Biography
Fred Astaire (May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, singer, actor and choreographer. He is widely regarded as the most influential dancer in the history of film. Born as Frederick Austerlitz in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 10, 1899, to Johanna (Geilus) and Fritz, a brewer, he entered show business at age 5. He was successful in vaudeville and on Broadway as well as in London's West End together with his sister Adele, a partnership that lasted 27 years. After Adele retired to marry in ...
Known For
Complete Filmography

Gene Kelly - An American in Hollywood
2025
as Self (archive footage)
Gene Kelly is a legend of the heyday of the Hollywood musical. His name stands for masterpieces such as "Singin' in the Rain" and "An American in Pari...

Sid & Judy
2019
as Self (archive footage)
Explore the dramatic career and personal struggles of the talented and tragically short-lived entertainer Judy Garland through rare concert footage, n...

La La La
2018
as Various Roles (archive footage)
When the silent cinema learned to speak, the audience was surprised not only by the voices of the actors and the sound effects, but also by a new elem...

Fred Astaire donne le 'la'
2017
as Self (archive footage)
Success is inevitable for a musical in which Fred Astaire appears - if it was also written by one of the most talented composers of his time. Irving B...

Darcey Bussell: Looking for Fred Astaire
2017
as Self (archive footage)
Documentary in which Darcey Bussell profiles Hollywood dancer Fred Astaire, marking 30 years since his death.

Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall
2016
as Self (archive footage)
Director Spike Lee chronicles Michael Jackson's early rise to fame.
Perspectives: For the Love of Fred Astaire
2015
as (archive footage)
Strictly Come Dancing's Len Goodman shows his softer side in Fred Astaire tribute. Includes interviews with Astaire's daughter Ava as well as dance pa...

Bing Crosby: Rediscovered
2014
as Self (archive footage)
Bing Crosby was, without a doubt, the most popular and influential multi-media star of the first half of the twentieth century, pulling audiences in w...

Sem Título #1: Dance of Leitfossil
2014
as Self (archive footage)
Experimental Short, Brazil

And the Oscar Goes To...
2014
as Self (archive footage)
The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry's most coveted prize, AND THE OSCAR GOES TO... traces the history of the Academy ...

Astaire and Rogers Sing the Great American Songbook
2010
as Self (archive footage)
Compilation of memorable songs from the Great American Songbook sung by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in their films. Includes songs written by Georg...

Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1940s: Stars, Stripes and Singing
2009
as (archive footage)
This is a two-hour in-depth exploration into the Hollywood musicals of the 1940s.

1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
2009
as Self (archive footage)
This documentary focuses on 1939, considered to be Hollywood's greatest year, with film clips and insight into what made the year so special.

Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression
2009
as Self (archive)
A two-hour in-depth exploration into the Hollywood musicals of the 1930s.

Astaire and Rogers: Partners in Rhythm
2006
as Various / Self (archive footage)
Featuring clips from all 10 films which Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers made together from 1933 to 1949. Includes candid photos and behind-the-scenes tid...

"All -Singing All-Dancing" Before And After
2006
as Archive Footage
The development of sound and song dance production techniques, and how they come together in 'Holiday Inn'
Reunited at MGM: Astaire and Rogers Together Again
2005
as Self (archive footage)
A cherished remembrance of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers reunited for the film, "The Barkleys of Broadway."
Easter Parade: On the Avenue
2005
as Self (Archive Footage)
This documentary tells the story of the making of Irving Berlin's Easter Parade.

Get Aboard! 'The Band Wagon'
2005
as Self (archive footage)
Documentary on the 1953 musical "The Band Wagon."

Complicated Women
2003
as Self (archive footage)
Looks at the stereotype-breaking films of the period from 1929, when movies entered the sound era, until 1934 when the Hays Code virtually neutered fi...
Cole Porter in Hollywood: Satin and Silk
2003
as Self (archive footage)
This documentary short subject details the making of the 1957 MGM musical, "Silk Stockings". Hosted by its star Cyd Charisse, the film gives behind-th...
Cole Porter in Hollywood: Begin the Beguine
2003
An overview of Cole Porter’s musical contributions to the film Broadway Melody of 1940.

Hollywood Musicals of the 40's
2000
as Self (archive footage)
Highlights from the great musicals of the 1940s. Stars featured include Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Bing Crosby, Doris Day,...

Doris Day: It's Magic
1998
as Self
When the cameras rolled, Doris Day wore a happy face, never hinting at the pain she endured in her personal life. This documentary brings viewers clos...

A Bing Crosby Christmas
1998
as Self (archive footage)
The program on this DVD is basically a retrospective produced in the early 1990s for public television that was originally called «A Bing Crosby Chris...

That's Entertainment! III
1994
as (archive footage)
Some of MGM'S musical stars review the studios history of musicals. From The Hollywood Revue of 1929 to Brigadoon, from the first musical talkies to G...

Audrey Hepburn: Remembered
1993
as Self (archive footage)
Audrey Hepburn was one of the movies' best-loved stars, blessed with beauty, talent, an elegant sophistication and an enduring aura of youthful innoce...

The Fred Astaire Songbook
1991
as Self (archive footage)
A loving tribute to Astaire the singer, hosted by Audrey Hepburn.

You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story
1990
as Self (archive footage)
Biographical portrait of one of Broadway's most brilliant songwriters. Told through the use of archival material and interviews with the rich and famo...

Dance Crazy in Hollywood
1990
as Various Roles (archive footage)
American dancer and choreographer Hermes Pan recalls his life and work as he relives the glorious history of the Hollywood musical.

Rain Man
1988
as Self (archived footage)
When car dealer Charlie Babbitt learns that his estranged father has died, he returns home to Cincinnati, where he discovers that he has a savant olde...

George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey
1985
as Self
Biography of the legendary filmmaker directed by his son.

The Purple Rose of Cairo
1985
Thanks
Cecilia is a waitress in New Jersey, living a dreary life during the Great Depression. Her only escape from her mundane reality is the movie theatre. ...

That's Dancing!
1985
as Self (archive footage)
A documentary film about dancing on the screen, from it's orgins after the invention of the movie camera, over the movie musical from the late 20s, 30...

Going Hollywood: The '30s
1984
as (archive footage)
Robert Preston hosts this documentary that shows what people of the 1930s were watching as they were battling the Depression as well as eventually get...

Showbiz Goes to War
1982
as (archive footage)
While a few Hollywood celebrities such as James Stewart and Clark Gable saw combat during World War II, the majority used their talents to rally the A...

Ghost Story
1981
as Ricky Hawthorne
Four successful elderly gentlemen, members of the Chowder Society, share a gruesome, 50-year-old secret. When one of Edward Wanderley's twin sons dies...

The Man in the Santa Claus Suit
1979
as Santa Claus
The mysterious owner of a costume shop rents a Santa Claus suit to three very different men: a math teacher trying to get the nerve to propose, a home...

A Family Upside Down
1978
as Ted Long
An elderly married couple find that as their physical and mental health deteriorates, they find themselves dependent more and more upon their grown ch...

The Purple Taxi
1977
as Dr. Seamus Scully
With his mauve taxi, the old philosopher Dr. Seamus Scully runs around the small green roads of the south of Ireland, becoming confident of his patien...

The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town
1977
as S.D. Kluger (narrator) (voice)
The Mailman decides to stop another deluge of letters by answering questions about the Easter Bunny: Sunny, a baby rabbit found and adopted by Kidvill...

The Amazing Dobermans
1976
as Daniel Hughes
An ex-con man and his five trained Dobermans help a Treasury Dept. agent stop a racketeer and his gang.

That's Entertainment, Part II
1976
as Self - Co-Host / Narrator
Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical num...

Hooray for Hollywood
1976
as Self (archive footage)
A celebration of Hollywood in the 1930s, featuring a compilation of clips from features and newsreels of the era.

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
1975
as Self (archive footage)
Period music, film clips and newsreel footage combined into a visual exploration of the American entertainment industry during the Great Depression.
The Lion Roars Again
1975
as Self
A chronicle of the 1975 International Press Conclave hosted by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer over two days in May 1975.

The Towering Inferno
1974
as Harlee Claiborne
At the opening party of a colossal—but poorly constructed—skyscraper, a massive fire breaks out, threatening to destroy the tower and everyone in it.

That's Entertainment!
1974
as Self - Host / Narrator
Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50 year history.

The Men Who Made the Movies: Vincente Minnelli
1973
as Self (archive footage)

Imagine
1972
as Self
A surreal, half-fiction, half real life footage of a day in the life of John lennon and Yoko Ono, composed to music from John's historic 'Imagine' alb...

S Wonderful, 'S Marvelous, 'S Gershwin
1972
as Self
A musical tribute to brothers George and Ira Gershwin

Hollywood: The Dream Factory
1972
as Self (archive footage)
A documentary about the glorious history of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and its decline leading to the sale of its back lot and props. By extension th...

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
1970
as S.D. Kluger (voice)
A postman, S.D. Kluger, decides to answer some of the most common questions about Santa Claus, and tells us about a baby named Kris who is raised by a...

The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again
1970
as The Baltimore Kid
Walter Brennan is back as the clever and funny over the hill Texas Ranger Nash Crawford. This time the gang must face corruption in their own home tow...

Midas Run
1969
as John Pedley
A veteran secret service officer from Britain hijacks a government shipment of $15 million of gold out of an irritation for never being knighted.

Finian's Rainbow
1968
as Finian McLonergan
An Irish immigrant and his daughter arrive in Kentucky with a magical piece of gold that alters the course of several lives, including those of a stru...

The Fred Astaire Show
1968
as Self - Host
Ten years after the award winning "An Evening With..." Astaire shows us his "hip" credentials in this paen to the flower power era,larking about with ...

The World Premiere of 'Finian's Rainbow'
1968
as Self
This documentary has interviews with actors and the director as they arrive for the 1968 New York world premiere of "Finian's Rainbow."

Paris When It Sizzles
1964
Vocals
Hollywood producer Alexander Meyerheimer has hired drunken writer Richard Benson to write his latest movie. Benson has been in Paris supposedly workin...

Flashing Spikes
1962
as Narrator
An old ballplayer, thrown out of baseball due to a bribery scandal, becomes friends with a young phenom. The younger player is at first tainted by his...

The Notorious Landlady
1962
as Franklyn Ambruster
An American junior diplomat in London rents a house from, and falls in love with, a woman suspected of murder.

Hollywood: The Selznick Years
1961
as 'Dancing Lady' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Henry Fonda hosts this retrospective on the career and films of iconic filmmaker David O. Selznick, who epitomized the era of the auteur producer in t...

The Pleasure of His Company
1961
as Biddeford 'Pogo' Poole
Biddeford "Pogo" Poole, an urbane charmer, has been absent for most of the life of his daughter, Jessica, but he pops up again as she prepares to marr...

Astaire Time
1960
as Self - Host
A one-hour live television special starring Fred Astaire.

On the Beach
1959
as Julian Osborn
In 1964, atomic war wipes out humanity in the northern hemisphere; one American submarine finds temporary safe haven in Australia, where life-as-usual...

Another Evening with Fred Astaire
1959
as Self
A one-hour live television special starring Fred Astaire.

An Evening with Fred Astaire
1958
as Self
A one-hour live television special starring Fred Astaire.

An Evening with Fred Astaire
1958
Executive Producer
A one-hour live television special starring Fred Astaire.

Silk Stockings
1957
as Steve Canfield
After three bumbling Soviet agents fail in their mission to retrieve a straying Soviet composer from Paris, the beautiful, ultra-serious Ninotchka is ...

Funny Face
1957
as Dick Avery
A shy Greenwich Village book clerk is discovered by a fashion photographer and whisked off to Paris where she becomes a reluctant model.

Funny Face
1957
Choreographer
A shy Greenwich Village book clerk is discovered by a fashion photographer and whisked off to Paris where she becomes a reluctant model.

Stars of Cabaret
1956
as Self (archive footage)
A collection of amateur films made by photographer Roderic Vickers and friends.

Daddy Long Legs
1955
as Jervis Pendleton III
Wealthy American, Jervis Pendleton has a chance encounter at a French orphanage with a cheerful 18-year-old resident, and anonymously pays for her edu...

Daddy Long Legs
1955
Choreographer
Wealthy American, Jervis Pendleton has a chance encounter at a French orphanage with a cheerful 18-year-old resident, and anonymously pays for her edu...

The Band Wagon
1953
as Tony Hunter
A Broadway artiste turns a faded film star's comeback vehicle into an artsy flop.

The Belle of New York
1952
as Charlie Hill
In squeaky-clean New York at the turn of the century, playboy Charlie Hill falls so much in love that he can walk on air. The object of his affections...

Royal Wedding
1951
as Tom Bowen
Tom and Ellen are asked to perform as a dance team in England at the time of Princess Elizabeth's wedding. As brother and sister, each develops a Brit...

Let's Dance
1950
as Donald Elwood
Years after the death of her husband, Kitty McNeil takes her son and flees from the home of her wealthy and controlling mother-in-law. Alone and joble...

Three Little Words
1950
as Bert Kalmar
Song-and-dance man Bert Kalmar can't continue his stage career after an injury, so he has to earn his money as a lyricist. By chance, he meets compose...

The Barkleys of Broadway
1949
as Josh Barkley
Josh and Dinah Barkley are a successful musical-comedy team, known for their stormy but passionate relationship. Dinah feels overshadowed by Josh and ...

Easter Parade
1948
as Don Hewes
On the day before Easter in 1911, Don Hewes is crushed when his dancing partner (and object of affection) Nadine Hale refuses to start a new contract ...

Easter Parade
1948
Choreographer
On the day before Easter in 1911, Don Hewes is crushed when his dancing partner (and object of affection) Nadine Hale refuses to start a new contract ...

Blue Skies
1946
as Jed Potter
Jed Potter looks back on a love triangle conducted over the course of years and between musical numbers. Dancer Jed loves showgirl Mary, who loves com...

Yolanda and the Thief
1945
as Johnny Parkson Riggs
Johnny Riggs, a con man on the lam, finds himself in a Latin-American country named Patria. There, he overhears a convent-bred rich girl praying to he...

Ziegfeld Follies
1945
as Fred Astaire / Raffles / Tai Long / Gentleman
The late, great impresario Florenz Ziegfeld looks down from heaven and ordains a new revue in his grand old style.

Twenty Years After
1944
as (archive footage)
This short celebrates the 20th anniversary of MGM. Segments are shown from several early hits, then from a number of 1944 releases.

The Sky's the Limit
1943
as Fred Atwell (Fred Burton)
Flying Tiger Fred Atwell sneaks away from his famous squadron's personal appearance tour and goes incognito for several days of leave. He quickly fall...

The Sky's the Limit
1943
Choreographer
Flying Tiger Fred Atwell sneaks away from his famous squadron's personal appearance tour and goes incognito for several days of leave. He quickly fall...

You Were Never Lovelier
1942
as Robert Davis
An Argentine heiress thinks a penniless American dancer is her secret admirer.

Holiday Inn
1942
as Ted Hanover
Lovely Linda Mason has crooner Jim Hardy head over heels, but suave stepper Ted Hanover wants her for his new dance partner after fickle Lila Dixon gi...

Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)
1942
as Self
The edition of Screen Snapshots celebrates 25 years of production. It looks at the content of edition #1, then a tribute to movie people who have died...

You'll Never Get Rich
1941
as Robert Curtis
A Broadway choreographer gets drafted and coincidentally ends up in the same army base as the boyfriend of his object of affection.

Second Chorus
1941
as Danny O'Neill
Danny O'Neill and Hank Taylor are rival trumpeters with the Perennials, a college band, and both men are still attending college by failing their exam...

Broadway Melody of 1940
1940
as Johnny Brett
Johnny Brett and King Shaw are an unsuccessful dance team in New York. A producer discovers Brett as the new partner for Clare Bennett, but Brett, who...

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle
1939
as Vernon Castle
In 1911, minor stage comic, Vernon Castle meets the stage-struck Irene Foote. A few misadventures later, they marry and then abandon comedy to attempt...

Carefree
1938
as Tony Flagg
Dr. Tony Flagg's friend Steven has problems in the relationship with his fiancée Amanda, so he persuades her to visit Tony. After some minor misunders...

A Damsel in Distress
1937
as Jerry Halliday
Lady Alyce Marshmorton must marry soon, and the staff of Tottney Castle have laid bets on who she'll choose, with young Albert wagering on 'Mr. X'. Af...

Shall We Dance
1937
as Petrov
Ballet star Petrov arranges to cross the Atlantic aboard the same ship as the dancer and musical star he's fallen for but barely knows. By the time th...

Swing Time
1936
as Lucky Garnett
Lucky is tricked into missing his own wedding to Margaret and has to make $25,000 so her father will allow him to marry her. He and business partner P...

Follow the Fleet
1936
as Bake Baker
When the US Navy fleet docks at San Francisco, sailor Bake Baker tries to rekindle the flame with his old dancing partner, Sherry Martin, while Bake's...

Top Hat
1935
as Jerry Travers
Showman Jerry Travers is working for producer Horace Hardwick in London. Jerry demonstrates his new dance steps late one night in Horace's hotel room,...

Roberta
1935
as Huck Haines
Football player John Kent tags along as Huck Haines and the Wabash Indianians travel to an engagement in Paris, only to lose it immediately. John and ...

Roberta
1935
Choreographer
Football player John Kent tags along as Huck Haines and the Wabash Indianians travel to an engagement in Paris, only to lose it immediately. John and ...

The Gay Divorcee
1934
as Guy Holden
Seeking a divorce from her absentee husband, Mimi Glossop travels to an English seaside resort. There she falls in love with dancer Guy Holden, whom s...

Flying Down to Rio
1933
as Fred Ayres
A dance band leader finds love and success in Brazil.

Dancing Lady
1933
as Fred Astaire
Janie lives to dance and will dance anywhere, even stripping in a burlesque house. Tod Newton, the rich playboy, discovers her there and helps her get...