It takes a thief fred astaire movie#
It takes a thief fred astaire tv#

With his passing, the world lost a true dancing legend. Astaire received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1981 from the American Film Institute, who in 2011, also named him the “Fifth Greatest Actor” (among their “ The 50 Greatest Screen Legends” list).įred Astaire died in 1987 from pneumonia, at the age of 88.

It takes a thief fred astaire tv#

Astaire also lent his voice to several animated children’s TV specials, most notably, Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town (1970), and The Easter Bunny is Comin’ to Town (1977). He also starred in television roles on programs such as It Takes a Thief, and Battlestar Galactica (which he said he agreed to, due to the influence of his grandchildren). In his later years, he continued to appear in movies, including “Finian’s Rainbow” (1968), and “The Towering Inferno” (1974) which earned him an Oscar nomination. He won five Emmys for his work in television, including three for his variety shows, An Evening with Fred Astaire (1959, which won an unprecedented nine Emmys in all!) and Another Evening with Fred Astaire (1960).

It takes a thief fred astaire movie#

Fred Astaire also changed the way dance sequences in movies were filmed, insisting that the focus be kept on the full-frame dancers and the dance steps themselves, using a stationary camera shot – with long takes, wide shots & as few cuts as possible, allowing audiences to feel as though they were watching a dancer on stage, versus the then-popular technique of using a constantly roving camera with frequent cuts and close-ups.Īstaire received an honorary Academy Award in 1950 for his “unique artistry and his contributions to the technique of musical pictures.” He holds choreography credits for ten of his movie musicals released between 1934-1961, including “Top Hat”, “Funny Face”, and “The Pleasure of His Company”.

Fred Astaire was not only a great dancer – changing the face of the American movie musical with his style and grace – but he was also a singer, and an actor with many different dramatic and comedic credits, in both movies and TV specials. He also co-starred with the biggest actors of that time, including Bing Crosby, Red Skelton, George Burns, and Gene Kelly. He appeared in films with esteemed co-stars such as Joan Crawford, Rita Hayworth, Ann Miller, Debbie Reynolds, Judy Garland, and Cyd Charisse. As a young adult, he headed to Hollywood where he began a successful partnership with Ginger Rogers for nine movies. Fred Astaire, born Frederick Austerlitz II in 1899, began show business at the age of four, performing on Broadway and in Vaudeville with his older sister, Adele.