Fred Astaire
Acting • Born 1899-05-10 – Died 1987-06-22
Biography
Fred Astaire (May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, singer, actor and choreographer. He is widely regarded as the most influential dancer in the history of film. Born as Frederick Austerlitz in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 10, 1899, to Johanna (Geilus) and Fritz, a brewer, he entered show business at age 5. He was successful in vaudeville and on Broadway as well as in London's West End together with his sister Adele, a partnership that lasted 27 years. After Adele retired to marry in 1932, Astaire headed to Hollywood. Signed to RKO, he was loaned to MGM to appear in Dancing Lady (1933) before starting work on RKO's Flying Down to Rio (1933). In the latter film, he was teamed with Ginger Rogers, with whom he worked in 9 RKO pictures. Astaire later appeared opposite a number of partners, including Cyd Charisse, Rita Hayworth, Vera-Ellen and Barrie Chase. Astaire remained active well into old age, starring in musicals through 1968, and also performed a number of straight dramatic roles in film and TV. Throughout his career, he was also active in recording and radio. He died of pneumonia on June 22, 1987 in Los Angeles.
Filmography
121 credits
Top Hat
Movie • 1935
Jerry Travers
Swing Time
Movie • 1936
Lucky Garnett
The Towering Inferno
Movie • 1974
Harlee Claiborne
The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town
Movie • 1977
S.D. Kluger (narrator) (voice)
Shall We Dance
Movie • 1937
Petrov
Roberta
Movie • 1935
Huck Haines
Ghost Story
Movie • 1981
Ricky Hawthorne
Second Chorus
Movie • 1941
Danny O'Neill
Daddy Long Legs
Movie • 1955
Jervis Pendleton III
Flashing Spikes
Movie • 1962
Narrator
Funny Face
Movie • 1957
Dick Avery
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
Movie • 1970
S.D. Kluger (voice)
Holiday Inn
Movie • 1942
Ted Hanover
Follow the Fleet
Movie • 1936
Bake Baker
Flying Down to Rio
Movie • 1933
Fred Ayres
The Gay Divorcee
Movie • 1934
Guy Holden
On the Beach
Movie • 1959
Julian Osborn
You'll Never Get Rich
Movie • 1941
Robert Curtis
The Band Wagon
Movie • 1953
Tony Hunter
Easter Parade
Movie • 1948
Don Hewes
Carefree
Movie • 1938
Tony Flagg
The Barkleys of Broadway
Movie • 1949
Josh Barkley
Finian's Rainbow
Movie • 1968
Finian McLonergan
Three Little Words
Movie • 1950
Bert Kalmar
Silk Stockings
Movie • 1957
Steve Canfield
The Belle of New York
Movie • 1952
Charlie Hill
Ziegfeld Follies
Movie • 1945
Fred Astaire / Raffles / Tai Long / Gentleman
Yolanda and the Thief
Movie • 1945
Johnny Parkson Riggs
The Sky's the Limit
Movie • 1943
Fred Atwell (Fred Burton)
You Were Never Lovelier
Movie • 1942
Robert Davis
Broadway Melody of 1940
Movie • 1940
Johnny Brett
Dancing Lady
Movie • 1933
Fred Astaire
A Damsel in Distress
Movie • 1937
Jerry Halliday
Royal Wedding
Movie • 1951
Tom Bowen
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle
Movie • 1939
Vernon Castle
The Notorious Landlady
Movie • 1962
Franklyn Ambruster
Showbiz Goes to War
Movie • 1982
(archive footage)
Blue Skies
Movie • 1946
Jed Potter
The World Premiere of 'Finian's Rainbow'
Movie • 1968
Self
That's Entertainment, Part II
Movie • 1976
Self - Co-Host / Narrator
The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again
Movie • 1970
The Baltimore Kid
The Purple Taxi
Movie • 1977
Dr. Seamus Scully
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Movie • 1972
Self (archive footage)
The Pleasure of His Company
Movie • 1961
Biddeford 'Pogo' Poole
The Amazing Dobermans
Movie • 1976
Daniel Hughes
Doris Day: It's Magic
Movie • 1998
Self
Let's Dance
Movie • 1950
Donald Elwood
George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey
Movie • 1985
Self
Midas Run
Movie • 1969
John Pedley
The Man in the Santa Claus Suit
Movie • 1979
Santa Claus
Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)
Movie • 1942
Self
A Family Upside Down
Movie • 1978
Ted Long
Going Hollywood: The '30s
Movie • 1984
(archive footage)
You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story
Movie • 1990
Self (archive footage)
Dance Crazy in Hollywood
Movie • 1990
Various Roles (archive footage)
"All -Singing All-Dancing" Before And After
Movie • 2006
Archive Footage
The Men Who Made the Movies: Vincente Minnelli
Movie • 1973
Self (archive footage)
Easter Parade: On the Avenue
Movie • 2005
Self (Archive Footage)
Cole Porter in Hollywood: Begin the Beguine
Movie • 2003
Cole Porter in Hollywood: Satin and Silk
Movie • 2003
Self (archive footage)
That's Entertainment!
Movie • 1974
Self - Host / Narrator
Get Aboard! 'The Band Wagon'
Movie • 2005
Self (archive footage)
Audrey Hepburn: Remembered
Movie • 1993
Self (archive footage)
A Bing Crosby Christmas
Movie • 1998
Self (archive footage)
Perspectives: For the Love of Fred Astaire
Movie • 2015
(archive footage)
That's Dancing!
Movie • 1985
Self (archive footage)
That's Entertainment! III
Movie • 1994
(archive footage)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Movie • 1975
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Musicals of the 40's
Movie • 2000
Self (archive footage)
Astaire Time
Movie • 1960
Self - Host
An Evening with Fred Astaire
Movie • 1958
Self
The Fred Astaire Show
Movie • 1968
Self - Host
Another Evening with Fred Astaire
Movie • 1959
Self
Complicated Women
Movie • 2003
Self (archive footage)
Twenty Years After
Movie • 1944
(archive footage)
Imagine
Movie • 1972
Self
The Lion Roars Again
Movie • 1975
Self
La La La
Movie • 2018
Various Roles (archive footage)
Stars of Cabaret
Movie • 1956
Self (archive footage)
Astaire and Rogers: Partners in Rhythm
Movie • 2006
Various / Self (archive footage)
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
Movie • 2009
Self (archive footage)
Bing Crosby: Rediscovered
Movie • 2014
Self (archive footage)
Sid & Judy
Movie • 2019
Self (archive footage)
Fred Astaire donne le 'la'
Movie • 2017
Self (archive footage)
Darcey Bussell: Looking for Fred Astaire
Movie • 2017
Self (archive footage)
Reunited at MGM: Astaire and Rogers Together Again
Movie • 2005
Self (archive footage)
The Fred Astaire Songbook
Movie • 1991
Self (archive footage)
Astaire and Rogers Sing the Great American Songbook
Movie • 2010
Self (archive footage)
S Wonderful, 'S Marvelous, 'S Gershwin
Movie • 1972
Self
Sem Título #1: Dance of Leitfossil
Movie • 2014
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression
Movie • 2009
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1940s: Stars, Stripes and Singing
Movie • 2009
(archive footage)
Gene Kelly - An American in Hollywood
Movie • 2025
Self (archive footage)
Hooray for Hollywood
Movie • 1976
Self (archive footage)
Rain Man
Movie • 1988
Self (archived footage)
The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes
Movie • 2022
The Ed Sullivan Show
TV • 1948
Self
General Electric Theater
TV • 1953
J. Willingham Bardley
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
TV • 1973
Self
The Steve Allen Show
TV • 1956
Self
Dr. Kildare
TV • 1961
Joe Quinlan
The Oscars
TV • 1953
Self
Alcoa Premiere
TV • 1961
Self - Host
The Kennedy Center Honors
TV • 1978
Self
The Emmy Awards
TV • 1949
Self
Talking Pictures
TV • 2013
Self (archive footage)
MGM Parade
TV • 1955
actor 'Broadway Melody of 1940' (archive footage) (uncredited)
MGM Parade
TV • 1955
Performer in 'Ziegfeld Follies'
Fred Astaire
TV • 1980
Self
Dinah!
TV • 1974
Self
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
TV • 1962
Self
General Electric Theater
TV • 1953
Paul Ashcroft
Battlestar Galactica
TV • 1978
Chameleon / Captain Dimitri
The Mike Douglas Show
TV • 1961
Self - Guest
Hollywood and the Stars
TV • 1963
Self (archive footage)
The Dick Cavett Show
TV • 1968
Self - Guest
The RKO Story: Tales From Hollywood
TV • 1987
Self
What's My Line?
TV • 1950
Self
The Mike Douglas Show
TV • 1961
Self - Co-Host
Cinépanorama
TV • 1956
Self
It Takes a Thief
TV • 1968
Alister Mundy