Frederick Austerlitz

He was born May 10, 1899. Was a kid in a brother-sister act in vaudeville, and broke big in the theater. Rumor has it that Adele was the real star of the act, and he almost quit after she quit the act to get married.

Introducing Fred to the movies: It's hard to believe he didn't immediately pack up and leave Hollywood after this, his film debut, but fortunately for us, he stuck it out. Key thing: look at how his head is held up at all times, and how she keeps looking at either his feet or her feet. That's not acting; that's being Joan Crawford in a dance number with Fred Astaire.

His best partner? Some say it was the one with whom he made it to the top:



But, obviously, this was his best partner, if you're just talking about dancing skill:



If you go to 2:34 in this clip, you'll see one of the last times he ever danced on film. Watch it without a tear in your eye, if you can. Coppola knew how to frame an exit. (Fred did do a little more hoofing in That's Entertainment Part 2, but it wasn't quite the same. It was sort of fun, though.)

We can say, with complete certainty, that there will never again be anyone like Fred Astaire. The world in which he could arise is long gone. No one will ever dance that way again. No one could. Thank God for movies, and the fact that we can still watch him whenever we want.
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Honi Coles

As Arlene Croce said about Fred Astaire, he could tap, but he wasn't one of the all-time great tap dancers. That distinction goes to a handful of others; prominent among these is Charles "Honi" Coles, born on April 2, 1911.

We are blessed, first, with film of much of the art of the 20th Century, and second, easy access to all that film in the 21st. I don't have to say anything about the amazing elegant Mr. Coles, or the speedy music of his feet. You can see it for yourself. This clip is about 8 minutes long, and you're not going to be able to tear yourself away, so set aside those few minutes to savor:

The unique Fred Astaire

Whatever it was that he did, he was the only major movie star of the studio era—perhaps of any era—to have had the career his talent meant him to have, and to have had it as long as he liked.

Dance critic Arlene Croce is the author of the indispensible The Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers Book. Perhaps because she understands dance so well, she understands Fred Astaire. It's not just that she can discuss his style and appreciate what he did, but she can explain why. Astaire was unique. Although he was a child of Vaudeville and Broadway, it was in movies that he found his metier. He invented Fred Astaire as a movie performer:

What Astaire produced was himself, in all his variety—as soloist, as partner, as singer, as actor, as instrumentalist (piano, drums). He choreographed all his own numbers, usually with the assistance of his near double Hermes Pan; he supervised the filming and cutting; and before choreographing a number he worked out its whole musical structure... In short, wherever you looked in the musical as opposed to the scenic and dramatic process, you found Astaire.

Ostensibly in They’re the Top Croce is reviewing two books, one on Fred and one on his career with his sister Adele. She takes the opportunity to dissect the two, and to write an extremely informative piece, even to someone who knows Astaire backwards and forwards. Read it, if you have any interest in the art of film, the art of music, or the art of dance (or in Fred Astaire's case, the art of all three put together).

And here's Fred dancing solo in Flying Down to Rio in 1933:

Cyd Charisse

Born on this date in 1922, the dancer had a wonderful quote about Kelly and Astaire, her two most famous partners: "It's like comparing apples and oranges. They're both delicious."

We could post all sorts of videos of Charisse and either of these partners, or others, but since she appeared in one particular scene that has never been surpassed in the history of musicals, there's no point to it. This one says it all: