9 Favourite | The 85th Academy Awards moments
1 - Channing Tatum & Charlize Theron perform to “The Way You Look Tonight” by Fred Astaire
Songs Introduced by Fred Astaire
Cheek to Cheek (1935) - Irving Berlin
Written for the film Top Hat, Cheek to Cheek proved to be a big hit. Astaire’s recording of it spent five weeks as number one on the ‘Your Hit Parade’ chart and was named the number one song of 1935. The song was also nominated for an Academy Award. The song has been re-recorded numerous times, and the number and it’s accompanying dance number have become intrinsically linked to the memory of the Astaire/Rogers partnership.
(Source: thracekara)
Here again the picture in its entirety
For the duration of their astonishing 27-year partnership, the longest in his life — it began when Fred was 5 and Adele 8 — she was the undisputed star of the duo. In her fascinating new book, “The Astaires,” the Australian theater historian Kathleen Riley describes the exploits of this brother-sister team in glorious detail. And it becomes clear that it was behind and beside, but never in front of, Adele that Fred learned not only how to dance, but how to present a woman, honor her and make her glow. It is now a mostly lost art, hard-won equality having removed woman’s pedestal and left her prevaricating in the ditch of parallelism. (x)
Fred Astaire, with his astounding physical abilities, didn’t just redefine the notion of grace; he single-handedly (or, more accurately, double-footedly) pushed the concept further than anyone had before, or has since, on the great screen. While Gene Kelly sparred heroically in a mighty battle with gravity — like Atlas, he held the world aloft, and you knew it — Astaire simply sidestepped the fight and actually came down upon gravity rather than trudging up it like most mortals. (x)
Quartering one’s initials on the shirt’s outer sleeve is either a custom peculiar to show-biz types or another affectation of the privileged with too much time on their hands. Whether such swank smacks more of the titled than the theatrical, one thing is for sure: hallmarking one’s shirt sleeve on its upper forearm certainly reinforces its bespoke provenance, a proposition not likely to be overlooked by those so inclined. -Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion
(Source: classicmenswear)
I think I can pinpoint the one moment when the American style of dressing first appeared. It was in an appalling 1933 movie called Dancing Lady during an otherwise forgettable dance number. It also just happened to be Fred Astaire’s first on-camera dance. But don’t look at the steps. Look at the outfit: Astaire is wearing a single-breasted, soft flannel suit with two-tone spectator shoes and a turtleneck. You wish you could look that stylish! Later that year, in Flying Down to Rio, we get the full Astaire impact. The muted plaid suit is not all that striking, but Fred is wearing it with a soft button-down shirt, a pale woven tie, silk pocket square, bright horizontally striped hose and white bucks. Whoa! Now that’s different. This melange of the classic and the sporty was an American innovation. As we approach the impeccable Astaire’s 100th birthday on May 10, it’s worth remembering that he remains the greatest exemplar of that style.
- G. Bruce Boyer in “Shall We Dress?” (Great book btw!!!)
(Source: maudit)
Look at the way Fred reaches and holds Ginger’s hand
