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LEN GOODMAN: Fred Astaire.

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(WHISTLES)

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The most inventive, stylish

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and exciting dancer in the world.

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Growing up in a grey, post-war London
my great escape was the pictures.

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And to sit there watching Fred
Astaire in white tie and tails

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gliding across the floor with
effortless ease,

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well, it just captured me. I was
spellbound.

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His technical precision,

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the sharpness of his movements,

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the jaw-dropping choreography

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all set to the memorable music of
Irving Berlin.

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It's never left me.

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Over a career of 76 years,

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Fred Astaire was the ultimate
entertainer

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with 11 hits on the stage and 31
films.

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Fred Astaire changed the history of
dance forever.

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He revolutionised how dance was shown
on film.

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And with Ginger Rogers,

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seen here in Follow The Fleet,

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led the most romantic dance duo ever

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dancing in perfect ballroom harmony.

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And look at his legacy.

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Even some of Michael Jacksons
signature moves

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were influenced by his hero.

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He even got the way he pushed his
hat forward from Fred.

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Fred Astaire. He makes it look so
glamourous, so magical.

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The key, for me...

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When I go to the cinema I want to
come out feeling better than I did
when I went in.

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And do you know what happens with
Fred Astaire?

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You walk in. (CHUCKLES)

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You waltz out.

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(JAZZ PLAYING)

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FRED ASTAIRE: # Have you seen the
well to do? #

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1930s America - film is the most
powerful medium of the modern age

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and Fred Astaire its unlikely poster
boy.

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(LAUGHS) And here's why.

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You can see here

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in No Strings I'm Fancy Free from Top
Hat

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an elegance, glamour

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and crucially the rhythm of Fred's
dancing to Irving Berlin's music.

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It's perfect.

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It took weeks of relentless
rehearsals

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to make just five minutes of film.

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What Fred does baffles me.

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I want to find out

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what exactly made Fred Astaire

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such an electrifying dancer.

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Just how did a shy boy from Nebraska
grow up to be the most famous dancer
in the world?

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It was here, New York, in the early
20th century

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that young Fred first got his love
for music,

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his obsession with rhythm and it's
here that he first learned to dance.

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Frederick Austerlitz, born at the
turn of the 19th century,

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was enrolled in the Alviene School Of
Dancing

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when he was just six years old.

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Fred Astaire started dancing when he
was a little whippersnapper unlike
myself.

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I didn't start dancing till I was 21.

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Now, I tell people I had an injury
playing football

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and the doctor suggested that I went
to rehabilitate myself.

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That's a lie. It was all about girls.

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Now, young Fred didn't start dancing
because he was naturally gifted or
keen.

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He was neither.

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He was dragged to dance school by his
mother just to be a dancing partner

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to his very pretty and very talented
older sister, Adele.

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The young Fred hated it and did
everything to avoid lessons.

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The only one thing Fred really
enjoyed was hearing the rhythm as the
teacher beat time.

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This maybe one of the first clues for
Fred Astaire's amazing flair for
rhythm.

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In this drum sequence

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from Damsel In Distress

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Fred revels

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in the syncopated rhythms.

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Sometimes hitting it dead on,

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sometimes just before

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sometimes just after.

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Such exhilarating effect.

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Fred's amazing sense of rhythm

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was also inspired by a new dance
phenomenon

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that was taking turn-of-the-century
New York by storm.

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Do it again!

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Jason Samuel Smith is an expert on
the history of the new dance that
hooked Fred -

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tap.

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Now, tell me, Jason, how did tap
dancing begin?

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What was its origins?

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Well, tap dance started very much
like hip-hop started in the inner
city here.

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Tap dance more or less started on
the plantations

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during slavery times.

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It was a way for the Africans to
express themselves through music and
dance.

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Most of their culture was taken -
their names, their history,

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their religion. So tap dance became
a form of all of that culture balled
up into one element

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where it expressed music, dance,
joy, pain, everything.

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Who were his heroes? Who influenced
him? There were a lot of acts at that
time.

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People like the great Bill Bojangles
Robinson.

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I think one of his primary
influences was definitely John
Bubbles.

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He really had the crown.

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He was rapidly improving and
innovating

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and adding all these different
elements

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that didn't exist before him. A lot
of these black artists didn't have a
platform

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but Fred Astaire he acknowledged
their existence and tried to give
them credit

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through the dance that he did. I
can't tap dance but I'd love to give
it a go.

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All right, we'll do something like a
Shu-ffle step.

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Shu-ffle step. There you go.

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(TAPPING) You're making it look
smooth already.

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I love it when they get that and they
go...

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Like the...little slide.

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(LAUGHS) I like that, man.

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By 1905, Fred and Adele were ready
for their New York debut.

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Their opening number

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was the pair dressed as a miniature
bride and groom

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dancing on top of a wedding cake.

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They made quite an impression.

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Within a few years they were touring
a vaudeville act throughout the
United States.

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Adele was eleven years old. Fred was
just nine.

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But, sadly for Fred, wherever they
went all the reviews praised Adele
but totally overlooked him.

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Biographer Peter Evans thinks this
might have had quite an effect on
young Fred.

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In the early stages it was Adele who
was the star.

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She had all the vivacity, the
cheekiness, the natural talent.

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Whereas he had to work at whatever
talents or gifts that he had.

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Fred had to work to perfect his
dancing and that was the way that he
could make his mark.

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I can sympathise so much with Fred
because when I first danced, I'd been
dancing six months

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and my partner, Cherry, had been
dancing for 15 years.

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Everything came hard to me.

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I remember one of the dance teachers
said, "Oh, Cherry, you're such a
beautiful dancer.

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Len, you're dancing like an oaf."

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That's the sort of thing that
happened with Fred Astaire.
Absolutely.

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He wasn't really yet the dancer that
we know and love.

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Fred was three years younger than
Adele, so there was a height
difference. Yeah.

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How did they overcome that? Well, one
of the ways was to get him to wear a
top hat.

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So the top of the hat was the same
kind of height as she was.

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In some of the shows that they were
in he had to play the female.

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And she had to play the male.

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Oh, they swapped over? Yeah. Because
of the height. Yeah.

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There was all that fragility about
Fred Astaire. I suppose that if you
were living and working

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in the shadow of a much stronger
personality of whom you are in awe,

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that sense of straining for
achievement,

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that sense of uncertainty about the
standards that you are reaching

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is going to remain with you for the
rest of your career. Yeah.

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From 1908 to 1922 Fred and Adele
performed across America.

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It was exciting but exhausting

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as they moved from town to town
competing with the other performers
to get the top billing.

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Fred later wrote, "We played every
rat trap and chicken coop in the
Midwest."

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This was one lesson that Fred never
forgot - success didn't come without
hard graft.

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Their new challenge was to break into
musicals.

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Glamourous Broadway was their goal.

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But they needed the right dance
routine and the right music to make
them stand out.

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Fred had caught the dancing bug and
there was no going back.

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Everything stimulated his
imagination. New steps, new routines,
new music - everything.

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He made it his quest to search out
the best music he could and there was
no better place to come than here.

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We're in New York - Tin Pan Alley.
What more can you wish for?

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Before radio, the only way popular
songs could be heard was when they
were played live.

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So all the shops in the street that
wanted to sell sheet music

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used pianists to bang out the tunes
on pianos.

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You can imagine the din. That's how
Tin Pan Alley got its name.

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It would have sounded like hundreds
of pots and pans clanking away.

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It was here that Fred Astaire had a
chance encounter with a young pianist
that changed his life forever.

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# GERSHWIN: Rhapsody In Blue

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It was a young George Gershwin
working as a humble son plugger.

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He later went on to become one of
America's most famous composers and
pianists

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writing Porgy and Bess and Rhapsody
in Blue.

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And it was Gershwin that helped Fred
and Adele make it to Broadway

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bringing out Fred's great love and
talent for music.

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For me, Fred Astaire was more than a
dancer.

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He was part of the orchestra. His
body became an instrument.

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His lower body was the percussion -
always beating out the rhythm, sharp
and clean.

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His upper body was the melody -
moving, free flowing.

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Fred Astaire. He was the complete
dancer.

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I want to know is it the music that
made the dance or the dance that made
the music.

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(PIANO CHORDS) # You say either and
I say either

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# You say neither and I say neither

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# Either, either

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# Neither, neither

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# Let's call the whole thing off

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# You say potato

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# And I say pot-ah-to

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# I say tomato

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# And I say tom-ah-to

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# Potato. Pot-ah-to

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# Tomato. Tom-ah-to

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# Let's call the whole thing off #

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(LAUGHS) I think we're a hit. I
think so too.

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Now, early days. There's Fred
Astaire, there's George Gershwin and
they met.

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What was it that made them such life-
long friends?

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They realised that they both had
this incredible enthusiasm,

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both being in their teens,

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for contemporary music of that time
which was considered a little
dangerous.

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We're talking about the beginnings
of Jazz. Gershwin is writing these
rags.

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(PLAYS FAST RAGTIME)

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Fred is inspired in a way that he's
never been before.

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At one point George says, "Fred,
wouldn't it be great

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if one day Ira and I write a score
and you and Adele star in it?"

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That's exactly what happened a few
years later - 1924 - on Broadway in
Lady Be Good.

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Was it the music that made the dance
or the dance that made the music?

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Fred always started with the music
first.

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Let's say that Irving Berlin had
this idea.

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(PLAYS TOP HAT, WHITE TIE AND TAILS)

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And Fred would say, "Let's see."

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If he felt he could so something
with that tune, they would develop
the song. It was revolutionary

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I never really felt that Fred Astaire
had the most fantastic voice

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and yet all these composers wanted to
write for him.

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He hated his own voice. He had 16mm
prints of all of his dance sequences
from his movies

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and he excised every vocal that
preceded them. He couldn't stand his
own singing.

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So he agreed with you.

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You know, what I love is the way Fred
Astaire could interpret the music.

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He had great pitch. He had this
conversation ability.

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And his ability with rhythm... To
bend a phrase and make it fill with
tension.

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So a song like They Can't Take That
Away From Me is one that shows how
he could phrase uniquely.

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The song is written... # The way you
wear you hat

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# The way you sip...

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Fred would sing...

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# The way you wear you hat

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# They way you sip your tea #

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# The memory of all that

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# Oh, no, they can't take that away
from me #

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He came to understand that he could
express much more by doing less.

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That was one of his secrets. Less is
more.

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By the 1920s there was a marked
shift in Fred's dancing.

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He was now beginning to outshine his
sister.

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But even so he would never shake the
feeling that he had to work harder
than Adele to see results.

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He later wrote, "The only way I know
to get a good show is to practice,
sweat, rehearse and worry.

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Adele called him Moaning Minnie as he
constantly nagged for her to practice
their routines.

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He called her Good Time Charlie as
she wanted to party non-stop.

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He even resorted to bribing her with
presents to get her to rehearse.

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But it paid off.

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They were a hit on Broadway and in
1923 they became the darlings of
London society

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performing in Stop Flirting.

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The London critics went wild.

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For a country scarred by the horrors
of World War One,

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Fred and Adele's witty, charming
musicals were just the ticket.

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It was a trans-Atlantic love affair.

229
00:16:04,700 --> 00:16:11,340
Fred bought American musical comedies
to London and London gave something
back to Fred -

230
00:16:11,340 --> 00:16:14,580
a great sense of style.

231
00:16:15,460 --> 00:16:18,780
You wouldn't call Fred Astaire a
good-looking guy.

232
00:16:18,780 --> 00:16:20,660
He was hardly a hunk.

233
00:16:20,660 --> 00:16:24,820
He had sticky-out ears, a bit thin on
top, a bit skinny.

234
00:16:24,820 --> 00:16:30,220
But there was something about him. It
was the style, the elegance.

235
00:16:30,220 --> 00:16:34,020
You know, they say clothes don't
maketh the man

236
00:16:34,020 --> 00:16:38,700
but in Fred's case, and mine, he got
it just right.

237
00:16:45,580 --> 00:16:50,460
Fred knew how his well-tailored
clothes enhanced his posture and
movement

238
00:16:50,460 --> 00:16:55,220
and this striking dress sense made
him into a thoroughly modern icon.

239
00:16:55,220 --> 00:17:02,780
Ingeniously mixing old-fashioned
English elegance with a new-world
American sporty casualness.

240
00:17:02,780 --> 00:17:09,740
And with it Fred was becoming a
sought-after young man on and off the
stage.

241
00:17:10,380 --> 00:17:16,220
Fred met a 23-year-old girl at a golf
party and he was totally smitten.

242
00:17:16,220 --> 00:17:21,980
He said it was her gentle beauty,
grace and charm that had him
spellbound.

243
00:17:21,980 --> 00:17:26,900
And the fact she couldn't pronounce
her 'Rs'. I know somebody else like
that.

244
00:17:26,900 --> 00:17:29,900
Pw-rawn. Pw-rune.

245
00:17:29,900 --> 00:17:33,140
Wr-ural. T-wry.

246
00:17:35,100 --> 00:17:39,620
This girl was Phyllis Potter, a
gorgeous New York socialite,

247
00:17:39,620 --> 00:17:44,380
who, after two years of courting,
Fred married.

248
00:17:44,380 --> 00:17:47,940
Now, love is a wonderful thing but it
can get in the way.

249
00:17:47,940 --> 00:17:54,660
Fred was still mad keen to keep
dancing but his sister was not.

250
00:17:58,580 --> 00:18:01,900
Just as Fred and Adele were hitting
the big time in London,

251
00:18:01,900 --> 00:18:06,660
suddenly, in 1932, it all came
tumbling down.

252
00:18:07,020 --> 00:18:11,300
Adele had fallen in love with Lord
Charles Cavendish.

253
00:18:12,100 --> 00:18:16,860
Adele wanted to marry, retire from
the stage and have a family.

254
00:18:18,700 --> 00:18:24,380
This was a terrible blow for Fred who
had never danced with anyone else in
his whole life

255
00:18:24,380 --> 00:18:29,860
and relied on his beautiful sister's
talent and confidence as his partner.

256
00:18:31,620 --> 00:18:39,340
After 27 years of the prefect dance
duo, Fred danced one last time with
his beloved sister Adele.

257
00:18:39,340 --> 00:18:46,380
It was on the 5th March 1932 and from
then on Fred had to go it alone.

258
00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:51,800
(JAZZ PLAYING)

259
00:18:55,240 --> 00:19:01,120
In 1933, at the age of 34, Fred was
forced to take a radical step.

260
00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:07,280
Traumatised by the loss of his
beloved sister Adele as his life-long
dance partner,

261
00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:11,160
he decided to try something
completely new -

262
00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:13,800
Hollywood!

263
00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:19,480
This is the main gates to Paramount
Studios, formerly RKO.

264
00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:24,240
And Fred must have driven through
these gates thousands of times.

265
00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:31,240
It was here that the best directors,
producers, script writers,
choreographers all got together.

266
00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:36,040
This is where the magic happened.
This was the golden age of Hollywood.

267
00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:41,720
The ultimate dream factory had its
heyday in the 1930s

268
00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:44,480
capturing the hearts and imagination
of the world

269
00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:48,600
with glamour, luxury romance and
fantasy.

270
00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:54,640
It was the perfect antidote to the
real economic misery of the time.

271
00:19:54,640 --> 00:20:00,600
As on the streets the Great
Depression spread fear, poverty and
hunger.

272
00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:05,320
It was at this time of extremes that
Fred Astaire made it here.

273
00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:10,280
But don't be fooled. Making it big
doesn't just happen over night.

274
00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:14,440
I left school when I was 15

275
00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:19,040
and the day before I left school the
headmaster said, "Goodman,

276
00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:20,920
you'll always be a failure."

277
00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:23,800
Well, here I am. I made it to
Hollywood.

278
00:20:23,800 --> 00:20:26,240
Eat your heart out, Mr Daniels.

279
00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:29,000
Follow me.

280
00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:31,920
This is where I film Dancing With The
Stars.

281
00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:33,680
Hair, gorgeous.

282
00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:38,800
Fred came to a studio like this at
RKO for his first screen test

283
00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:44,880
and, surprisingly, Hollywood was
similarly slow to recognise the
talent of Fred Astaire.

284
00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:49,400
The producers watched his performance
and a note came back -

285
00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:52,280
"Can't sing. Can't act.

286
00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:54,560
Balding.

287
00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:55,760
Can dance a bit."

288
00:20:57,320 --> 00:21:04,400
But the legendary movie mogul David
Selznick looked at it back and in the
end decided to take a chance.

289
00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:06,800
The result was this -

290
00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:09,640
a slightly apprehensive-looking Fred
Astaire

291
00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:15,560
in his 1933 screen debut Dancing Lady
with Joan Crawford.

292
00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:18,200
# We've got the gang together #

293
00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:23,400
But he was about to really shine
when he met his new dancing partner.

294
00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:27,880
When I watch dancers in here, some of
them have got great rhythm,

295
00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:34,560
others beautiful fluidity of
movement, others style.

296
00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:39,520
But for Fred it all came together
when he met a little girl from
Kansas.

297
00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:41,600
Ginger Rogers.

298
00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:46,800
Their first picture together was
Flying Down To Rio in 1933.

299
00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:49,920
The chemistry on screen and their
dancing prowess

300
00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:55,400
knocked the audiences and the movie
producers off their feet.

301
00:21:55,400 --> 00:22:01,920
I'm asking choreographer Bill Deamer
why he thinks their relationship
worked so incredibly well.

302
00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:07,760
Interestingly you can see, even in
this, how Ginger and Fred connect
with the eyes. Yeah.

303
00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:13,080
As actors. It's the first time you
see the acting and the dance
becoming one.

304
00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:18,760
The thing is, Ginger Rogers was a
great actress but she wasn't really
known as a great dancer.

305
00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:22,720
No. She had a basic dance training
and he taught her the rest.

306
00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:26,320
She understood the way he moved.

307
00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:29,560
She said in a famous line, "I did
everything Fred did..."

308
00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:31,240
"But backwards and in heels."

309
00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:32,720
Which is true.

310
00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:39,120
The comedy in this number is quite
unbelievable. The way he sets up the
rhythms of the tap

311
00:22:39,120 --> 00:22:40,680
and then they hit heads.

312
00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:43,760
(HOLLOW BANG)

313
00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:45,000
It's just genius.

314
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:47,880
He sets the gag up, get's the laugh
and then they move on.

315
00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:51,960
This is the film where you realise
there is so much more to come.

316
00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:54,600
# Is this a lovely day #

317
00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:57,280
Isn't This A Lovely Day from Top
Hat.

318
00:22:57,280 --> 00:23:02,320
I think this is the first love scene
in dance that really made the mark.

319
00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:05,600
Look at the synchronicity.

320
00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:08,080
Perfectly together. Absolutely.

321
00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:12,160
What I love is the story telling that
comes out in the dance.

322
00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:17,720
There's all this technique going on
but the acting on the top is still
there and so prevalent.

323
00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:22,960
There's a wonderful moment where he
taps and he's trying her out.

324
00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:27,840
And then she follows on and does a
far more tricky step

325
00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:30,160
and he looks to say, "We've got one
here."

326
00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:34,600
They're falling in love while
they're tap dancing

327
00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:36,960
and doing this wonderful intricate
tap.

328
00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:42,160
This scene shows every side of these
as a couple. Absolutely.

329
00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:45,600
Humour. Technique. Artistry. Yes.

330
00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:47,720
Chemistry. Absolutely. Comedy

331
00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:53,440
It's all there and there's always a
little sexual tension in there.

332
00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:58,880
I think it was Catherine Hepburn who
said that Fred gave Ginger class and
she gave him sex.

333
00:24:01,800 --> 00:24:07,080
I wonder, did Fred make Ginger or did
Ginger make Fred?

334
00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:13,680
I would love to know what it was
about Fred's dancing that got the
very best out of his partners.

335
00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:16,200
Although we always think of Fred and
Ginger,

336
00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:19,320
Fred ended up dancing with many other
leading ladies -

337
00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:20,520
Rita Hayworth,

338
00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:22,800
Audrey Hepburn

339
00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:24,680
and Eleanor Powell.

340
00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:28,520
I'm off to meet one of them now -

341
00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:33,280
Barrie Chase, who danced with Fred
Astaire in 1958 for ten years -

342
00:24:33,280 --> 00:24:36,720
to find out exactly what it felt
like.

343
00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:40,520
Fred said of her - "Barrie Chase.
That girl can dance."

344
00:24:41,960 --> 00:24:45,720
Barrie, I'm so thrilled to meet you.

345
00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:47,640
I truly am.

346
00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:52,360
Firstly, let me ask you, what was
Fred Astaire like to dance with.

347
00:24:52,360 --> 00:24:54,320
Heavenly.

348
00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:56,440
Really? Yeah. Sure.

349
00:24:56,440 --> 00:25:00,680
Fred always looked at his partner
when he danced with them

350
00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:02,680
and the partner looked back.

351
00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:05,760
They had a relationship going.
That's the connection.

352
00:25:05,760 --> 00:25:12,240
And there was not that isolation of
"I'm doing this." Or, "I'm playing
to the audience

353
00:25:12,240 --> 00:25:14,560
and once in a while I look at you."

354
00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:18,040
The whole thing was that two people
were having an experience

355
00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:20,680
and it happened to be dancing.

356
00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:25,480
When you needed that support or that
arm that was supposed to be there,

357
00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:29,680
it was always exactly where it was
supposed to be.

358
00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:38,280
He whisked you in such a way that
you were just transported. You
didn't feel the mechanics of it.

359
00:25:38,280 --> 00:25:41,680
He wasn't a selfish partner. Oh, God
no.

360
00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:44,680
He never lost his temper. No, not
really.

361
00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:47,600
He once said to me, on the very
first show...

362
00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:53,080
And I was obviously very nervous
waiting for the cameras to roll.

363
00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:57,880
He looked at me and he said, "Don't
be nervous, just don't make any
mistakes."

364
00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:02,240
That would make it worse for me. Yes,
wouldn't it? Just a little bit.

365
00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:08,520
Was he a hard task master? Everybody
knows that he was a perfectionist.

366
00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:14,240
He was only demanding that you give
your very best, you do your very
best, you work your very hardest.

367
00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:19,840
Would you allow me to just hold you
and you can tell me if this was how
Fred would...

368
00:26:20,120 --> 00:26:25,760
I'm not saying I can dance like Fred
Astaire but I'd like to know if I had
the same feeling. OK.

369
00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:27,240
Could we do that? Yeah.

370
00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:28,720
Can we do that?

371
00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:32,640
So was he a tight dancer? All firm
and... No.

372
00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:34,600
Just... Easy. Yeah.

373
00:26:35,360 --> 00:26:39,240
And I used to love him pivoting. Oh,
he was a wonderful...

374
00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:46,880
That's what I loved with Fred. You'd
get slow and then suddenly he'd go
into a pivot.

375
00:26:46,880 --> 00:26:48,520
And then off again. Yeah.

376
00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:53,520
The other little move I used to like
is when he'd have her there and he'd
turn her to there.

377
00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:58,680
We need to rehearse this a little.
And then roll her out and then back
in.

378
00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:01,080
Oh, yes. (BOTH LAUGH)

379
00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:03,400
FRED ASTAIRE: # I could dance
nightly

380
00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:06,000
# Just holding you tightly

381
00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:07,680
# My sweet #

382
00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:13,800
Astaire and Rogers went on to make
ten films together, all huge hits for
RKO.

383
00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:17,520
The Gay Divorcee. Swing Time. Shall
We Dance?

384
00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:20,560
All huge blockbuster hits.

385
00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:26,520
And their premieres were in
wonderful, old movie theatres just
like this one.

386
00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:32,000
Apart from a sensational new dance
partner,

387
00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:35,880
Hollywood opened up so many more
opportunities for Fred

388
00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:38,360
with up to eight dances per film,

389
00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:41,720
Fred was free to unleash his
creativity,

390
00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:45,480
try out new ideas and perfect his
lightning footwork.

391
00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:53,040
I'm watching Top Hat, White Tie and
Tails with choreographer Randy
Skinner.

392
00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:58,720
As you can see here, Fred Astaire's
technique and clarity of movement is
so perfect.

393
00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:01,080
I want to find out how he achieved
this.

394
00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:03,200
I mean, his feet just flew

395
00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:06,880
but there's all this upper body
style down through the fingertips.

396
00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:08,640
He was the first

397
00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:12,600
that paid attention to not only what
was happening below the knees

398
00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:14,480
but the entire upper body.

399
00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:18,800
With the toned hand you'll always
have a toned arm. Exactly.

400
00:28:18,800 --> 00:28:21,280
You can have a beautiful step going
on

401
00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:24,400
but if something's askew with the
body that focus can go.

402
00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:27,920
He was such a master at bringing
that all together.

403
00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:30,520
Fred labelled this himself "the
outlaw style"

404
00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:33,640
because he brought the worlds of
ballroom,

405
00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:38,000
ballet and tapping together for the
first time.

406
00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:41,320
That move where the leg went up.
Like a jete.

407
00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:42,800
Right out of ballet.

408
00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:46,200
This is called a heel roll
progression. Let me show you.

409
00:28:46,200 --> 00:28:50,200
It's a basic step that everybody
learns when you're five years old.

410
00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:58,920
But what Fred does is he takes out
the last heel and does a cane tap.

411
00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:05,600
Removes a heel, hits a cane tap.

412
00:29:05,600 --> 00:29:07,360
Brilliant. Brilliant.

413
00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:09,640
When I watch Fred Astaire

414
00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:14,920
my brain is looking at the technique
and thinking how fantastic that is

415
00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:17,400
but my heart is saying, "Look at this
movement."

416
00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:21,040
To get both is special. It's special.

417
00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:28,840
It wasn't just Astaire's technique

418
00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:30,360
that was impeccable.

419
00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:34,440
What made Fred Astaire stand out was
his desire to innovate.

420
00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:37,320
He hated repeating himself.

421
00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:39,760
And would continually strive

422
00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:42,360
to bring something new to each film.

423
00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:45,720
Be it dancing with weights in Royal
Wedding

424
00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:48,800
or dancing on roller skates

425
00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:51,040
in Gershwin's Let's Call The Whole
Thing Off.

426
00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:03,880
What was incredible about Fred
Astaire - it didn't matter what the
circumstances were,

427
00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:06,280
he would utilise that into a dance.

428
00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:10,480
In this clip from Carefree

429
00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:12,040
we see the wit and precision

430
00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:14,200
of Fred Astaire's choreography.

431
00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:16,600
Every step and every beat count.

432
00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:19,480
There is no superfluous movement.

433
00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:21,960
The choreography builds to a climax

434
00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:23,280
and then stops.

435
00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:29,240
He had wonderful coordination and
such a fertile, inventive mind.

436
00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:30,720
Hey, let's give it a go.

437
00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:33,680
(JAZZ PLAYING)

438
00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:42,040
(CHUCKLES)

439
00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:45,720
(APPLAUSE)

440
00:30:52,160 --> 00:30:57,880
By 1934, Fred, at the age of 35, was
becoming a bit of a Hollywood star.

441
00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:03,000
But where other stars might demand
bigger dressing rooms or fancy cars,

442
00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:07,320
Fred didn't want any of these. He
just wanted creative control.

443
00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:09,280
It was unheard of at the time.

444
00:31:09,280 --> 00:31:13,000
Fred Astaire was about to take a
radical step -

445
00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:17,560
to revolutionise dance on film
forever.

446
00:31:24,180 --> 00:31:27,260
Once Fred became a hit in Hollywood,

447
00:31:27,260 --> 00:31:32,540
he was given the rare privilege of
complete creative control over the
dance numbers.

448
00:31:32,540 --> 00:31:36,580
He set about learning everything he
could about the movie business.

449
00:31:36,580 --> 00:31:40,820
He wanted to make sure those were as
good as it could be.

450
00:31:42,180 --> 00:31:50,260
Film historian Patricia Tobias has
been looking into how Fred Astaire
reinvented dance on film.

451
00:31:51,380 --> 00:32:00,140
Dancing Lady, 1933. How did his
technique for dancing in front of a
camera change from that point?

452
00:32:00,140 --> 00:32:03,820
In Dancing Lady, you can see him
dance right out of the frame.

453
00:32:08,060 --> 00:32:11,980
Immediately after that he said,
"That's never happening again."

454
00:32:11,980 --> 00:32:18,060
So he developed some guidelines that
included where the camera should be
placed.

455
00:32:18,060 --> 00:32:21,740
It was two feet of the ground so he
would look taller.

456
00:32:21,740 --> 00:32:26,940
He created what was known at the
time as the Astaire dolly.

457
00:32:26,940 --> 00:32:29,980
It had an elevator so it could go up
and down.

458
00:32:29,980 --> 00:32:32,780
It took five or six people to work
the thing.

459
00:32:32,780 --> 00:32:35,860
It enabled the camera to dance.
Right.

460
00:32:35,860 --> 00:32:39,060
It enabled it to do anything he did.

461
00:32:39,060 --> 00:32:42,740
He's always in the centre third of
the frame. Always.

462
00:32:42,740 --> 00:32:46,660
The camera keeps him there. If he
dances this way, the camera pulls
back.

463
00:32:48,140 --> 00:32:49,780
It was very fluid.

464
00:32:51,580 --> 00:32:55,620
It was straight forward. There was
no sneaky bits of camera work.

465
00:32:55,620 --> 00:32:58,020
And he was quite insistent on that.

466
00:32:58,020 --> 00:33:02,220
After he did the Night And Day
number with Mark Sandrich

467
00:33:02,220 --> 00:33:04,140
they had a huge blow out

468
00:33:04,140 --> 00:33:06,300
because Sandrich edited in

469
00:33:06,300 --> 00:33:08,740
shots from under a table

470
00:33:09,060 --> 00:33:11,140
and through Venetian blinds.

471
00:33:11,140 --> 00:33:14,300
Fred said, "No." And he renegotiated
his contract with RKO

472
00:33:15,580 --> 00:33:19,980
so that he had complete control over
those dance numbers.

473
00:33:19,980 --> 00:33:23,660
And that's what's great. What you see
is what you get. Yeah.

474
00:33:23,660 --> 00:33:29,580
One of my frustrations on the dancing
show is that they use so many
different cameras.

475
00:33:29,580 --> 00:33:33,940
You know, one minute you're looking
at the wide and then you're just on
the feet.

476
00:33:33,940 --> 00:33:38,020
When you sit there as a judge you
just watch the whole thing.

477
00:33:38,020 --> 00:33:44,060
No one's ever talked about the fact
that... Yes, he was a great dancer
and a great piano player

478
00:33:44,060 --> 00:33:45,740
and a great drummer.

479
00:33:45,740 --> 00:33:50,220
No one has ever talked about that
fact that he was actually a great
film director.

480
00:33:50,220 --> 00:33:55,780
He was in the cutting room. So those
dances are not just Fred Astaire
dancing

481
00:33:55,780 --> 00:34:01,180
it's the camera dancing with him and
he did that. It was a revolution.

482
00:34:03,460 --> 00:34:08,060
Dance is all about romance. It's
about chemistry. It's a magical
thing.

483
00:34:08,060 --> 00:34:14,420
And to create that magic there has to
be a sincerity, an intimacy between
the couple.

484
00:34:14,420 --> 00:34:20,060
And if you don't get that, the
audience finds out. I'm wondering
just how difficult that is.

485
00:34:21,980 --> 00:34:26,860
This is a rendition of Cheek To Cheek
from the West End musical Top Hat.

486
00:34:26,860 --> 00:34:28,780
# BERLIN: Cheek To Cheek

487
00:34:44,900 --> 00:34:48,940
How hard is it to try to replicate
the great Fred and Ginger?

488
00:34:48,940 --> 00:34:50,220
Is it frustrating?

489
00:34:50,220 --> 00:34:53,340
On the surface it's beautiful and
flowing

490
00:34:53,340 --> 00:34:55,580
but the feet are going 100 miles an
hour.

491
00:34:55,580 --> 00:34:59,940
Some of those rhythms are so tricky
and I'm doing it in
three-and-a-half-inch heels.

492
00:34:59,940 --> 00:35:05,700
So I'm thinking, "Please don't fall
over." You're sweating buckets
trying to keep it all look elegant.

493
00:35:05,700 --> 00:35:09,260
There's so much packed into it.
You've got the lyrical upper line

494
00:35:09,260 --> 00:35:13,980
but, especially when you're tapping,
it's all about the clarity of beats

495
00:35:13,980 --> 00:35:17,580
and the changes of direction. It
really does take it out of you.

496
00:35:17,580 --> 00:35:22,380
It always looks spontaneous. Exactly.
As though they just met and it just
happened.

497
00:35:22,380 --> 00:35:26,580
You don't realise the hours and hours
that they've taken to get there.

498
00:35:26,580 --> 00:35:30,020
I think they went into the early
hours trying to capture this.

499
00:35:30,020 --> 00:35:35,180
It was something like 52 takes they
went through. They had all of the
drama with the dress.

500
00:35:35,180 --> 00:35:36,620
What is that story?

501
00:35:36,620 --> 00:35:41,420
Ginger had designed the feather
dress and she was adamant that she'd
wear this dress.

502
00:35:41,420 --> 00:35:46,700
Fred didn't know anything about this
and he wasn't a happy chap. The
feathers were going everywhere,

503
00:35:46,700 --> 00:35:50,580
as they do with this dress. When
something's been freshly
feathered...

504
00:35:50,580 --> 00:35:55,580
They're dancing and they're flying
off. Sticking to his black suit.
They're in his mouth.

505
00:35:55,580 --> 00:36:00,460
They're slipping over. He threw an
absolute fit and said, "I'm not
having this dress.

506
00:36:00,460 --> 00:36:05,340
This will not work." They fell out
quite badly. They were known for
never fighting.

507
00:36:05,340 --> 00:36:10,380
They never had a row and it was the
feathered dress that tipped them
over the edge. After that,

508
00:36:10,380 --> 00:36:13,140
Fred always called her Feathers.

509
00:36:17,420 --> 00:36:20,940
Fred Astaire was undoubtedly
naturally gifted.

510
00:36:20,940 --> 00:36:24,060
But make no mistake, he worked at his
success.

511
00:36:24,060 --> 00:36:26,540
He controlled how he looked, how he
danced,

512
00:36:26,540 --> 00:36:33,500
how he was filmed and he rehearsed
until each step was perfect.

513
00:36:33,500 --> 00:36:37,660
But Fred's phenomenal precision had
its drawbacks.

514
00:36:40,860 --> 00:36:42,700
Look at this clip from Swing Time.

515
00:36:42,700 --> 00:36:44,220
Fred had wanted the dance

516
00:36:44,220 --> 00:36:46,140
to be filmed in one take

517
00:36:46,140 --> 00:36:49,460
but was forced to make an edit just
here.

518
00:36:50,820 --> 00:36:52,940
And add an earlier take instead

519
00:36:52,940 --> 00:36:54,660
for the end of the dance

520
00:36:54,660 --> 00:36:58,340
as after hours of filming such
exacting, fast spins

521
00:36:58,900 --> 00:37:03,940
Ginger's white shoes had turned pink
with blood.

522
00:37:05,900 --> 00:37:08,060
# A smooth criminal #

523
00:37:09,300 --> 00:37:13,860
With such a string work ethic,
amazing choreography and technique

524
00:37:13,860 --> 00:37:18,260
it is no surprise to me that Fred
Astaire has inspired some of the best
dancers

525
00:37:18,260 --> 00:37:20,980
of the 20th and the 21st century.

526
00:37:22,220 --> 00:37:26,500
Michael Jackson dedicated the
autobiography Moonwalk to Fred

527
00:37:26,500 --> 00:37:28,820
and Fred repaid the compliment by
saying,

528
00:37:28,820 --> 00:37:34,860
"I didn't want to leave this world
without knowing who my descendant
was. Thank you, Michael."

529
00:37:36,940 --> 00:37:41,340
Vincent Patterson choreographed
Michael Jackson's music video Smooth
Criminal.

530
00:37:42,500 --> 00:37:45,900
It was inspired by Fred Astaire's
complex dance routine

531
00:37:45,900 --> 00:37:48,780
seen here in the 1953 film Band
Wagon.

532
00:37:50,460 --> 00:37:55,860
You can see how Michael chose a
similar, smoky bar to set the
routine,

533
00:37:55,860 --> 00:37:58,540
a white suit to look like Fred,

534
00:37:58,540 --> 00:38:02,140
and danced with the girl in red with
the same staccato rhythm

535
00:38:02,140 --> 00:38:04,100
as Fred danced with Cyd Charisse.

536
00:38:04,500 --> 00:38:08,980
I always think great dancing is like
a volcano

537
00:38:08,980 --> 00:38:13,060
but there's a huge rock on it and it
wants to explode but you won't let
it.

538
00:38:13,060 --> 00:38:16,820
And you lift it and let a little out.

539
00:38:16,820 --> 00:38:21,820
And that tension is what I get when I
watch Michael Jackson and Fred
Astaire.

540
00:38:22,740 --> 00:38:26,020
When he got up it was like lightning
in a bottle.

541
00:38:26,020 --> 00:38:29,540
It was so charged you couldn't
believe it.

542
00:38:29,540 --> 00:38:35,660
It seemed to me that that energy but
harnessed was exactly the same
energy that Fred had.

543
00:38:35,660 --> 00:38:40,100
Let's have a little look at Band
Wagon and see if we can see any
similarities

544
00:38:40,100 --> 00:38:42,780
between Michael and Fred.

545
00:38:44,660 --> 00:38:49,940
I love this. Almost like a tango.
Sharp, crisp, precise...

546
00:38:49,940 --> 00:38:52,620
Very specific. Ba. Ba. Choo-ka.

547
00:38:52,620 --> 00:38:55,900
That's what you get with Smooth
Criminal. Oh, yeah.

548
00:38:55,900 --> 00:38:58,020
That crisp, clean, movement.

549
00:38:59,180 --> 00:39:01,700
# MICHAEL JACKSON: Smooth Criminal

550
00:39:08,020 --> 00:39:09,940
The sharpness, the precision.

551
00:39:09,940 --> 00:39:14,700
That little push of the hat. So much
of it is sexy, it's smooth.

552
00:39:14,700 --> 00:39:16,780
It's powerful.

553
00:39:16,780 --> 00:39:18,820
And this little strut.

554
00:39:18,820 --> 00:39:21,020
This is so Fred.

555
00:39:21,020 --> 00:39:24,260
That cockiness. "I got the world in
my..." Look at that.

556
00:39:24,260 --> 00:39:25,620
(LAUGHS)

557
00:39:26,580 --> 00:39:27,820
# Annie are you OK #

558
00:39:27,820 --> 00:39:30,940
Every time we did something where
there was a dance break

559
00:39:30,940 --> 00:39:34,540
where he would employ his tap that
he had learned from being a kid

560
00:39:34,540 --> 00:39:36,900
he would always say, "This is for
Fred."

561
00:39:40,980 --> 00:39:43,500
The other thing that was very
interesting

562
00:39:43,500 --> 00:39:45,900
is that they both had this long
body.

563
00:39:46,580 --> 00:39:52,380
Michael was so thin like Fred with
these long arms and these long legs.
Knowing how to use them

564
00:39:52,380 --> 00:39:55,820
either percussively or in a legato
fashion.

565
00:39:56,580 --> 00:39:57,620
Aa-ow!

566
00:39:58,860 --> 00:40:07,300
What Michael did, what Fred did, was
give the world a man dancing that
anybody could fall in love with.

567
00:40:07,300 --> 00:40:13,140
Anybody, you know. And inspire you,
make you want to get up, make you
want to dance,

568
00:40:13,140 --> 00:40:14,540
make you want to move.

569
00:40:14,540 --> 00:40:20,540
It would have been incredible had
they had an opportunity to do
something together. Can you imagine?

570
00:40:23,060 --> 00:40:24,340
In 1939

571
00:40:24,340 --> 00:40:26,460
Fred and Ginger danced their last
waltz

572
00:40:26,460 --> 00:40:29,540
in The Story Of Vernon And Irene
Castle.

573
00:40:29,900 --> 00:40:31,780
The sadness of this sequence

574
00:40:31,780 --> 00:40:34,940
is reflected in the way Fred slowly
spins

575
00:40:34,940 --> 00:40:37,260
and then gently holds Ginger.

576
00:40:40,300 --> 00:40:44,060
Ginger wanted to concentrate on her
solo acting career

577
00:40:44,060 --> 00:40:47,300
so Fred, once again, had to go it
alone.

578
00:40:48,660 --> 00:40:50,700
He went on to make many more films

579
00:40:50,700 --> 00:40:52,140
but by the 1950s

580
00:40:52,140 --> 00:40:54,300
the heyday of musicals in
Hollywood

581
00:40:54,300 --> 00:40:56,060
was coming to an end.

582
00:40:56,060 --> 00:40:59,580
Now the weeks of intense rehearsals
that Fred demanded

583
00:40:59,580 --> 00:41:04,100
could no longer be justified with
dwindling box office returns.

584
00:41:06,900 --> 00:41:10,380
Fred Astaire danced in and out of
retirement till he was 70.

585
00:41:10,380 --> 00:41:12,620
He never wanted to stop dancing

586
00:41:12,620 --> 00:41:14,740
but he couldn't face carrying on

587
00:41:14,740 --> 00:41:18,540
if he couldn't dance to his own
exacting standards.

588
00:41:27,740 --> 00:41:31,820
I'm beginning to feel at last that I
know the real Fred Astaire

589
00:41:31,820 --> 00:41:35,180
but there's still one thing that's
worrying me.

590
00:41:36,300 --> 00:41:40,900
How could a man who was an absolute
mega star...

591
00:41:41,500 --> 00:41:45,660
World famous and yet was never really
sure of himself.

592
00:41:45,660 --> 00:41:54,060
And I find it amazing that this man
that was loved by millions

593
00:41:54,060 --> 00:41:56,820
could still feel, in some ways,
insecure.

594
00:42:01,740 --> 00:42:06,340
Odd, because Fred's Hollywood career
had been such a success.

595
00:42:06,340 --> 00:42:09,540
He had achieved everything his
mother had hoped for.

596
00:42:10,340 --> 00:42:11,780
Fame,

597
00:42:11,780 --> 00:42:13,220
fortune,

598
00:42:13,220 --> 00:42:15,460
artistic success.

599
00:42:16,700 --> 00:42:24,500
But when his life couldn't get any
better his beloved wife Phyllis
contracted lung cancer and died

600
00:42:24,500 --> 00:42:28,860
when Fred was 46.

601
00:42:28,860 --> 00:42:34,340
This ended 21 years of a blissful
marriage and left Astaire devastated.

602
00:42:35,100 --> 00:42:38,380
He was left to bring up his children
alone.

603
00:42:40,580 --> 00:42:45,980
This is my father and me when I was
about ten years old, I think,

604
00:42:45,980 --> 00:42:49,900
at our ranch in the San Fernando
Valley where we spent every weekend.

605
00:42:49,900 --> 00:42:53,180
That's Caledonia our dog at the
time.

606
00:42:53,700 --> 00:42:56,540
I am such an admirer of your father.

607
00:42:56,540 --> 00:42:58,860
How was he as a dad?

608
00:42:58,860 --> 00:43:05,340
He was a wonderful father. He was
very kind. He was very thoughtful.

609
00:43:06,500 --> 00:43:12,060
He did have a temper but only if it
was something that would affect his
work or me.

610
00:43:12,060 --> 00:43:16,100
If anybody said anything to upset me
he'd go out and try to kill them.

611
00:43:17,300 --> 00:43:22,180
He had to take over my upbringing
when I was 12 because we lost my
mother.

612
00:43:22,180 --> 00:43:27,180
And I became a companion to him as
well as a daughter.

613
00:43:27,180 --> 00:43:29,220
Did you ever dance with your dad?

614
00:43:29,220 --> 00:43:34,740
When I was 18 and a debutant

615
00:43:34,740 --> 00:43:40,620
the father and daughter waltz
started the evening off

616
00:43:40,620 --> 00:43:47,260
and we were all to dance a certain
way. My father and I went the wrong
way.

617
00:43:47,260 --> 00:43:50,820
Not to try to gain attention. We
just did it wrong.

618
00:43:52,420 --> 00:43:56,580
I think that put him off dancing
with me for the rest... It wasn't my
fault.

619
00:43:56,580 --> 00:44:00,140
I didn't pull him the wrong way. He
would have lead you. Yeah.

620
00:44:00,140 --> 00:44:04,940
What amazes me... He was an absolute
mega star

621
00:44:04,940 --> 00:44:09,820
and yet there always seemed to be
some bit of self doubt in his
performances.

622
00:44:09,820 --> 00:44:12,620
Was he a bit of a tortured soul in
that respect?

623
00:44:12,620 --> 00:44:16,660
Yes, he was. He was such a
perfectionist and it was always,

624
00:44:16,660 --> 00:44:18,580
"Are you sure that was all right?"

625
00:44:18,580 --> 00:44:24,100
Yeah. He was his own worst critic.

626
00:44:24,100 --> 00:44:29,340
Do you think in later life that he
did feel a sense of achievement

627
00:44:29,340 --> 00:44:34,140
that what he had done will last for
centuries.

628
00:44:34,140 --> 00:44:40,220
He did. He was aware of his work

629
00:44:40,220 --> 00:44:44,340
and what he produced

630
00:44:44,340 --> 00:44:49,700
but he was kind of shy and humble
about it too.

631
00:44:49,700 --> 00:44:53,340
What do you think was the secret of
your father's success?

632
00:44:53,340 --> 00:44:58,580
Well, I think it had a lot to do
with working very hard.

633
00:44:58,580 --> 00:45:00,860
He really was a dedicated worker.

634
00:45:00,860 --> 00:45:05,100
How would you sum your dad up in one
sentence?

635
00:45:05,780 --> 00:45:08,060
Good and kind and wonderful.

636
00:45:08,060 --> 00:45:12,660
That's the greatest compliment you
can give anyone.

637
00:45:12,660 --> 00:45:15,060
Good, kind and wonderful.

638
00:45:19,900 --> 00:45:21,540
Fred Astaire is the most

639
00:45:21,540 --> 00:45:27,180
interesting, elegant, inventive
dancer I have ever seen.

640
00:45:27,820 --> 00:45:31,860
I realise now that there is not one
thing that made him a star.

641
00:45:31,860 --> 00:45:35,100
It was how he choreographed his life.

642
00:45:37,500 --> 00:45:40,820
As a boy, feeling second best to his
older sister

643
00:45:40,820 --> 00:45:44,420
instilled a life-long, gruelling work
ethic.

644
00:45:45,460 --> 00:45:47,140
His ear for music and rhythm

645
00:45:47,140 --> 00:45:49,380
meant he could play with tempos and
steps

646
00:45:49,380 --> 00:45:52,420
in a totally new and thrilling way.

647
00:45:52,420 --> 00:45:55,340
As this clip from Flying Down To Rio
shows.

648
00:45:56,780 --> 00:45:59,540
And his passion for seeking out the
new

649
00:45:59,540 --> 00:46:03,620
led him to revolutionise how dancing
was shown on film.

650
00:46:06,300 --> 00:46:09,660
He is a true artistic genius

651
00:46:09,660 --> 00:46:13,620
and Fred's effortless elegance and
stylish dancing

652
00:46:13,620 --> 00:46:17,020
had the chance to shine at the
perfect moment -

653
00:46:17,020 --> 00:46:20,260
the romantic Golden Age of Hollywood.

654
00:46:30,460 --> 00:46:35,700
On June 22nd 1987 at the age of 88

655
00:46:36,500 --> 00:46:39,180
Fred Astaire died from pneumonia.

656
00:46:42,940 --> 00:46:46,140
Just before he died, he made a last
request

657
00:46:46,140 --> 00:46:49,620
to thank his fans for their years of
support.

658
00:46:55,700 --> 00:47:00,060
I tell you, at my age, it takes a lot
to get me excited.

659
00:47:00,060 --> 00:47:04,820
But I am truly excited about this.

660
00:47:04,820 --> 00:47:11,060
In this box we have Fred Astaire's
tap shoes from the film Top Hat.

661
00:47:11,500 --> 00:47:19,340
And I'm going to have the privilege
of opening the box and looking at the
shoes.

662
00:47:20,460 --> 00:47:22,500
These are about 80 years old

663
00:47:24,420 --> 00:47:27,980
so I don't want to do anything
untoward.

664
00:47:29,460 --> 00:47:30,900
(LAUGHS)

665
00:47:35,340 --> 00:47:36,780
He had small feet.

666
00:47:37,420 --> 00:47:41,180
Ginger Rogers probably stepped on
them a few times during rehearsals.

667
00:47:41,180 --> 00:47:44,100
Her frocks probably brushed against
them.

668
00:47:44,900 --> 00:47:46,380
Here they are in action

669
00:47:46,380 --> 00:47:47,420
in the last number

670
00:47:47,420 --> 00:47:48,700
from Top Hat.

671
00:47:48,700 --> 00:47:49,820
Fred Astaire

672
00:47:49,820 --> 00:47:51,220
playfully mimics

673
00:47:51,220 --> 00:47:54,460
the up-tempo rhythms of Irving
Berlin's score

674
00:47:54,460 --> 00:47:57,060
with the sharp staccato of his taps.

675
00:47:58,540 --> 00:48:01,460
I now have greater respect for Fred
Astaire.

676
00:48:01,460 --> 00:48:05,660
He spent his entire life perfecting
these dances

677
00:48:05,660 --> 00:48:09,980
so that we, the audience, could sit
back and be transported

678
00:48:09,980 --> 00:48:13,300
to the wonderful world of dance.

679
00:48:13,300 --> 00:48:18,180
You know, in a way, these shoes
symbolise what Fred Astaire was

680
00:48:18,180 --> 00:48:20,940
and what made him such a fantastic
dancer.

681
00:48:21,660 --> 00:48:26,820
You see the polish, the elegance, the
style of the tops

682
00:48:26,820 --> 00:48:31,100
but beneath it all, all the hard
work.

683
00:48:31,100 --> 00:48:33,660
They're worn. They're tried.

684
00:48:33,660 --> 00:48:39,100
The hours and hours of practicing,
perfecting, getting it right.

685
00:48:40,060 --> 00:48:42,740
The striving for perfection.

686
00:48:42,740 --> 00:48:46,460
One of my absolute heroes of my whole
life

687
00:48:47,380 --> 00:48:51,140
and to be sitting here holding one of
his dance shoes

688
00:48:51,780 --> 00:48:53,260
is fantastic.

689
00:48:57,260 --> 00:48:59,260
subtitles by Deluxe

690
00:48:59,260 --> 00:49:00,820
FRED ASTAIRE : # Some day

691
00:49:00,820 --> 00:49:02,940
# When I'm awfully low

692
00:49:03,900 --> 00:49:07,060
# When the world is cold

693
00:49:07,060 --> 00:49:09,180
# I will feel a glow

694
00:49:09,180 --> 00:49:13,620
# Just thinking of you

695
00:49:13,620 --> 00:49:15,060
# Just the way

696
00:49:15,060 --> 00:49:18,220
# you look tonight #