Fred Astaire

[+ WilliamM]

I watched an old "Dick Cavett Show" with Fred Astaire on cable television last night. My guess is that Astaire was in his early 70s at the time. His mother was still alive at age 93. I can not say that I have thought much about Astaire, except enjoying some of his films was Ginger Rogers.

 

Astaire received an extremely warm welcome from Cavett's studio audience. Chips from Astaire's films (Funny Face, You Were Never Lovelier) were shown. Fred talked about preparation and guessed that even the most complicated dance scenes were completed in a day and a half or so.

 

Cavett did not ask any controversial questions (Astaire was very conservative politically), so Fred came off as a kind grandfather figure. He had extraordinary talents as a dancer and singer. I did attend one Dick Cavett taping on a night Irish actress Sibborn McKenna and David Merrick were the guests. McKenna was well known in 1971, but did not receive much applause, not even close to what Astaire receive.

 

I wish that Astaire's visit had lasted much longer than 90 minutes.

[BasketBaller]

This is one of my all-time favorite dance numbers. Note how long it goes before there's an edit!

 

[LaffingBear]

Fred Astaire was often cited as one of the most precise dancers of the hollywood movie era. He practiced routines endlessly. One of the "That's Entertainment" movies showed a clip of Astaire performing a dance number for a movie. The director didnt like the set or costume, so it was cut, and Astaire performed the same number in a different costume. They show both performances side-by-side. Its amazing.... machine like precision identical moves; if not for the different apparel, you'd think it was camera trickery.

Unexpectedly, because he had a soft high tenor or alto voice.... Ive heard many directors opine that for pitch, timing, purity, etc.... he was one of the very best singers of the era.

 

His only Academy Award nomination..... The Towering Inferno.

[Whitman]

He had extraordinary talents as a dancer and singer.

.... he was one of the very best singers of the era.

... contrary to that bit of Hollywood folklore about Astaire that the report on a screen test for RKO read as follows: "Can't sing. Can't act. Balding. Can dance a little."

 

The test has been lost, but it definitely didn't go well. David Selznick (who signed Astaire to RKO) wrote, "I am uncertain about the man, but I feel, in spite of his enormous ears and bad chin line, that his charm is so tremendous that it comes through even on this wretched test."

 

(Astaire later claimed that the report actually read: "Can't act. Slightly bald. Also dances.")

 

[bostonman]

Unexpectedly, because he had a soft high tenor or alto voice.... Ive heard many directors opine that for pitch, timing, purity, etc.... he was one of the very best singers of the era.

 

Sorry to intrude, lol. Astaire was a light baritone. He didn't have (or at least didn't use) high tenor notes.

 

I would say that yes, he had a very pure, accurate voice - unfortunately that also translates to a voice that I don't always find particularly exciting to listen to - but I do admit his simplicity has a definite appeal nevertheless. And as an all-around performer, his appeal is undeniable.

[body2body]

Sorry to intrude, lol. Astaire was a light baritone. He didn't have (or at least didn't use) high tenor notes.

 

I would say that yes, he had a very pure, accurate voice - unfortunately that also translates to a voice that I don't always find particularly exciting to listen to - but I do admit his simplicity has a definite appeal nevertheless. And as an all-around performer, his appeal is undeniable.

Irving Berlin was once asked who he would be his choice to introduce a new song, he said without hesitation Fred Astaire, noting he didn't have best voice, but his phrasing was beyond compare. Astaire praised Judy Garland's dancing, and felt she did not receive proper credit for her skill as a dancer.

[samhexum]

Fred Astaire

Fred Astaire was often cited as one of the most precise dancers of the hollywood movie era.

as an all-around performer, his appeal is undeniable.

 

[+ E.T.Bass]

Was reading some classic movie history recently that Astaire turned down the role of George M. Cohan and the rest was history.

James Cagney won the Oscar for it.

 

Edited August 22, 2018 by E.T.Bass

[+ Avalon]

War reading some classic movie history recently that Astaire turned down the role of George M. Cohan and the rest was history.

James Cagney won the Oscar for it.

 

 

I couldn't imagine anyone but Cagney playing Cohan.

[bnm73]

I couldn't imagine anyone but Cagney playing Cohan.

Joel Grey did it on stage in the musical George M, if I remember my theater history, correctly. But you're right, Cagney put his stamp on the role in a way that makes it difficult for others to follow or live up to.

 

Sort of like musicians singing "Imagine" by John Lennon....no matter how good you are and how well you do the piece, you're always going to be compared (unfavorably) against Lennon. The bar is just set too high.

[bnm73]

Unexpectedly, because he had a soft high tenor or alto voice.... Ive heard many directors opine that for pitch, timing, purity, etc.... he was one of the very best singers of the era.

 

Just because you don't have a great "quality" of singing voice doesn't mean you don't know how to deliver a song. I've always found Bob Dylan to be almost incomprehensible when he sings. Steisand has an unbearably nasally voice, I think. Joe Cocker sounds like a car driving over gravel, and so did Louis Armstrong. But they all can put so much into their performance and songs that they are fantastic to listen to (despite -- or maybe because of -- the individual qualities that make their voices annoying to me). There's more to a good performance than technical perfection, and all of those -- and Fred Astaire -- understood that.

[+ E.T.Bass]

Joel Grey did it on stage in the musical George M, if I remember my theater history, correctly. But you're right, Cagney put his stamp on the role in a way that makes it difficult for others to follow or live up to.

 

Sort of like musicians singing "Imagine" by John Lennon....no matter how good you are and how well you do the piece, you're always going to be compared (unfavorably) against Lennon. The bar is just set too high.

I remember as a kid watching Yankee Doodle Dandy on the tele. I was mesmerized by it.

Edited August 22, 2018 by Cooper

[+ E.T.Bass]

Still, Fred Astaire was in a class by himself.

 

[TruHart1]

Joel Grey did it on stage in the musical George M, if I remember my theater history, correctly. But you're right, Cagney put his stamp on the role in a way that makes it difficult for others to follow or live up to.

 

Sort of like musicians singing "Imagine" by John Lennon....no matter how good you are and how well you do the piece, you're always going to be compared (unfavorably) against Lennon. The bar is just set too high.

As I recall, George M was my first exposure to the teen-aged Bernadette Peters, but on the original Broadway cast album (an LP! ) since I was a teen myself at the time and far too young to have travelled to NYC to see a Broadway show yet!

 

TruHart1

[+ WilliamM]

Just because you don't have a great "quality" of singing voice doesn't mean you don't know how to deliver a song. I've always found Bob Dylan to be almost incomprehensible when he sings. Steisand has an unbearably nasally voice, I think. Joe Cocker sounds like a car driving over gravel, and so did Louis Armstrong. But they all can put so much into their performance and songs that they are fantastic to listen to (despite -- or maybe because of -- the individual qualities that make their voices annoying to me). There's more to a good performance than technical perfection, and all of those -- and Fred Astaire -- understood that.

 

Recently, a local student radio show requested good songs by bad singers. I called in for Dylan's Christtmas song, "Little Drumer Boy." They played the song. I knew one of guys. He said, "We almost bailed after the first tbirty seconds."

[bostonman]

Recently, a local student radio show requested good songs by bad singers. I called in for Dylan's Christtmas song, "Little Drumer Boy." They played the song. I knew one of guys. He said, "We almost bailed after the first tbirty seconds."

 

No - no - no - they were asking for GOOD songs. (IMO, "Little Drummer Boy" has to be one of the worst things ever written - and no singer on earth can make it sound good. Pa ruppa pum pum my ass.)

[+ Avalon]

Recently, a local student radio show requested good songs by bad singers. I called in for Dylan's Christtmas song, "Little Drumer Boy." They played the song. I knew one of guys. He said, "We almost bailed after the first tbirty seconds."

 

Some think this is a bad rendition

 

[N13]

"Stars" Russell Crow

 

This is how it can sound!

[+ WilliamM]

Irving Berlin was once asked who he would be his choice to introduce a new song, he said without hesitation Fred Astaire, noting he didn't have best voice, but his phrasing was beyond compare. Astaire praised Judy Garland's dancing, and felt she did not receive proper credit for her skill as a dancer.

 

When I saw Judy Garland in concert in the early 1960s, she mostly sang. But, she surprised the audience through most of "That's Entertainment." She was a tiny person who danced around the stage with high kicks in the age. My guess, she was 38 or 39 years old.