}</ref><ref>Satchell, p. 8: "'Fritz' Austerlitz, the 23-year-old son of Stephen Austerlitz and his wife Lucy Heller"</ref>

Astaire's father Fritz Austerlitz arrived in New York City at the age of 25 on October 26, 1893, at [[Ellis Island]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/login/czo2ODoiL3Bhc3Nlbmdlci1kZXRhaWxzL2N6b3hNam9pTmpBME9URTNNRFV3T0RVMklqcz0vY3pvNE9pSnRZVzVwWm1WemRDSTciOw==|title=The Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island|website=Libertyellisfoundation.org|access-date=October 18, 2019|archive-date=July 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709145159/https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/login/czo2ODoiL3Bhc3Nlbmdlci1kZXRhaWxzL2N6b3hNam9pTmpBME9URTNNRFV3T0RVMklqcz0vY3pvNE9pSnRZVzVwWm1WemRDSTciOw==|url-status=dead}}</ref> Fritz was seeking work in the brewing trade and moved to Omaha, Nebraska, where he was employed by the [[Storz Brewing Company]]. Astaire's mother dreamed of escaping Omaha by means of her children's talents. Astaire's older sister [[Adele Astaire|Adele]] was an instinctive dancer and singer early in her childhood. Johanna planned a brother-and-sister act, common in [[vaudeville]] at the time, for her two children. Although Fred refused dance lessons at first, he easily mimicked his older sister's steps and learned [[piano]], [[accordion]] and [[clarinet]].

When their father lost his job, the family moved to New York City in January 1905 to launch the show business careers of the children. They began training at the Alvieni Master School of the Theatre and Academy of Cultural Arts.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news |last=Bentley |first=Toni |title=Two-Step: 'The Astaires,' by Kathleen Riley |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/03/books/review/the-astaires-by-kathleen-riley.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times Book Review]] |date=June 3, 2012 |page=BR32}}</ref> Fred and Adele's mother suggested that they change their name to Astaire, as she felt that Austerlitz was reminiscent of the [[Battle of Austerlitz]]. Family legend attributes the name to an uncle surnamed L'Astaire.<ref>Thomas p. 17</ref>

The children were taught dance, speaking and singing in preparation for developing an act. Their first act was called ''Juvenile Artists Presenting an Electric Musical Toe-Dancing Novelty''. Astaire wore a top hat and tails in the first half and a lobster outfit in the second. In an interview, Astaire's daughter Ava Astaire McKenzie, observed that he was often given a top hat to make him look taller.<ref>''A Couple of Song and Dance Men'', 1975</ref> In November 1905, the comedic act debuted in [[Keyport, New Jersey]] at a "tryout theater." The local paper wrote that "the Astaires are the greatest child act in vaudeville."<ref>Bill Adler, ''Fred Astaire: A Wonderful Life'', Carroll & Graf Publishers, 1987, p. 13, {{ISBN|0-88184-376-8}}</ref>

As a result of their father's salesmanship, Fred and Adele Astaire landed a major contract and played the [[Orpheum Circuit]] in the Midwest, West and some Southern cities in the U.S. Soon Adele grew to at least three inches taller than Fred, and the pair began to look incongruous. The family decided to take a two-year break from show business to let time take its course and to avoid trouble from the [[New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children|Gerry Society]] and the child-labor laws of the time. In 1912, Astaire became an [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopalian]].<ref name="Astaire">{{cite book
  | last = Astaire
  | first = Fred
  | title = Steps in Time
  | publisher = Heinemann
  | year = 1959
  | location = London
  | oclc=422937 }}</ref> The career of the Astaire siblings resumed with mixed fortunes, but with increasing skill and polish, as they began to incorporate [[Tap dance|tap dancing]] into their act. From vaudeville dancer Aurelio Coccia they learned the tango, waltz and other ballroom dances popularized by [[Vernon and Irene Castle]]. Some sources<ref>e.g., Croce, 1st edition, 1972, footnote p. 14, removed at Astaire's request in 2nd edition, 1974 – see Giles (p. 24). Satchell pp. 41–43 claims to have detected their presence as extras "Even with the benefit of an editing machine, slow-motion, and stop-frame, the Astaires are almost lost in the mass of bodies"</ref> state that the Astaire siblings appeared in a 1915 film titled ''[[Fanchon the Cricket|Fanchon, the Cricket]]'', starring [[Mary Pickford]], but the Astaires have consistently denied this.<ref>Astaire p. 42 and Billman p. 4: "They observed the filming as visitors, but insisted they did not appear in the film."</ref><ref>"The cast may also have included Fred Astaire, then sixteen, and his sister Adele. There is no proof of this, and they do not surface in surviving reels."—{{cite book | last=Brownlow | first=Kevin | title=Mary Pickford Rediscovered | publisher=Harry N. Abrams, Inc. | year=1999 | location=New York | isbn=0-8109-4374-3}}</ref><ref>{{rp|103}}</ref>

By age 14, Astaire  had assumed the musical responsibilities for their act.<ref name="nyt"/> He first met [[George Gershwin]], who was working as a [[song plugger]] for [[Jerome H. Remick]]'s music publishing company, in 1916.<ref>Astaire p. 65: "We struck up a friendship at once. He was amused by my piano playing and often made me play for him."</ref> Astaire had already been hunting for new music and dance ideas. Their chance meeting was to affect the careers of both artists profoundly. Astaire was always on the lookout for new steps on the circuit and was starting to demonstrate his quest for novelty and perfection.

===1917–1933: Stage career on Broadway and in London===
[[File:AdeleFred1921.jpg|right|thumb|Fred and Adele Astaire in 1921]]
The Astaires broke into Broadway in 1917 with ''Over the Top'', a patriotic revue, and performed for U.S. and Allied troops at this time as well. They followed up with several more shows. Of their work in ''[[The Passing Show of 1918]]'', [[Heywood Broun]] wrote: "In an evening in which there was an abundance of good dancing, Fred Astaire stood out&nbsp;... He and his partner, Adele Astaire, made the show pause early in the evening with a beautiful loose-limbed dance."<ref>Bill Adler, ''Fred Astaire: A Wonderful Life'', Carroll & Graf Publishers, 1987, p. 35, {{ISBN|0-88184-376-8}}</ref>

Adele's sparkle and humor drew much of the attention, owing in part to Fred's careful preparation and sharp supporting choreography. She still set the tone of their act but by this time, Astaire's dancing skill was beginning to outshine his sister's.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

During the 1920s, Fred and Adele appeared on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] and the [[West End theatre|London stage]]. They won popular acclaim with the theater crowd on both sides of the Atlantic in shows such as [[Jerome Kern]]'s ''[[The Bunch and Judy]]'' (1922), George and [[Ira Gershwin]]'s ''[[Lady, Be Good (musical)|Lady, Be Good]]'' (1924), and ''[[Funny Face (musical)|Funny Face]]'' (1927) and later in ''[[The Band Wagon (musical)|The Band Wagon]]'' (1931). Astaire's tap dancing was recognized by then as among the best. For example, [[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."<ref name="Mueller"/> While in London, Fred studied piano at the [[Guildhall School of Music and Drama|Guildhall School of Music]] alongside his friend and colleague [[Noël Coward]],<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GBfVCQAAQBAJ&q=fred+astaire+guildhall+school&pg=PA36|title=Puttin' On the Ritz: Fred Astaire and the Fine Art of Panache, A Biography|first=Peter|last=Levinson|date=July 28, 2015|publisher=St. Martin's Publishing Group|isbn=9781250091499|via=Google Books}}</ref> and in 1926, was one of the judges at the '[[Charleston (dance)|Charleston]] Championship of the World ' competition at the [[Royal Albert Hall]], where [[Lew Grade]] was declared the winner.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

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.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

They split in 1932 when Adele married her first husband, [[Lord Charles Arthur Francis Cavendish|Lord Charles Cavendish]], the second son of the [[Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire|9th Duke of Devonshire]]. Fred went on to achieve success on his own on Broadway and in London with ''[[Gay Divorce]]'' (later made into the film ''[[The Gay Divorcee]]'') while considering offers from Hollywood. The end of the partnership was traumatic for Astaire but stimulated him to expand his range.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Free of the brother-sister constraints of the former pairing and working with new partner [[Claire Luce]], Fred created a romantic partnered dance to [[Cole Porter]]'s "[[Night and Day (song)|Night and Day]]", which had been written for ''Gay Divorce''. Luce stated that she had to encourage him to take a more romantic approach: "Come on, Fred, I'm not your sister, you know."<ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|6}} The success of the stage play was credited to this number, and when recreated in ''The Gay Divorcee'' (1934), the film version of the play, it ushered in a new era in filmed dance.<ref name="Mueller">{{cite book
| last = Mueller
| first = John
| title = Astaire Dancing&nbsp;– The Musical Films
| publisher = Hamish Hamilton
| year = 1986
| location = London
| isbn= 0-241-11749-6 }}</ref>{{rp|23, 26, 61}} Recently, film footage taken by [[Fred Stone]] of Astaire performing in ''Gay Divorce'' with Luce's successor, Dorothy Stone, in New York in 1933 was uncovered by dancer and historian Betsy Baytos and now represents the earliest known performance footage of Astaire.<ref>{{cite web|author=Betsy Baytos |title=Information on this footage in the Fred Stone Collection of the Broadway show Gay Divorcee (1933) |url=http://www.faconference.org/bio_baytos.htm |work=Fred Astaire: The Conference |publisher=The Astaire Conference |access-date=May 14, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150602045934/http://www.faconference.org/bio_baytos.htm |archive-date=June 2, 2015 }}</ref>

===1933–1939: Astaire and Ginger Rogers at RKO===
[[File:Top-Hat-Rogers-Astaire.jpg|thumb|[[Ginger Rogers]] and Fred Astaire in ''[[Top Hat]]'' (1935)]]
According to Hollywood folklore, a screen test report on Astaire for [[RKO Pictures|RKO Radio Pictures]], now lost along with the test, is reported to have read: "Can't sing. Can't act. Balding. Can dance a little." The producer of the Astaire–Rogers pictures, [[Pandro S. Berman]], claimed he had never heard the story in the 1930s and that it only emerged years afterward.<ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|7}} Astaire later clarified, insisting that the report had read: "Can't act. Slightly bald. ''Also dances''."<ref>Astaire made the comment in a 1980 interview on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[20/20 (American TV program)|20/20]]'' with [[Barbara Walters]]. Astaire was balding at the time he began his movie career and thus wore a toupee in all of his films.</ref> In any case, the test was clearly disappointing, and [[David O. Selznick]], who had signed Astaire to RKO and commissioned the test, stated in a memo, "I am uncertain about the man, but I feel, in spite of his enormous ears and bad chin line, that his charm is so tremendous that it comes through even on this wretched test."<ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|7}}

However, this did not affect RKO's plans for Astaire. They lent him for a few days to MGM in 1933 for his significant Hollywood debut in the successful musical film ''[[Dancing Lady]]''. In the movie, he appeared as himself dancing with [[Joan Crawford]]. On his return to RKO, he got fifth billing after fourth-billed Ginger Rogers in the 1933 [[Dolores del Río]] vehicle ''[[Flying Down to Rio]]''. In a review, ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' magazine attributed its massive success to Astaire's presence:

<blockquote>The main point of ''Flying Down to Rio'' is the screen promise of Fred Astaire&nbsp;... He's assuredly a bet after this one, for he's distinctly likable on the screen, the mike is kind to his voice and as a dancer, he remains in a class by himself. The latter observation will be no news to the profession, which has long admitted that Astaire starts dancing where the others stop hoofing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1933/film/reviews/flying-down-to-rio-1200410897/|title=Flying Down to Rio|work=Variety|date=January 1, 1934}}</ref><ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|7}}</blockquote>

Having already been linked to his sister Adele on stage, Astaire was initially very reluctant to become part of another dance team. He wrote his agent, "I don't mind making another picture with her, 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."<ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|8}} However, he was persuaded by the apparent 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 [[musical film|film musical]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Astaire and Rogers made nine films together at RKO: ''[[Flying Down to Rio]]'' (1933), ''[[The Gay Divorcee]]'' (1934), ''[[Roberta (1935 film)|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), ''[[Swing Time (film)|Swing Time]]'' (1936), ''[[Shall We Dance (1937 film)|Shall We Dance]]'' (1937),  ''[[Carefree (film)|Carefree]]'' (1938), and ''[[The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle]]'' (1939). Six out of the nine Astaire–Rogers musicals became the biggest moneymakers for RKO; all of the films brought a certain prestige and artistry that all studios coveted at the time. Their partnership elevated them both to stardom; as [[Katharine Hepburn]] reportedly said, "He gives her class and she gives him sex appeal."<ref name="Croce">{{cite book
  | last = Croce
  | first = Arlene
  | title = The Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Book
  | publisher = W.H. Allen
  | year = 1972
  | location = London
  | isbn=978-0-8109-4374-2}}</ref>{{rp|134}} 
Astaire received a percentage of the films' profits, something scarce in actors' contracts at that time.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

====Innovations====
Astaire revolutionized dance on film by having complete autonomy over its presentation.<ref>The only other entertainer to receive this treatment at the time was [[Greta Garbo]].</ref> He is credited with two important innovations in early film musicals.<ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|23, 26}} First, he insisted that a closely tracking dolly camera film a dance routine in as few shots as possible, typically with just four to eight cuts, while holding the dancers in full view at all times. This gave the illusion of an almost stationary camera filming an entire dance in a single shot. Astaire famously quipped: "Either the camera will dance, or I will."<ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|420}} Astaire maintained this policy from ''The Gay Divorcee'' in 1934 until his last film musical, ''[[Finian's Rainbow (1968 film)|Finian's Rainbow]]'' in 1968, when director [[Francis Ford Coppola]] overruled him.<ref>Coppola also fired Hermes Pan from the film. cf. Mueller p. 403</ref>

Astaire's style of dance sequences allowed the viewer to follow the dancers and choreography in their entirety. This style differed strikingly from those in the [[Busby Berkeley]] musicals. Those musicals' sequences were filled with extravagant aerial shots, dozens of cuts for quick takes, and zooms on areas of the body such as a chorus row of arms or legs.<ref name="Guardian">{{cite news |last1=Mackrell |first1=Judith |title=A kaleidoscope of legs: Busby Berkeley's flamboyant dance fantasies |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/mar/23/busby-berkeley-dance-42nd-street-choreography-film-musicals|newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=March 23, 2017}}</ref>

Astaire's second innovation involved the context of the dance; he was adamant that all song and dance routines be integral to the plotlines of the film. Instead of using dance as a spectacle as Busby Berkeley did, Astaire used it to move the plot along. Typically, an Astaire picture would include at least three standard dances. One would be a solo performance by Astaire, which he termed his "sock solo". Another would be a partnered comedy dance routine. Finally, he would include a partnered romantic dance routine.<ref name="Eiss">{{cite book |last1=Eiss |first1=Harry |title=The Mythology of Dance |date=September 18, 2013 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn=9781443852883 |page=213}}. While it would appear the passage in Wikipedia is a plagiarism of the book, the book's publication came AFTER the Wikipedia entry. It would appear the book plagiarized Wikipedia. The author is a full professor at U Michigan and the publisher is Cambridge, so it still is a reliable source.</ref>

====Assessment of the Rogers partnership====
[[File:fredginger.jpg|thumb|An RKO publicity still of Astaire and Rogers dancing to "[[Smoke Gets in Your Eyes]]" in ''[[Roberta (1935 film)|Roberta]]'' (1935)]]
Dance commentators [[Arlene Croce]],<ref name="Croce"/>{{rp|6}} Hannah Hyam<ref name="Hyam">{{cite book
  | last = Hyam
  | first = Hannah
  | title = Fred and Ginger: The Astaire–Rogers Partnership 1934–1938
  | publisher = Pen Press Publications
  | year = 2007
  | location = Brighton
  | isbn=978-1-905621-96-5}}</ref>{{rp|146–147}} and [[John Mueller]]<ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|8,9}} consider Rogers to have been Astaire's greatest dance partner, a view shared<ref name=GilesP33>Giles, p. 33 Pan: "I do not think [[Eleanor Powell]] was Fred's greatest dancing partner. I think Ginger Rogers was. Not that she was the greatest of dancers. Cyd Charisse was a much finer technical dancer"</ref> by Hermes Pan and [[Stanley Donen]].<ref name=GilesP33/> Film critic [[Pauline Kael]] adopts a more neutral stance,<ref>Kael: "That's a bit much", in an otherwise laudatory review of Croce's ''The Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Book'', writing in ''[[The New Yorker]]'', November 25, 1972</ref> while ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine film critic [[Richard Schickel]] writes "The nostalgia surrounding Rogers–Astaire tends to bleach out other partners."<ref>{{cite magazine |author-link=Richard Schickel |last=Schickel |first=Richard |date=July 6, 1987 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,964929,00.html |title=The Great American Flyer |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070223091706/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,964929,00.html |archive-date=February 23, 2007}}</ref>

Mueller sums up Rogers's abilities as follows:

<blockquote>Rogers was outstanding among Astaire's partners not because she was superior to others as a dancer, but because, as a skilled, intuitive actress, she was cagey enough to realize that acting did not stop when dancing began&nbsp;... the reason so many women have fantasized about dancing with Fred Astaire is that Ginger Rogers conveyed the impression that dancing with him is the most thrilling experience imaginable.<ref name="Mueller"/></blockquote>

According to Astaire, "Ginger had never danced with a partner before ''Flying Down to Rio''. She faked it an awful lot. She couldn't tap and she couldn't do this and that&nbsp;... but Ginger had style and talent and improved as she went along. She got so that after a while everyone else who danced with me looked wrong."<ref name="Satchell1">{{cite book |last=Satchell |first=Tim |date=1987 |title=Astaire: The Definitive Biography |publisher=Hutchinson |page=127 |isbn=978-0-09-173736-8}}</ref> On p.&nbsp;162 of his book ''Ginger: Salute to a Star'', author Dick Richards quotes Astaire saying to Raymond Rohauer, curator of the New York Gallery of Modern Art, "Ginger was brilliantly effective. She made everything work for her. Actually, she made things very fine for both of us and she deserves most of the credit for our success."{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

In 1976, British talk-show host [[Michael Parkinson]] asked Astaire who his favorite dancing partner was, on ''[[Parkinson (TV series)|Parkinson]]''. At first, Astaire refused to answer but ultimately he said "Excuse me, I must say Ginger was certainly, [uh, uh,] the one. You know, the most effective partner I ever had. Everyone knows."<ref>{{YouTube|id=xEaach8NrPUt=4m11s|title=Fred Astaire interview : Parkinson 1976}} The timestamp starts when he is asked who is his favorite dancing partner. The referenced quote is at 5:20.</ref>

Rogers described Astaire's uncompromising standards extending to the whole production: "Sometimes he'll think of a new line of dialogue or a new angle for the story&nbsp;... they never know what time of night he'll call up and start ranting enthusiastically about a fresh idea&nbsp;... No loafing on the job on an Astaire picture, and no cutting corners."<ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|16}}

Despite their success, Astaire was unwilling to have his career tied exclusively to any partnership. He negotiated with RKO to strike out on his own with ''[[A Damsel in Distress (1937 film)|A Damsel in Distress]]'' in 1937 with an inexperienced, non-dancing [[Joan Fontaine]], unsuccessfully as it turned out. He returned to make two more films with Rogers, ''[[Carefree (film)|Carefree]]'' (1938) and ''[[The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle]]'' (1939). While both films earned respectable gross incomes, they both lost money because of increased production costs,<ref name="Mueller"/>{{rp|410}} and Astaire left RKO after being labeled "[[Box Office Poison (magazine article)|box office poison]]" by the ''Independent Theatre Owners of America''. Astaire was reunited with Rogers in 1949 at MGM for their final outing, ''[[The Barkleys of Broadway]]'', the only one of their films together to be shot in [[Technicolor]].

===1940–1947: ''Holiday Inn'', early retirement ===
{{more citations needed|section|date=January 2024}}
[[File:BroadwayMelody1940.JPG|thumb|With [[Eleanor Powell]] in ''Broadway Melody of 1940'']]
Astaire left RKO in 1939 to freelance and pursue new film opportunities, with mixed though generally successful outcomes. Throughout this period, Astaire continued to value the input of choreographic collaborators. Unlike the 1930s when he worked almost exclusively with Hermes Pan, he tapped the talents of other choreographers to innovate continually. His first post-Ginger dance partner was the redoubtable [[Eleanor Powell]], considered the most exceptional female tap-dancer of her generation. They starred in ''[[Broadway Melody of 1940]]'', in which they performed a celebrated extended dance routine to Cole Porter's "[[Begin the Beguine]]". In his autobiography ''Steps in Time'', Astaire remarked, "She 'put 'em down' like a man, no ricky-ticky-sissy stuff with Ellie. She really knocked out a tap dance in a class by herself."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Astaire|first=Fred|title=Steps in Time|publisher=Harper & Brothers|year=1959|isbn=9780306801419|location=New York|pages=242}}</ref>

He played alongside [[Bing Crosby]] in ''[[Holiday Inn (film)|Holiday Inn]]'' (1942) and later ''[[Blue Skies (1946 film)|Blue Skies]]'' (1946). But, in spite of the enormous financial success of both, he was reportedly dissatisfied with roles where he lost the girl to Crosby. The former film is memorable for his virtuoso solo dance to "Let's Say it with Firecrackers". The latter film featured "[[Puttin' On the Ritz]]", an innovative song-and-dance routine indelibly associated with him. Other partners during this period included [[Paulette Goddard]] in ''[[Second Chorus]]'' (1940), in which he dance-conducted the [[Artie Shaw]] orchestra.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

[[File:Astaire-Hayworth-dancing.JPG|thumb|left|With [[Rita Hayworth]] in ''You Were Never Lovelier'' (1942)]]
He made two pictures with [[Rita Hayworth]]. The first film, ''[[You'll Never Get Rich]]'' (1941), catapulted Hayworth to stardom. In the movie, Astaire integrated for the third time Latin American dance idioms into his style (the first being with Ginger Rogers in "The Carioca" number from ''Flying Down to Rio'' (1933) and the second, again with Rogers, was the "Dengozo" dance from ''The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle'' (1939). His second film with Hayworth, ''[[You Were Never Lovelier]]'' (1942), was equally successful. It featured a duet to Kern's "[[I'm Old Fashioned]]", which became the centerpiece of [[Jerome Robbins]]'s 1983 [[New York City Ballet]] tribute to Astaire.

He next appeared opposite the seventeen-year-old [[Joan Leslie]] in the wartime comedy ''[[The Sky's the Limit (1943 film)|The Sky's the Limit]]'' (1943). In it, he introduced [[Harold Arlen|Arlen]] and [[Johnny Mercer|Mercer]]'s "[[One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)|One for My Baby]]" while dancing on a bar counter in a dark and troubled routine. Astaire choreographed this film alone and achieved modest box office success. It represented a notable departure for Astaire from his usual charming, happy-go-lucky screen persona, and confused contemporary critics.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Tick |first1=Judith |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GzGQSt2L_osC&dq=The+Sky's+the+Limit+(1943)+astaire+critics&pg=PA525 |title=Music in the USA: A Documentary Companion |last2=Beaudoin |first2=Paul |date=2008-09-26 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-803203-8 |language=en}}</ref>

His next partner, [[Lucille Bremer]], was featured in two lavish vehicles, both directed by [[Vincente Minnelli]]. The fantasy ''[[Yolanda and the Thief]]'' (1945) featured an avant-garde surrealistic ballet. In the musical revue ''[[Ziegfeld Follies (film)|Ziegfeld Follies]]'' (1945), Astaire danced with [[Gene Kelly]] to the Gershwin song "The Babbit and the Bromide", a song Astaire had introduced with his sister Adele back in 1927. While ''Follies'' was a hit, ''Yolanda'' bombed at the box office.<ref>{{cite web |title=Yolanda and the Thief |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/24667 |website=AFI Catalog |access-date=22 November 2024}}</ref>

Always insecure and believing his career was beginning to falter, Astaire surprised his audiences by announcing his retirement during the production of his next film, ''Blue Skies'' (1946). He nominated "Puttin' on the Ritz" as his farewell dance. He then concentrated on his horse-racing interests and in 1947 founded the [[Fred Astaire Dance Studios]], which he subsequently sold in 1966.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

===1948–1957: MGM films and second retirement===
[[File:Astaire, Fred - Daddy.jpg|thumb|In ''Daddy Long Legs'' (1955)]]
Astaire's retirement did not last long. He returned to the big screen to replace an injured [[Gene Kelly]] in ''[[Easter Parade (film)|Easter Parade]]'' (1948) opposite [[Judy Garland]], [[Ann Miller]], and [[Peter Lawford]]. He followed up with a final reunion with Rogers (replacing Judy Garland) in ''[[The Barkleys of Broadway]]'' (1949). Both of these films revived Astaire's popularity and in 1950 he starred in two musicals. ''[[Three Little Words (film)|Three Little Words]]'' with [[Vera-Ellen]] and [[Red Skelton]] was for MGM. ''[[Let's Dance (1950 film)|Let's Dance]]'' with [[Betty Hutton]] was on loan-out to Paramount. While ''Three Little Words'' did quite well at the box office, ''Let's Dance'' was a financial disappointment. ''[[Royal Wedding]]'' (1951) with [[Jane Powell]] and [[Peter Lawford]] proved to be very successful, but ''[[The Belle of New York (1952 film)|The Belle of New York]]'' (1952) with Vera-Ellen was a critical and box-office disaster. ''[[The Band Wagon]]'' (1953) received rave reviews from critics and drew huge crowds. However, because of its high cost, it failed to make a profit on its first release.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Soon after, Astaire, along with most of the other remaining stars at MGM, was dismissed by the studio due to the advent of television and the streamlining of film production. In 1954, Astaire was about to start work on a new musical, ''[[Daddy Long Legs (1955 film)|Daddy Long Legs]]'' (1955) with [[Leslie Caron]] at [[20th Century-Fox]]. Then, his wife Phyllis became ill and died of lung cancer. Astaire was so desolate that he wanted to shut down the picture and offered to pay the production costs out of his own pocket. However, [[Johnny Mercer]], the film's composer, and Fox studio executives convinced him that continuing to work would be the best thing for him. ''Daddy Long Legs'' was only moderately successful at the box office. His next film for Paramount, ''[[Funny Face]]'' (1957), teamed him with [[Audrey Hepburn]] and [[Kay Thompson]]. Despite the sumptuousness of the production and the good reviews from critics, the movie failed to recover its cost. Astaire's next film, ''[[Silk Stockings (1957 film)|Silk Stockings]]'' (1957), in which he co-starred with [[Cyd Charisse]] and his final musical for MGM, also lost money at the box office.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Afterward, Astaire announced that he was retiring from dancing in films. His legacy at this point was 30 musical films in 25 years.

===1957–1981: Television specials, serious roles ===
[[File:Fred Astaire 1962.JPG|thumb|Astaire in 1962]]
Astaire did not retire from dancing altogether. He made a series of four highly rated [[Emmy Award]]-winning musical specials for television in 1958, 1959, 1960, and 1968. Each featured [[Barrie Chase]], with whom Astaire enjoyed a renewed period of dance creativity. The first of these programs, 1958's ''[[An Evening with Fred Astaire]]'', won nine Emmy Awards, including "Best Single Performance by an Actor" and "Most Outstanding Single Program of the Year". It was also noteworthy for being the first major broadcast to be prerecorded on color videotape. Astaire won the Emmy for Best Single Performance by an Actor. The choice had a controversial backlash because many believed his dancing in the special was not the type of "acting" for which the award was designed. At one point, Astaire offered to return the award, but the Television Academy refused to consider it. A restoration of the program won a technical Emmy in 1988 for Ed Reitan, Don Kent, and Dan Einstein. They restored the original videotape, transferring its contents to a modern format and filling in gaps where the tape had deteriorated with [[kinescope]] footage.<ref>"Emmys" by Thomas O'Neil; Perigee Trade; 3 edition 2000; pp. 61–62</ref>

Astaire played Julian Osborne, a non-dancing character, in the nuclear war drama ''[[On the Beach (1959 film)|On the Beach]]'' (1959). He was nominated for a Golden Globe Best Supporting Actor award for his performance, losing to [[Stephen Boyd]] in ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-10-05 |title=The 32nd Academy Awards {{!}} 1960 |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1960 |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=www.oscars.org |language=en}}</ref> Astaire appeared in non-dancing roles in three other films and several television series from 1957 to 1969.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-03-06 |title=Biography Of Mr. Fred Astaire - Fred Astaire |url=https://www.fredastaire.com/mr-fred-astaire/ |access-date=2025-01-24 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Astaire also wrote his own autobiography, titled ''Steps in Time'', which he published in 1959.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/stepsintime0000asta/page/n5/mode/1up | title=Steps in time | date=January 5, 2024 | publisher=New York, Harper }}</ref>

Astaire's last major musical film was ''[[Finian's Rainbow (1968 film)|Finian's Rainbow]]'' (1968), directed by [[Francis Ford Coppola]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-08 |title=The final time Fred Astaire danced on screen |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/final-time-fred-astaire-danced-on-screen/ |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=faroutmagazine.co.uk |language=en-US}}</ref> Astaire shed his white tie and tails to play an Irish rogue who believes that if he buries a crock of gold in the shadows of [[United States Bullion Depository|Fort Knox]] the gold will multiply. Astaire's dance partner was [[Petula Clark]], who played his character's skeptical daughter. He described himself as nervous about singing with her, while she said she was worried about dancing with him.<ref>''Finian's Rainbow'' Original Soundtrack CD liner notes</ref> The film was a modest success both at the box office and among critics.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Finian's Rainbow, Box Office Information |url=https://www.worldwideboxoffice.com/movie.cgi?title=Finian%27s%20Rainbow&year=1968 |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=catalog.afi.com}}</ref>

Astaire continued to act in the 1970s. He appeared on television as the father of [[Robert Wagner]]'s character, Alexander Mundy, in ''[[It Takes a Thief (1968 TV series)|It Takes a Thief]]''. In the movie ''[[The Towering Inferno]]'' (1974), he danced with [[Jennifer Jones]] and received his only [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nomination, in the category of [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]. He voiced the mailman narrator S.D Kluger in the 1970s Rankin/Bass animated television specials ''[[Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (TV special)|Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town]]'' and ''[[The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town]]''. Astaire also appeared in the first two ''[[That's Entertainment!]]'' documentaries, in the mid-1970s. In the second compilation, aged seventy-six, he performed brief dance linking sequences with Kelly, his last dance performances in a musical film. In the summer of 1975, he made three albums in London, ''Attitude Dancing'', ''[[They Can't Take These Away from Me]]'', and ''[[A Couple of Song and Dance Men]]'', the last an album of duets with Bing Crosby. In 1976, Astaire played a supporting role, as a dog owner, in the cult movie ''[[The Amazing Dobermans]]'', co-starring [[Barbara Eden]] and [[James Franciscus]], and played Dr. Seamus Scully in the French film ''[[The Purple Taxi]]'' (1977).{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

In 1978, he co-starred with [[Helen Hayes]] in a well received television film ''[[A Family Upside Down]]'' in which they played an elderly couple coping with failing health. Astaire won an Emmy Award for his performance. He made a well publicized guest appearance on the [[Science fiction|science-fiction]] television series ''[[Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]'' in 1979, as Chameleon, the possible father of [[Lieutenant Starbuck|Starbuck]], in "The Man with Nine Lives", a role written for him by [[Donald P. Bellisario]]. Astaire asked his agent to obtain a role for him on ''Galactica'' because of his grandchildren's interest in the series and the producers were delighted at the opportunity to create an entire episode to feature him. This episode marked the final time that he danced on screen, in this case with [[Anne Jeffreys]]. He acted in nine different roles in ''[[The Man in the Santa Claus Suit]]'' in 1979. His final film was [[Ghost Story (1981 film)|the 1981 adaptation]] of [[Peter Straub]]'s novel ''[[Ghost Story (Straub novel)|Ghost Story]]''. This horror film was also the last for two of his most prominent castmates, [[Melvyn Douglas]] and [[Douglas Fairbanks Jr.]]{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}