Fred Astaire Biography

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Birth Name:		Frederick Austerlitz Jr.
Date of Birth:		May 10, 1899
Birth Place:		Omaha, Nebraska
Date of Death:		June 22, 1987, Los Angeles, California
Marriages:		Phyllis Livingston Potter (1933 - 1954) Robyn Smith (1980 - 1987)
Children:		Eliphalet IV (son of Phyllis Potter) Fred Jr. (son) - born in 1936 Ava (daughter) - born in 1942
Big Break:		After playing vaudeville and Broadway as part of a successful brother and sister dance team, Fred Astaire had a Hollywood screen test and was cast as Joan Crawford's dance partner in the musical Dancing Lady.
Starmaking Role:		Flying Down to Rio
Biggest Hit:		This is a hard one for us. His most famous dance numbers are in Royal Wedding. The movie that is shown most on TV is Easter Parade. And he co-starred in the biggest blockbuster of the Seventies The Towering Inferno. We'll let you be the judge.
Comeback Vehicle:		Fred Astaire retired from movies in 1946 but he came back in 1948 to replace an injured Gene Kelley in Easter Parade and continued to perform until he was in his seventies branching out into dramatic acting.
Side Jobs:		Race Horse owner
Quintssential Quality:		Those tapping toes.