May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987
Fred Astaire was born Frederick Austerlitz in Omaha, NE. His father anglicized the family name during World War I to Astaire. By the age of four, Astaire began taking ballet lessons and only a few years later began studying at a performing-arts school in New York.
It was in 1933 when Mr. Astaire was first paired with Ginger Rogers. The two became one of the most famous dancing pairs in history and ultimately starred in ten films with one another. Mr. Astaire performed in more than thirty films during his career.
Mr. Astaire died at the age of eighty-eight and was survived by his second wife, Robyn Smith Astaire, whom he married at the age of eighty-one and when she was thirty-five years old. He also had three children – a son and a daughter from his first marriage and a son of his first wife.
In 1993, Astaire’s widow, Robyn Smith Astaire, made news when she refused to allow images of Fred dancing with Ginger Rogers to air on television for the broadcast of the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts Honors, at which Ms. Rogers was being honored for her life’s achievement in film.1 Mrs. Astaire was granted the control over the rights of Fred Astaire’s name and film images in an addendum to his will. Mrs. Astaire has been diligent in preserving her late husband’s image and has gone after any impermissible use of his image.
For the 25th anniversary of Fred Astaire’s death in 2012, Huffington Post UK posted photos of Astaire throughout the years. You can view those photos here. You can also read Fred Astaire’s obituary by clicking here.
1“Keeping the Flame,” People, Vol. 39 No. 7, February 22, 1993
