“As a dancer he stands alone, and no singer knows his way around a song like Fred Astaire.”—Irving Berlin
Today marks Fred Astaire‘s 113th birthday. He’s been gone nearly 25 years (he died on June 22, 1987), and if you wanted to make a list of the things that are wrong with the world today, the fact that Mr. Astaire no longer walks—nay, glides—among us would be on that list.
Astaire had a down-to-earth elegance that is all too rare, and, in addition to his legendary talents as a hoofer, he was an icon of classic style, a darned good singer, and, from all accounts, a fine gentleman, to boot.
This world’s just a little poorer for the 25 years we’ve been muddling through without Fred Astaire, but his film work reminds us of what we once had.
The clip below finds our Fred paired with the lovely (to put it mildly) Rita Hayworth in 1942’s You Were Never Lovelier, performing a Jerome Kern–Johnny Mercer song that could well serve as the Cladrite Radio theme song, “I’m Old-Fashioned.”
Happy birthday, Fred, wherever you are. And say hello to Ginger for us.
For more on Astaire, we recommend Trav S. D.’s overview of his life and career.
