0:00:06 > 0:00:07I'm Darcey Bussell.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12I'm often asked who inspired me to dance.
0:00:13 > 0:00:18It was the most stylish dancer on the planet.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24Fred Astaire was dance magic, distilled into one man.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28Women longed to be in his arms.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33Yet this fabulous career nearly didn't happen.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35That's what interests me.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40Everyone knows Fred as the greatest ballroom dancer in the world
0:00:40 > 0:00:43and yet it was never planned that way.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46Fred was not destined to be the dancer in the family.
0:00:46 > 0:00:51His mother only got Fred dancing to partner his sister Adele.
0:00:52 > 0:00:57She was meant to be the star and, for 30 years, she was.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01If there hadn't been an Adele Astaire,
0:01:01 > 0:01:03there probably wouldn't be a Fred Astaire.
0:01:03 > 0:01:08He was literally following in his big sister's footsteps.
0:01:08 > 0:01:13When Adele left the act to get married, it could have been the end.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17Adele suddenly announced she was leaving showbiz behind.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21Everyone said, "Oh, poor Fred. What will he ever do without her?"
0:01:22 > 0:01:25Even when he made it in Hollywood,
0:01:25 > 0:01:29Fred depended on the women he danced with to stay in the limelight.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31Most of all, Ginger Rogers.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36It's lightning in a bottle and that's what they were.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38They were lightning in a bottle.
0:01:40 > 0:01:45Dancing with Ginger, though, was not what Fred wanted.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49Fred says, "What's all this talk about me being teamed with Ginger Rogers?
0:01:49 > 0:01:51"I will not have it, Leland.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55"I did not go into pictures to be teamed with her, or anyone else."
0:01:57 > 0:01:59She drove him crazy.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01She drove him absolutely insane.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07Audiences loved Fred's romantic dance duos,
0:02:07 > 0:02:11while Fred spent his career trying to escape them.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13I'm wondering, deep down,
0:02:13 > 0:02:16if Fred always felt he was in someone else's shadow?
0:02:28 > 0:02:30From the 1930s,
0:02:30 > 0:02:32Fred Astaire set the standard
0:02:32 > 0:02:36for how every dancer and dance team should be.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39He lifted the bar impossibly high.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45He invented incredible solo dance routines...
0:02:48 > 0:02:52..and turned all his cinema dance partners into screen goddesses.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Fred not only created all the dance steps...
0:02:59 > 0:03:02..he connected with his partners unlike anyone else.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08He could even make a piece of furniture look good.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15This unique ability is something dancers today
0:03:15 > 0:03:17are still striving for.
0:03:22 > 0:03:27I'm on my way to see a rehearsal with Janette and Aljaz
0:03:27 > 0:03:30in a new production called Remembering Fred.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35# Heaven, I'm in heaven
0:03:37 > 0:03:41# And my heart beats so that I can hardly see
0:03:41 > 0:03:44# And I seem to find the happiness I seek
0:03:45 > 0:03:48# When we're out together dancing cheek to cheek... #
0:03:48 > 0:03:50We'll go into silhouette.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52# Cheek! #
0:03:56 > 0:03:58In our world, lead and follow is such a big deal.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00- Incredibly important. - It's all that matters.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03And so we've been paying really close attention
0:04:03 > 0:04:05to why he was so good at leading
0:04:05 > 0:04:07and how he can make a woman know exactly what to do
0:04:07 > 0:04:10and when to do it and at the right time to do it.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14It always, at whatever point you look at his stuff on film,
0:04:14 > 0:04:18it always looks like he's in total control, not just for himself,
0:04:18 > 0:04:20but as a partnership, which is so hard to do.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22And make them look amazing.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25All of a sudden, I felt a lot of pressure then!
0:04:27 > 0:04:28No, he's amazing.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31I've seen you perform, darling. You've got all of that.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33I'm not Fred yet.
0:04:35 > 0:04:36HE WHISTLES AS METRONOME TICKS
0:04:47 > 0:04:50Fred Astaire's amazing sense of rhythm
0:04:50 > 0:04:52goes all the way back to childhood.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58His birthplace was Omaha, Nebraska...
0:05:00 > 0:05:04..a town built on beer and railways,
0:05:04 > 0:05:07right in the middle of America.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12A very long way from the lights and dazzle of show business.
0:05:12 > 0:05:17It's said no matter how far he travelled,
0:05:17 > 0:05:20there was one thing from Omaha Fred would always carry with him.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29All those Union Pacific trains passing through town
0:05:29 > 0:05:32inspired Fred to make up dances,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35based on the rhythms of the railways.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43SLIDE GUITAR
0:05:53 > 0:05:56Omaha, Nebraska, is an old-fashioned kind of place.
0:05:56 > 0:05:57Hi, Don!
0:05:57 > 0:06:02The first thing I'm looking for is the house where, in 1899,
0:06:02 > 0:06:03Fred Astaire was born.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13It's on the outskirts of town on South Ten Street
0:06:13 > 0:06:16and I have a photo of it from the time.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Gosh, it's not what I expected.
0:06:27 > 0:06:35In this 1900 census, Fred is listed in this very house with his parents,
0:06:35 > 0:06:39Adele, his sister, it says she is two years older,
0:06:39 > 0:06:41but what's strange...
0:06:42 > 0:06:45..is their name. It's not Astaire.
0:06:45 > 0:06:46It's Austerlitz.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53Fred was born into an immigrant family.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56His father, Fritz Austerlitz,
0:06:56 > 0:07:00came all the way to Omaha from Austria in 1892.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06He met and married a local girl from a German family...
0:07:07 > 0:07:09..Johanna, known as Ann.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14Like hundreds of thousands of other immigrant families,
0:07:14 > 0:07:16they were making their way in America.
0:07:21 > 0:07:26At that time, one in four people in Nebraska spoke German
0:07:26 > 0:07:29and many of them worked in the breweries.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Local brewer and historian Bill Baburek
0:07:34 > 0:07:38has found out how Fred's dad, Fritz, found a job...
0:07:39 > 0:07:44..in Omaha's Storz Brewery, the biggest in the state.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46- So I have some things to show you. - Oh, OK, great.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54Here's an interior shot of the Storz Brewery.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57So that's about the same time that his father...
0:07:57 > 0:07:59Fritz was working here?
0:07:59 > 0:08:01Worked there, yes.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04This would have been one of his cards, if you will,
0:08:04 > 0:08:06- calling cards. - Cos he was a salesman?
0:08:06 > 0:08:08As a salesman. Yeah, he got a job as a salesman.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12- That's brilliant.- And he would've gone round to the various saloons
0:08:12 > 0:08:16in town to sell the Storz beer.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22As Fritz began to earn a decent wage...
0:08:23 > 0:08:24Walk. Side. Together.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28..Ann Austerlitz was ambitious for the children.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32She wanted her daughter, Adele, and her son, Fred,
0:08:32 > 0:08:34to move up the social ladder.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40It was mum who struck upon a great idea
0:08:40 > 0:08:42for the kids to learn to be dancers.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48Local dance teacher Elizabeth Colclasure has discovered
0:08:48 > 0:08:51how Ann took her children to dance class
0:08:51 > 0:08:56to learn how to conduct themselves as Americans.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59Why do you think it's so important for kids to learn to dance?
0:08:59 > 0:09:01I think it's really important
0:09:01 > 0:09:04just because it teaches them how to interact with each other.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07it gives them confidence and it also teaches young children
0:09:07 > 0:09:10how to be more like gentlemen and like ladies
0:09:10 > 0:09:13and teaches them to respect one another.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19Adele took to dancing instantly.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22Fred, though, was very shy and would only dance
0:09:22 > 0:09:25in partnership with his sister.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28This is a lovely picture. This is of the mother, Ann, isn't it?
0:09:28 > 0:09:34Yes, she always made sure she wanted to install into her kids
0:09:34 > 0:09:37that they could be anything. She always put her children first.
0:09:37 > 0:09:42She had a great vision, I think, for them and starting here in Omaha...
0:09:42 > 0:09:45..putting them straight into dance class, at a very young age?
0:09:45 > 0:09:47Yes, and starting out in Omaha,
0:09:47 > 0:09:49just starting in a very small city
0:09:49 > 0:09:51and starting right in the middle of, you know, the US.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57And yet Nebraska was at the heart
0:09:57 > 0:10:01of a growing movement for change in America.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05The local beer industry, livelihood of so many,
0:10:05 > 0:10:06faced an uncertain future.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11It wasn't looking so good for the Austerlitz family.
0:10:14 > 0:10:20This is a postcard that were put out by the prohibitionists.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22Basically, kind of, as a scare tactic, if you will,
0:10:22 > 0:10:26- and if you read it, Darcey, it is pretty brutal.- Yeah.
0:10:26 > 0:10:31"Whatever you do, remember the saloon keeper is after your children."
0:10:33 > 0:10:36We were still a ways off from prohibition,
0:10:36 > 0:10:41but, I think, those winds of change were kind of circulating.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46They would soon start laying people off at the brewery.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50Once again the family faced poverty.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54Ann's plans for the children risked coming to nothing.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02Fritz saw an ad for a dance school in Manhattan
0:11:02 > 0:11:04that was looking for new pupils
0:11:04 > 0:11:07and it was mother Ann who said,
0:11:07 > 0:11:11"There's nothing here for Adele and Fred.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14"Maybe there's a future in dancing."
0:11:14 > 0:11:18She was prepared to drop everything and go with the children to New York.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24In January 1905,
0:11:24 > 0:11:28the journey of an unknown family called Austerlitz
0:11:28 > 0:11:31began here at Union Station, Omaha.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36Now a beautifully restored building
0:11:36 > 0:11:39that speaks of Nebraska's past glories.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46They were leaving their father behind,
0:11:46 > 0:11:49hoping to dance their way to their dreams.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54Aged barely six and eight, with their new stage names,
0:11:54 > 0:11:56Fred and Adele Astaire.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01It was here they departed with their mother
0:12:01 > 0:12:04to start a brand-new life in New York.
0:12:08 > 0:12:13Ann, Fred and Adele would travel 1,200 miles,
0:12:13 > 0:12:15nearly three days by train,
0:12:15 > 0:12:18to arrive right in the middle of Manhattan.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35As a small boy from a small town,
0:12:35 > 0:12:37Fred was shocked by the hustle and bustle.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41So many people all crammed into one place.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52Later, Fred wrote, "This trip was really a stab in the dark.
0:12:52 > 0:12:57"We were going to New York without so much as a letter of introduction.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01"My mother had never been there and she knew no-one."
0:13:04 > 0:13:09Ann took Fred and Adele to the Alviene dance school,
0:13:09 > 0:13:11a husband-and-wife business,
0:13:11 > 0:13:14on 8th Avenue and 23rd Street,
0:13:14 > 0:13:18close to music halls and a bowling alley.
0:13:18 > 0:13:19Five, six, seven, eight.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28Fred and Adele were taking their first steps into show business.
0:13:28 > 0:13:34Just like kids today taking daily dance classes,
0:13:34 > 0:13:38the first stage to becoming professional performers.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51I think it's extraordinary to think
0:13:51 > 0:13:54that Fred and Adele came from Omaha, Nebraska,
0:13:54 > 0:13:57and arrived in New York of all places.
0:13:57 > 0:14:02I mean, the change for them, what they could see and hear,
0:14:02 > 0:14:04it must've been quite a shock.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06Yeah, definitely a culture shock.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09How amazing, so many more opportunities for them
0:14:09 > 0:14:12to learn different styles of dance.
0:14:12 > 0:14:13So many more doors open to them.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16I know when our students come from smaller towns
0:14:16 > 0:14:17and move to New York City,
0:14:17 > 0:14:21they have these big eyes and taking everything in
0:14:21 > 0:14:23and I think they just feel so much more inspired
0:14:23 > 0:14:26because the world has really opened up to them.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29It's not just a small little place any more.
0:14:29 > 0:14:30Everything is here.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33And also to notice the talent.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35So they realise, "Oh, my gosh, we've got to pick it up here.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37"We've got to get better."
0:14:37 > 0:14:40They might have been the best in their dance class in a small town,
0:14:40 > 0:14:43but now, you know, everyone, there's so many great dancers here.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46But I think that can be inspiring, a little bit of competition.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48Oh, yeah, perfect competition.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50Exactly what they needed, at the right time.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56The only way was for Fred and Adele to work their way up.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01No performer got a look in on Broadway
0:15:01 > 0:15:04unless they did their time in vaudeville,
0:15:04 > 0:15:08the home of music hall and variety shows.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15In the autumn of 1905,
0:15:15 > 0:15:19Fred and Adele secured their first professional gig
0:15:19 > 0:15:21on the other side of New York harbour.
0:15:23 > 0:15:28A song and dance act arranged by their dance teacher
0:15:29 > 0:15:34in the end-of-pier amusement show in Keyport, New Jersey.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42Musical theatre expert John Kenrick has more information
0:15:42 > 0:15:45on how Adele was a natural from the start.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54Here's a photo of them in one of their first acts
0:15:54 > 0:15:57and there's Fred dressed as the groom
0:15:57 > 0:15:59and Adele dressed as the bride.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01Apparently, from the very beginning,
0:16:01 > 0:16:05it was Adele who had that natural ability
0:16:05 > 0:16:09to walk on stage and attract the audience's attention.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Imagine what it would be like
0:16:12 > 0:16:17if you are two siblings and one of you always gets the praise
0:16:17 > 0:16:20and the other one, "Yeah, well, he's OK too."
0:16:20 > 0:16:22That would drive you mad.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24And he adored his sister.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27He loved seeing her succeed,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30but he naturally wanted a piece of that credit too,
0:16:30 > 0:16:33and his one way to do that
0:16:33 > 0:16:38was to work like a dray horse and rehearsal was his strength.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42In all their years in vaudeville,
0:16:42 > 0:16:46Fred never once got a better review than his sister.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51The only time he stood out was when he did something different.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56Aged nine, he decided to dance on pointe like a ballerina.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01Notice something else fascinating here.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04He's wearing toe shoes.
0:17:04 > 0:17:05Well, that, I have to say,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08is pretty unusual for a boy to be wearing toe shoes.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10What was the attraction of that?
0:17:10 > 0:17:11Well, that was the sure thing.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15That was the novelty of a boy wearing toe shoes.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18To this day it's an extraordinarily rare thing to find a boy
0:17:18 > 0:17:19wearing toe shoes.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22I don't know because I never studied ballet, this is your world,
0:17:22 > 0:17:25but I've heard from some of the dance majors I've taught
0:17:25 > 0:17:29that a boy wouldn't dream of doing that except as a gag.
0:17:38 > 0:17:45This is a very early review of Freddie Astaire in April 1909,
0:17:45 > 0:17:48the young toe dancer.
0:17:48 > 0:17:49And it says,
0:17:49 > 0:17:55"One of the most remarkable toe dancers is now appearing on the vaudeville stage.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58"Freddie is still a mere boy,
0:17:58 > 0:18:03"but his toe dancing is on a par with that of any dancer
0:18:03 > 0:18:06"before the public."
0:18:10 > 0:18:13Vaudeville, it gave you an education by doing
0:18:13 > 0:18:18and you got out there and you toured 47-50 weeks a year.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21You were lucky if you took a few weeks off in summertime.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24You performed wherever they booked you.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28You showed up every night, no matter what condition you were in.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31You had a fever, you got out and performed.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33You had the flu, you got out and performed.
0:18:33 > 0:18:34You had a broken leg,
0:18:34 > 0:18:38you figured out a way to get out there on a cast and still perform.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40Because it was pay for play
0:18:40 > 0:18:43and if you did not show up you didn't eat.
0:18:45 > 0:18:51It was hard graft for Fred and Adele for the best part of a decade.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55It came to a point where Fred Astaire himself said
0:18:55 > 0:18:59that they had played every chicken coop and rat trap in the country.
0:19:00 > 0:19:01But they were teenagers now?
0:19:01 > 0:19:03They were but, by this point,
0:19:03 > 0:19:07they were ready to make a transition to something else.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16In the few precious hours they were not performing,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19Adele focused on having fun.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22Fred was the creative one, devising the new routines
0:19:22 > 0:19:25needed to drive things forward in their careers.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31Aged 17, he found inspiration in the heart of Harlem.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35African Americans were moving into the cities
0:19:35 > 0:19:37and bringing a whole new style of dancing.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54When Fred Astaire was going up to the Cotton Club
0:19:54 > 0:19:57and seeing these acts, he would see the dancers.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00They had a line of male tap dancers,
0:20:00 > 0:20:02and there are these three sorts of movement
0:20:02 > 0:20:06that become really important, and contribute to tap dance.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09And these are the dances that we called
0:20:09 > 0:20:12buck dances, wing dances, and jigs.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16So buck dances are the dances, you're going to do this with me...
0:20:16 > 0:20:18- OK.- You're going to dig down, dig down.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21- So it's weight down? - Down.- Down to the ground.
0:20:21 > 0:20:22Down! That's it, yes.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24And a buck dance.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26Oh, yeah, I can do this one.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28There you go. Yes, that's it.
0:20:33 > 0:20:34Love it!
0:20:40 > 0:20:43Nice! Oh, my gosh. Was that like them all rolled together?
0:20:43 > 0:20:47Well, that was more like a buck dance and a jig together.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49Now, wing dances, though, are important,
0:20:49 > 0:20:52cos buck dances tend to be about the rhythm and the weight.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55But, in the wing dances, we're going to flap our body,
0:20:55 > 0:20:57- as though we have wings.- OK.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00So here, with the elbows.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02Like a chicken. Now try flapping your knees too.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05- OK.- There you go. Yes.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09So these wing dances become very much a part of tap dance.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13# Slap that bass, slap it till it's dizzy
0:21:13 > 0:21:15# Slap that bass, keep the rhythm busy
0:21:15 > 0:21:19# Zoom-zoom-zoom, misery has got to go... #
0:21:19 > 0:21:22This number in Shall We Dance that he made later in his career,
0:21:22 > 0:21:25where he's dancing, and he's among these African-American engineers
0:21:25 > 0:21:27and they sing a song, and he's watching,
0:21:27 > 0:21:29and then he joins in and he sings.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33# Learn to zoom-zoom-zoom, slap that bass!
0:21:33 > 0:21:36# Da-da-da, dat-doo, dat-doo! #
0:21:36 > 0:21:38But, then, as it goes into the dance break,
0:21:38 > 0:21:42he takes off his jacket to kind of be in spirit with the workers.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48And he changes the beat, and the song goes from a kind of
0:21:48 > 0:21:52upbeat happy song to a sort of soft-shoe rhythm.
0:21:59 > 0:22:00And then he kind of plays with his body
0:22:00 > 0:22:03and he does these fun, eccentric little dances.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11And then he changes the beat to a really hard, fast,
0:22:11 > 0:22:13sort of buck dance for the end.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15It has a big flashy ending.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18And he demonstrates what he can do with really strong, fast rhythm.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32So the dance has three really distinct tempos.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35As you are watching it, you might not even notice it
0:22:35 > 0:22:37but it's how he organises rhythm.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39To tell us a story, to give us the excitement,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42to really share the dance with us
0:22:42 > 0:22:44and the things that are possible inside of it.
0:23:01 > 0:23:06Fred's sparkling dance routines and Adele's natural charm
0:23:06 > 0:23:08gave the brother-sister act
0:23:08 > 0:23:11the sophistication they needed for Broadway.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15They were hired by the Schubert Theatre
0:23:15 > 0:23:20in a show called Over The Top in 1917.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25Musicals are alive and kicking!
0:23:25 > 0:23:26- Woo!- Ha-ha!
0:23:31 > 0:23:35Buried in the archives of the New York Public Library,
0:23:35 > 0:23:38in its Billy Rose Theatre division,
0:23:38 > 0:23:41are hundreds and thousands of theatre documents.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45Archivist Doug Reside has found the playbills
0:23:45 > 0:23:48from the Astaires' early years on Broadway.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52So, Doug, in the 1920s, what was Broadway like?
0:23:52 > 0:23:55So, the musical theatre was kind of frothy and goofy.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57So these were popular shows?
0:23:57 > 0:23:59As in that they were light entertainment?
0:23:59 > 0:24:01Exactly! Light entertainments, yes.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03You'll see, I mean, they are just, of course,
0:24:03 > 0:24:04beginning performers at this point,
0:24:04 > 0:24:06Beginning Broadway performers.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08They are actually at the very bottom of the programme here,
0:24:08 > 0:24:10Fred is listed second to last,
0:24:10 > 0:24:14and Adele, who is listed simply as Adele, the character,
0:24:14 > 0:24:17is the final character on this front page.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21So they got good reviews for their performance.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25There is a review here that said Fred Astaire
0:24:25 > 0:24:30"has the great gift of being pleasantly awkward everywhere but in his legs."
0:24:30 > 0:24:31And Adele is praised as well.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34So their performances are well received,
0:24:34 > 0:24:37but the show itself seems to have been a bit of a bore.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40And was Adele getting better reviews than Fred?
0:24:40 > 0:24:43Yes, in general, I think she was recognised
0:24:43 > 0:24:45as the more polished performer.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49They were a killer combination,
0:24:49 > 0:24:54steadily making their way up to the top of the bill on Broadway
0:24:54 > 0:24:57and top billing meant proper money.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07They could earn as much as 500 a week,
0:25:07 > 0:25:0910,000 today.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16Enough to take a lease, with their mother, Ann,
0:25:16 > 0:25:18on this Park Avenue apartment.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22Still one of the most exclusive addresses in New York.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31Adele remained the star performer,
0:25:31 > 0:25:33yet the whole show depended on Fred.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37Not only as ideas man and dance partner,
0:25:37 > 0:25:40he managed the money, and the contracts.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43I have a letter here that Fred wrote, which...
0:25:44 > 0:25:46..he comes across very savvy...
0:25:46 > 0:25:49"We ask you, now that business here is big,
0:25:49 > 0:25:53"to please see that we receive our full salary on Christmas week.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57"Can I assure you that this will be greatly appreciated."
0:25:57 > 0:25:59Now, this obviously worked for Fred,
0:25:59 > 0:26:04because by the time he was 20 he was driving his own baby Rolls-Royce.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11Fred was always on the lookout for new opportunities.
0:26:14 > 0:26:19He knew, from his childhood, success could vanish as quickly as it came.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23Becoming true show business stars
0:26:23 > 0:26:27would mean testing themselves in front of a wider audience.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36In the spring of 1923
0:26:36 > 0:26:40Adele was asked to star in London's West End,
0:26:40 > 0:26:42where the theatre was booming.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47Fred would go too, as Adele's partner, choreographer,
0:26:47 > 0:26:50and, increasingly, her equal.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54They were contracted for one show
0:26:54 > 0:26:56and many more, if it was successful.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02Fred later recreated this journey in his film, Royal Wedding.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06- Isn't it wonderful?- It sure is.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08TELEPHONE RINGS
0:27:10 > 0:27:12Hello?
0:27:12 > 0:27:14Yes? Oh, sure.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16Yes. Do come on up.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21When they arrived at the Savoy Hotel,
0:27:21 > 0:27:25Fred and Adele were whisked up to the roof
0:27:25 > 0:27:27for a publicity photograph...
0:27:29 > 0:27:30..in foggy London.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38They stayed in the same riverside suite
0:27:38 > 0:27:40where I'm meeting Kathleen Riley.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45She's looked into how much rested on their London debut.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50Kathleen, thank you so much for bringing all your goodies...
0:27:50 > 0:27:53- It's a pleasure. - ..of the Astaires in London.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57Now, was it make or break for them, to appear here?
0:27:57 > 0:27:58Fred certainly thought so.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02In fact, I've got this letter here, which is rather wonderful,
0:28:02 > 0:28:06from when, shortly after they arrive in May 1923,
0:28:06 > 0:28:10where he is writing home to his father, Fritz,
0:28:10 > 0:28:14and it's so full of excitement, but anxiety at the same time.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16So he says...
0:28:16 > 0:28:19"Well, Pop, we are still all nervous about the opening
0:28:19 > 0:28:21"and can't wait until it has passed.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23"In front of the theatre, over the entrance,
0:28:23 > 0:28:30"there is a great big sign with just our pictures enlarged to three times to life-size" - underlined -
0:28:30 > 0:28:31"cut out figures.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35"And also another with just our names, and it looks marvellous,
0:28:35 > 0:28:38"but it scares us half to death."
0:28:38 > 0:28:41And then you have to come up with the goods, don't you?
0:28:43 > 0:28:49In fact, it's London that really makes them stars in the true sense.
0:28:49 > 0:28:53This is a really crucial turning point in their career.
0:28:56 > 0:29:01Their first show in London was called Stop Flirting.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04No footage survives of Fred and Adele's West End premiere.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07There is, however, a recording of the music.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12This is from Stop Flirting.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14And it's got this incredible name,
0:29:14 > 0:29:17The Whichness Of The Whatness Of The Whereness Of The Who.
0:29:17 > 0:29:21The Whichness Of The Whatness Of The Whereness Of The Who.
0:29:21 > 0:29:23I've got it. Amazing!
0:29:23 > 0:29:24Let's get it started.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27Hope I'm doing this correctly.
0:29:29 > 0:29:30Here we go.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32# It's the whichness of the whatness
0:29:32 > 0:29:33# Of the whereness of the who
0:29:33 > 0:29:36# That explains most everything to us
0:29:36 > 0:29:41# And you must admit the whole thing is ridiculously simple
0:29:41 > 0:29:43# As well as simply ridiculous
0:29:43 > 0:29:44# Don't forget it... #
0:29:44 > 0:29:48Her voice, though, is quite, I mean, obviously the trend at that time.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52Yes, it's very much of its period,
0:29:52 > 0:29:56and it's quite shrill to our ears.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00Partly the recording, of course, but it's very high.
0:30:00 > 0:30:04In fact, it was described as "cooee soprano".
0:30:04 > 0:30:07But it's very much in that style of
0:30:07 > 0:30:11light operetta, it's not too jazzy, but it's...
0:30:11 > 0:30:13Yeah, it's very distinctive.
0:30:16 > 0:30:18Their first night, is this their programme?
0:30:18 > 0:30:22This is the programme for Stop Flirting.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26They ended up, over its lifetime, doing 10,000 dances,
0:30:26 > 0:30:30and Adele went through a pair of stockings each performance.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33A pair of shoes a week...
0:30:33 > 0:30:35That sounds like a ballet dancer!
0:30:35 > 0:30:39The audience absolutely loved it, and the critics, of course,
0:30:39 > 0:30:42the next day, I think it was The Times, actually, that said,
0:30:42 > 0:30:46"Columbus may have danced for joy on discovering America,
0:30:46 > 0:30:50"but how he would have cavorted if he had discovered Fred and Adele."
0:30:50 > 0:30:52And another one was,
0:30:52 > 0:30:56"Miss Astaire could dance the depression out of an undertaker."
0:30:59 > 0:31:05If Adele still had the edge with reviews, Fred was standing out too.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07Not least as a snappy dresser.
0:31:09 > 0:31:13So, Darcey, I've got one more thing to show you, which is, perhaps,
0:31:13 > 0:31:16my most treasured Fred possession.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21One of Fred's very own hats.
0:31:21 > 0:31:22- Wow.- A straw boater.
0:31:24 > 0:31:26It's gorgeous.
0:31:26 > 0:31:27So he would have performed in this?
0:31:27 > 0:31:29Yes, I think so.
0:31:29 > 0:31:31I can imagine just doing that.
0:31:33 > 0:31:34Tapping out the rhythm.
0:31:34 > 0:31:36- Yeah.- Might have to try it on.
0:31:37 > 0:31:38Oh, yes. It fits!
0:31:38 > 0:31:41It looks absolutely to the manner born.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44- Should it be on the angle? - Oh, yes, a jaunty angle.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46Definitely, yes.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49- Oh, excellent, I love it. - Absolutely. The biz!
0:31:58 > 0:32:031920s London loved a good American song and dance act.
0:32:05 > 0:32:09Fred and Adele were the toast of the town, invited to everything,
0:32:09 > 0:32:12and one of their biggest fans was the royal family.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18What was extraordinary was that the Prince of Wales, for example,
0:32:18 > 0:32:21he loved coming to see, particularly, Stop Flirting.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24Not only once, but, I mean, night after night.
0:32:25 > 0:32:27The Prince of Wales,
0:32:27 > 0:32:31we know that he was very attracted to everything American.
0:32:31 > 0:32:33- He loved America. - Yes, and, obviously,
0:32:33 > 0:32:38meeting Adele and being very attracted to her as a performer,
0:32:38 > 0:32:40and this beautiful woman that she was...
0:32:40 > 0:32:43You have some letters that Adele and Fred
0:32:43 > 0:32:47wrote back to their parents when they were performing here in London?
0:32:47 > 0:32:48Yes. Adele tells the story.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50This is 1923.
0:32:50 > 0:32:54"Mother dear and Father dear, so happy to hear from you.
0:32:54 > 0:32:55"Can't write each of you separately,
0:32:55 > 0:32:58"because I've so many letters to write every day.
0:32:58 > 0:33:00"I think the Prince likes me."
0:33:00 > 0:33:02And then, at the bottom, she says,
0:33:02 > 0:33:05"PS, remember, the Prince has rushed actresses before.
0:33:05 > 0:33:09"But he has never invited them to meet his own friends, and to be informal."
0:33:12 > 0:33:15I did hear that Adele was quite naughty.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17She was quite a sort of raunchy figure.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19I mean, she wasn't a shrinking violet by any means.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22- She wasn't shy like Fred? - No, not at all.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26There is one story in which she was getting into a car, and she never wore any underwear.
0:33:26 > 0:33:28No, really! Oh, my gosh, she was naughty!
0:33:28 > 0:33:31And she said, "Oh, whoops! Somebody's just seen the ace of spades!"
0:33:39 > 0:33:42Fred was better behaved than his older sister,
0:33:42 > 0:33:45yet still caused royal hearts to flutter.
0:33:45 > 0:33:49Fred was dancing with the Duchess of York, later the Queen Mother,
0:33:49 > 0:33:51and she remembered it all her life.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54She wrote to the Queen about it, saying, you know,
0:33:54 > 0:33:59she remembered dancing in York House, you know, with Fred Astaire.
0:33:59 > 0:34:00And she called him "delicious",
0:34:00 > 0:34:03which was one of the Queen Mother's favourite words!
0:34:03 > 0:34:05She said, "They are delicious, the Astaires."
0:34:13 > 0:34:16London secured the international reputation
0:34:16 > 0:34:18of Fred and Adele Astaire.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22They were fixtures throughout the '20s,
0:34:22 > 0:34:23with a string of hit shows.
0:34:28 > 0:34:29Until, out of the blue,
0:34:29 > 0:34:33something happened that would change everything.
0:34:36 > 0:34:40By the early 1930s Adele was tiring of show business.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43She was in love with the son of the Duke of Devonshire.
0:34:50 > 0:34:55Stored deep in the theatre archives of the Victoria and Albert Museum
0:34:55 > 0:34:58are some precious documents saved from that time.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02Here it is, here's the file that we need to look at.
0:35:02 > 0:35:03Thank you.
0:35:04 > 0:35:10Here we have it. "Family wedding party, Duke's son marries dancer.
0:35:10 > 0:35:12"Service in private chapel."
0:35:12 > 0:35:17So, Adele makes the decision to marry Charles Cavendish.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19It's a lovely secret.
0:35:19 > 0:35:21Adele's husband to be, Charles,
0:35:21 > 0:35:24his family must have been quite surprised
0:35:24 > 0:35:27that he was going to marry this showgirl, this dancer.
0:35:27 > 0:35:32Yes. And we've actually got a copy of a photograph here,
0:35:32 > 0:35:34so you can see them all lined up, the wedding party.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37Oh, my gosh, it does look like the royal family though, doesn't it?
0:35:37 > 0:35:39Look at the bridesmaids.
0:35:39 > 0:35:40Isn't that beautiful?
0:35:40 > 0:35:44- There we have the bride and groom, and there's Ann.- Oh, yes.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48- Mum.- And the best man, and the Duke.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50But no Fred.
0:35:50 > 0:35:52So that's odd.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55Fred missed the wedding because he was finished with London.
0:35:57 > 0:36:01His sister's aristocratic marriage meant the double act was over.
0:36:02 > 0:36:06He was back on Broadway, this time in his own right.
0:36:06 > 0:36:09Obviously, there was going to be a huge impact,
0:36:09 > 0:36:12if Adele was stepping down from the stage,
0:36:12 > 0:36:15she was such a big star in her own right, and their partnership...
0:36:15 > 0:36:19The wonderful thing, actually, that Fred doesn't take a break at all.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22He goes straight into his next career as a solo artist.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25- He was ready for this, wasn't he? - I'm sure he was.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28I think the fact that he had been with the same partner, really,
0:36:28 > 0:36:31all his life, suddenly, new challenges come.
0:36:31 > 0:36:33And that's very significant.
0:36:33 > 0:36:34Yeah. Great.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42And just as Adele met someone, so did Fred.
0:36:45 > 0:36:50A wealthy American divorcee called Phyllis Potter.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56As we can see, Fred is actually courting Phyllis at this point.
0:36:56 > 0:36:58Here it says,
0:36:58 > 0:37:02"Mr Astaire, who is well-known in London as an actor and dancer,
0:37:02 > 0:37:05"the brother of Lady Charles Cavendish.
0:37:05 > 0:37:11"Mrs Potter's fortune is reputed at five million..."
0:37:11 > 0:37:15- What!- So that is really about the equivalent of 150 million.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17Oh, my!
0:37:17 > 0:37:19So we are talking about huge wealth here.
0:37:19 > 0:37:24And he obviously wasn't just getting to know her because of that?
0:37:24 > 0:37:27No, I think, again,
0:37:27 > 0:37:30it was a very happy relationship that was building up.
0:37:30 > 0:37:34And building up slowly, because she had to go through a divorce.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41He had met a woman who he would marry, Phyllis,
0:37:41 > 0:37:44and was actually experiencing a serious adult romance
0:37:44 > 0:37:46for the first time in his life.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50Suddenly, he had a beautiful girl, a glamorous girl,
0:37:50 > 0:37:51and it wasn't his sister any more.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55Fred's personal life was changing.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58His professional life was changing,
0:37:58 > 0:38:00and show business was changing.
0:38:04 > 0:38:10The hub of the American entertainment industry was moving.
0:38:10 > 0:38:14From Broadway on the east coast, to Hollywood on the west coast.
0:38:15 > 0:38:20It was time for stage performers to make their way in a new medium.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25In 1933, Fred was spotted by a talent scout for the movies.
0:38:26 > 0:38:28And he only agreed to go
0:38:28 > 0:38:32if Phyllis would join him on his next big adventure.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36Hollywood, RKO specifically, came to him and said,
0:38:36 > 0:38:38"Hey, do you want to come out and make some films?"
0:38:38 > 0:38:40She was there to say, "Absolutely,
0:38:40 > 0:38:43"and I'll be by your side while you do it."
0:38:43 > 0:38:46And he would not go out there until they were married,
0:38:46 > 0:38:48they got married, took the plane out to California
0:38:48 > 0:38:51and started this new life.
0:38:51 > 0:38:52And she was his rock
0:38:52 > 0:38:55as he made that crucial decision to take the big risk
0:38:55 > 0:38:58and go from live performing to screen performing.
0:39:14 > 0:39:16Sunshine, the golden age of Hollywood.
0:39:16 > 0:39:18When you think of this, you think of Fred Astaire.
0:39:20 > 0:39:25Yet his success on Broadway didn't guarantee success in the movies.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28It almost didn't happen for Fred in Hollywood.
0:39:33 > 0:39:35Fred came out to California
0:39:35 > 0:39:38expecting to make it in his own right.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42Dreaming up all sorts of solo numbers for the big screen.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48Audiences, however, were looking for romance.
0:39:49 > 0:39:54RKO Pictures needed Fred Astaire to partner their rising star,
0:39:54 > 0:39:55Ginger Rogers,
0:39:55 > 0:39:58in a film called Flying Down To Rio.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03It was the depression. The bottom of the depression,
0:40:03 > 0:40:05and RKO was a struggling studio,
0:40:05 > 0:40:08and even the bigger studios were having a hard time.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11But then they made this musical,
0:40:11 > 0:40:14this rather extraordinary, elaborate musical.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21When the film came around to their number,
0:40:21 > 0:40:24this inventive little number called the Carioca,
0:40:24 > 0:40:30and they started dancing, it was not just a debut of a new dance team,
0:40:30 > 0:40:33it was the start of a love affair.
0:40:35 > 0:40:37You can see for yourself.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44Oh, my gosh. This is absolute heaven, isn't it?
0:40:44 > 0:40:45Their connection...
0:40:48 > 0:40:51If anything, you'd think they'd been dancing together forever.
0:40:51 > 0:40:53- Yeah.- How natural they are.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58There are some things you can't define
0:40:58 > 0:41:01and this is one of them. They were lightning in a bottle.
0:41:01 > 0:41:05You couldn't recreate it, you couldn't invent it if you tried to.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16What happened when RKO tried to contract Fred
0:41:16 > 0:41:17for many more pictures?
0:41:17 > 0:41:20Well, he was wary, to put it mildly.
0:41:20 > 0:41:24We have a paper trail, the details.
0:41:24 > 0:41:28Here's a letter, dated February 9th, 1934,
0:41:28 > 0:41:31to his agent, the very famous agent, Leland Hayward.
0:41:31 > 0:41:36Fred says, "What's all this talk about me being teamed with Ginger Rogers?
0:41:36 > 0:41:38"I will not" - underscored not - "have it, Leland.
0:41:38 > 0:41:42"I did not go into pictures to be teamed with her, or anyone else.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45"If that is the programme in mind for me, I will not stand for it."
0:41:45 > 0:41:46These are strong words.
0:41:47 > 0:41:52"I don't mind doing another picture with her but, as for this team idea, it's out.
0:41:52 > 0:41:54"I've just managed to live down one partnership
0:41:54 > 0:41:58"and I don't want to be bothered with any more. Fred Astaire."
0:41:59 > 0:42:02That's a staggering letter.
0:42:02 > 0:42:05I would never think he was that forthright, but, you're right,
0:42:05 > 0:42:09he'd only just come from his partnership, from a child,
0:42:09 > 0:42:11with his sister, Adele.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15Yes, they had been enormously popular, enormously successful,
0:42:15 > 0:42:18and when she left the act, the whole world said,
0:42:18 > 0:42:20"What's poor Fred going to do now?"
0:42:20 > 0:42:22You know, poor Fred.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25"She's the act. What is poor Fred going to do?"
0:42:25 > 0:42:28And he had conquered that on Broadway.
0:42:29 > 0:42:31So now, it worked.
0:42:31 > 0:42:34He's a solo star, Fred Astaire.
0:42:34 > 0:42:35He goes out to Hollywood,
0:42:35 > 0:42:38and they team him up with another young woman.
0:42:38 > 0:42:39So this was not anti-Ginger.
0:42:39 > 0:42:41And he says here, he'll make another picture with her.
0:42:41 > 0:42:45He's attacking the idea of being part of a duo.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48So what did the studio chief think of that?
0:42:48 > 0:42:50Here's his response...
0:42:50 > 0:42:53"Tell Astaire hold his water with regards to teaming.
0:42:54 > 0:42:57"He is not yet ready to be star in his own right.
0:42:57 > 0:43:00"Ginger Rogers seems to go rather well with him.
0:43:00 > 0:43:04"We can all clean up a lot of money by keeping them together.
0:43:04 > 0:43:05"Would be foolish not to."
0:43:09 > 0:43:12These films were a gold mine.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14For RKO, as they would have been for any studio.
0:43:16 > 0:43:19The Gay Divorcee was their first starring film.
0:43:19 > 0:43:21Followed by Top Hat, an even bigger hit.
0:43:24 > 0:43:29Followed by Swing Time, one after another, after another.
0:43:31 > 0:43:35No-one had a run of successes quite like this before.
0:43:35 > 0:43:40Especially during the 1930s when people needed that lift.
0:43:40 > 0:43:46When times were tough, these movies gave people, not just escape...
0:43:47 > 0:43:49..but they lifted their spirits and left them walking on a cloud.
0:43:56 > 0:44:00Every now and again a musical comedy will still deliver some
0:44:00 > 0:44:02of that old-time Hollywood magic.
0:44:04 > 0:44:06Just as they did all those years ago.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11I'm wondering how much Fred and Ginger
0:44:11 > 0:44:14influenced the smash hit musical La La Land.
0:44:22 > 0:44:26So, Mandy, was it inspired by the golden age of Hollywood?
0:44:26 > 0:44:27Oh, 100%!
0:44:27 > 0:44:30Every reference was from the golden age.
0:44:30 > 0:44:31I mean, it was all Fred Astaire.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34Was the couple inspired by Fred and Ginger?
0:44:34 > 0:44:37We would sit and watch old Fred and Ginger numbers, you know?
0:44:38 > 0:44:42The duet between Ryan and Emma that took place right here
0:44:42 > 0:44:44is actually directly inspired by
0:44:44 > 0:44:46"Isn't It A Lovely Day To Be Caught In The Rain?"
0:44:46 > 0:44:48from Top Hat.
0:44:48 > 0:44:50- I mean, we watched that thing 600 times.- Oh, wow!
0:45:18 > 0:45:20We would talk about why we liked the relationship
0:45:20 > 0:45:23between the two of them, how it was told through dance.
0:45:24 > 0:45:25Kind of the gesture
0:45:25 > 0:45:28and how she was kind of sassy and cold at first,
0:45:28 > 0:45:30and then she warmed up as they danced.
0:45:30 > 0:45:33It's that story being told through the movements, isn't it?
0:45:33 > 0:45:34Yes. Yeah!
0:45:39 > 0:45:42It's lovely, because I can only see that is exactly what Fred Astaire
0:45:42 > 0:45:44- was always trying to achieve.- Yes.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50Few cinema partnerships have been quite so playful
0:45:50 > 0:45:53and romantic as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58No-one knows the inside story
0:45:58 > 0:46:02of that relationship better than writer Jane Scovell.
0:46:02 > 0:46:05Before Ginger died they spent time together
0:46:05 > 0:46:07working on Ginger's autobiography.
0:46:09 > 0:46:12The audience so much wanted them to be in love.
0:46:12 > 0:46:13Yes.
0:46:15 > 0:46:17I wanted them to be in love.
0:46:18 > 0:46:23On the dance floor, I think they were very well suited.
0:46:23 > 0:46:27Off the dance floor, they were very different.
0:46:27 > 0:46:28She drove him crazy!
0:46:28 > 0:46:31Ginger drove him absolutely insane.
0:46:31 > 0:46:35You have to remember this is a man who started out being, well,
0:46:35 > 0:46:39dominated is a good word, by his mother,
0:46:39 > 0:46:42- then his sister. - It's like the baton being passed.
0:46:42 > 0:46:45Yes. It certainly wasn't going to go to Ginger!
0:46:45 > 0:46:49Was there a sense of competition between Ginger and Fred?
0:46:49 > 0:46:51Definitely!
0:46:51 > 0:46:55I don't think she could ever get over the fact that it was Fred...
0:46:57 > 0:46:59Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
0:46:59 > 0:47:01And that bugged her.
0:47:01 > 0:47:04So, it should have been Rogers and Astaire?
0:47:04 > 0:47:10Yes. One time I did ask Ginger, "Who is the better dancer?"
0:47:10 > 0:47:13And Ginger thought a bit, and she said,
0:47:13 > 0:47:15"Well, my taps are better than Fred's."
0:47:19 > 0:47:21Whether that was true or not,
0:47:21 > 0:47:24it must have been hard for Fred's wife, Phyllis,
0:47:24 > 0:47:28seeing her husband in so many love scenes with another woman.
0:47:29 > 0:47:32Do you think Phyllis got a bit jealous
0:47:32 > 0:47:35about the relationship with Ginger?
0:47:35 > 0:47:38Phyllis was not a showbiz woman.
0:47:38 > 0:47:42She was a wife, and a mother,
0:47:42 > 0:47:46and, you know, you protect your territory.
0:47:46 > 0:47:50She would park herself next to the set, with knitting needles,
0:47:50 > 0:47:55according to Ginger, and knit away, clickety clack, clickety clack,
0:47:55 > 0:47:57and it drove Ginger crazy.
0:48:01 > 0:48:05The run of successful films Fred and Ginger made together
0:48:05 > 0:48:08required weeks of rehearsals each time.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11Fred would often avoid rehearsing with Ginger.
0:48:13 > 0:48:15He would send along a friend,
0:48:15 > 0:48:19the exotically named choreographer Hermes Pan,
0:48:19 > 0:48:21to take Ginger through the steps.
0:48:27 > 0:48:31Someone close to Hermes knows how this unusual dance team
0:48:31 > 0:48:33worked in practice.
0:48:33 > 0:48:37Hermes would rehearse with Ginger, he was playing Fred,
0:48:37 > 0:48:39and he would dance with Ginger
0:48:39 > 0:48:42to teach the routine before she went and did it with Fred.
0:48:42 > 0:48:43Yeah. So they'd...
0:48:43 > 0:48:50He created it with Fred, and he was playing the girl, and then, gosh,...
0:48:50 > 0:48:52- That's right.- ..multi-talented, and then he'd come
0:48:52 > 0:48:55and teach it to Ginger, and play Fred?
0:48:58 > 0:49:01Hermes Pan helped Fred devise dance numbers
0:49:01 > 0:49:05for 17 of his 31 musical films.
0:49:08 > 0:49:10They hit it off right away.
0:49:10 > 0:49:13They just became good friends on Flying Down To Rio.
0:49:13 > 0:49:16They worked together and were good friends from then on.
0:49:16 > 0:49:18There was never any jealousy or one-upmanship
0:49:18 > 0:49:21because all they wanted was to have a really great dance number
0:49:21 > 0:49:23at the end and they were both into that.
0:49:26 > 0:49:30In this long collaboration with Hermes, Fred could be free from the
0:49:30 > 0:49:33constraints imposed by the Hollywood studios.
0:49:33 > 0:49:36Sometimes they danced together just for fun.
0:49:38 > 0:49:41So, we're going to see a little clip here.
0:49:41 > 0:49:43Do you know what it's actually called?
0:49:43 > 0:49:45Yes, it's Me And The Ghost Upstairs.
0:49:51 > 0:49:53Just dancing by himself...
0:49:53 > 0:49:55The freedom, yeah, it's lovely.
0:49:59 > 0:50:00There he comes.
0:50:00 > 0:50:02- And this is Hermes? - There it is, yes.
0:50:02 > 0:50:04So he's...
0:50:04 > 0:50:07And he's supposed to be the female ghost that lives in the attic.
0:50:07 > 0:50:08They had a lot of fun making this.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14No, you have to dance with me!
0:50:15 > 0:50:17Absolutely not.
0:50:17 > 0:50:18Please, please!
0:50:20 > 0:50:21The timing is so perfect.
0:50:21 > 0:50:23They obviously know each other incredibly well.
0:50:23 > 0:50:24Oooh!
0:50:24 > 0:50:27- The old jitterbug! - That's brilliant, yeah.
0:50:27 > 0:50:28Oh, it's heaven.
0:50:34 > 0:50:37You can tell it's a man, straightaway, because his legs,
0:50:37 > 0:50:39they are so far apart under that skirt.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42You can, yes. And just the way he moves, and his hands.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01Just... One of the best things I've ever seen, actually.
0:51:12 > 0:51:17By the 1950s, Fred's world in Hollywood was coming to an end.
0:51:18 > 0:51:21Audiences were falling out of love with the big screen...
0:51:23 > 0:51:27..and Fred's beloved wife Phyllis was battling lung cancer.
0:51:28 > 0:51:30The prognosis was not good.
0:51:33 > 0:51:35She was his strength.
0:51:35 > 0:51:38She provided him with a wonderful home.
0:51:38 > 0:51:41She provided him with stability,
0:51:41 > 0:51:43with the kind of solid, quiet life
0:51:43 > 0:51:47most other movie stars couldn't even pray for.
0:51:53 > 0:51:55After two failed operations...
0:51:57 > 0:52:01..Phyllis died on the 13th of September, 1954.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08He mourned. He mourned deeply.
0:52:08 > 0:52:12But he continued to do amazing work
0:52:12 > 0:52:14in the years following Phyllis's death
0:52:14 > 0:52:19and the death of the Hollywood musicals that had been his mainstay.
0:52:19 > 0:52:22He didn't return to the stage, he moved on
0:52:22 > 0:52:25and did some of the most brilliant work of his career.
0:52:27 > 0:52:32Live television was the next big shift in the entertainment business.
0:52:32 > 0:52:38Eight out of ten American households owned a television set in 1958,
0:52:38 > 0:52:43and Fred Astaire would soon be appearing on their screens.
0:52:44 > 0:52:48I'm meeting one of Fred Astaire's dance partners
0:52:48 > 0:52:52to find out how he reinvented himself one very last time.
0:53:01 > 0:53:04This time, it was his show and no-one else's.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12So, I'm really happy, Barrie,
0:53:12 > 0:53:15I found this, I don't know if you remember this.
0:53:15 > 0:53:19It's a TV Guide, and look at you, my goodness, how beautiful,
0:53:19 > 0:53:21with Fred Astaire on the front cover.
0:53:21 > 0:53:25And, I have to say, there is a spectacular picture inside,
0:53:25 > 0:53:27of you doing this lovely back bend.
0:53:27 > 0:53:29- Oh, dearie me!- Beautiful curve. - Thank you.
0:53:29 > 0:53:32This is the one with the back, here!
0:53:32 > 0:53:34No, no. Oh, my goodness, that's stunning.
0:53:34 > 0:53:37Gosh, I hope you had that framed, it's a fabulous picture.
0:53:37 > 0:53:39No, I don't have anything framed.
0:53:39 > 0:53:40Oh! That's stunning.
0:53:42 > 0:53:43I would!
0:53:45 > 0:53:47Is it true, at that time,
0:53:47 > 0:53:52there was quite a lot of movie stars moving into television?
0:53:52 > 0:53:54Well, they weren't making musicals, that's for sure.
0:53:54 > 0:53:59They were too expensive, and so, they stopped doing them.
0:53:59 > 0:54:03And so, if you wanted to work, I suppose, you went into television.
0:54:08 > 0:54:12Television gave Fred the freedom he'd craved for so long.
0:54:12 > 0:54:16It was his show, he chose his partners, he planned everything.
0:54:18 > 0:54:21He got a release from 20th Century Fox for me to do the show.
0:54:21 > 0:54:22He had said to me,
0:54:22 > 0:54:25"I'm going to do this show, would you like to be on it?"
0:54:25 > 0:54:28"Well, Fred, anything, I don't care, I'll bring you coffee, whatever!"
0:54:31 > 0:54:35Aged 59, Fred was still at the top of his game.
0:54:37 > 0:54:39I hadn't danced for a year before that show,
0:54:39 > 0:54:41and he liked to rehearse, very often,
0:54:41 > 0:54:43the number from beginning to end.
0:54:45 > 0:54:46And I was winded!
0:54:47 > 0:54:49And he wasn't.
0:54:51 > 0:54:55The best thing, what I really liked, if every once in a while,
0:54:55 > 0:54:57under his breath, he'd say, "Now you're dancing!"
0:54:57 > 0:54:59Oh, that's so lovely!
0:54:59 > 0:55:02And it was like a shot, you know, it was like a rimshot,
0:55:02 > 0:55:03it would get to you.
0:55:07 > 0:55:12An Evening With Fred Astaire went out in October 1958.
0:55:12 > 0:55:16A one-hour colour special with backing dancers, a full orchestra,
0:55:16 > 0:55:19and duets with Barrie Chase.
0:55:19 > 0:55:21It was seen by 30 million people,
0:55:21 > 0:55:25the first of five TV spectaculars.
0:55:25 > 0:55:27It won nine Emmys.
0:55:35 > 0:55:391981, the AFI, the American Film Institute,
0:55:39 > 0:55:41gave him their Life Achievement Award,
0:55:41 > 0:55:45which is a very prestigious evening and a very glittery,
0:55:45 > 0:55:47star-filled evening, here in Hollywood.
0:55:50 > 0:55:54I think, significant recognition, it's easy to say.
0:55:55 > 0:55:56And he was in very good company,
0:55:56 > 0:55:59because they had gone to the best of the best
0:55:59 > 0:56:01since they started giving this award.
0:56:04 > 0:56:08The award was celebrating Fred's big screen career
0:56:08 > 0:56:12and everyone was wondering if Ginger Rogers would turn up.
0:56:12 > 0:56:14Ginger was not there that night,
0:56:14 > 0:56:17which led to all sorts of speculation.
0:56:17 > 0:56:18She sent a letter...
0:56:18 > 0:56:20It was very cute, it was about that long,
0:56:20 > 0:56:22and I couldn't read half of it,
0:56:22 > 0:56:25because her handwriting was very fancy.
0:56:25 > 0:56:28But I'm going to go home and study it when I get back.
0:56:28 > 0:56:31I think there was a nice thing about it, that Ginger was going,
0:56:31 > 0:56:35"This is your night, you don't need me," and I think she was actually
0:56:35 > 0:56:38- doing him a favour. - Well, I think you're right.
0:56:38 > 0:56:39I think you're right.
0:56:39 > 0:56:41Much as people would have loved seeing them together again
0:56:41 > 0:56:43at that moment...
0:56:44 > 0:56:47..it would have diminished the award,
0:56:47 > 0:56:49which was for him, his career,
0:56:49 > 0:56:51his achievements.
0:56:54 > 0:56:57In front of the most important people in Hollywood,
0:56:57 > 0:57:01Fred reminded everyone of how his career began.
0:57:01 > 0:57:05My sister, Adele, was mostly responsible
0:57:05 > 0:57:08for my being in show business.
0:57:08 > 0:57:10She was the whole show, she really was.
0:57:10 > 0:57:12Of all the vaudeville acts we had
0:57:12 > 0:57:14and the musical comedies we did together, Delly was...
0:57:15 > 0:57:19..the one that was the shining light,
0:57:19 > 0:57:22and I was just there pushing away.
0:57:22 > 0:57:24Then, all of a sudden, she got married,
0:57:24 > 0:57:26I went on by myself, and...
0:57:27 > 0:57:28..I did all that.
0:57:28 > 0:57:30I didn't realise I did all that stuff.
0:57:33 > 0:57:34LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE
0:57:48 > 0:57:51With a legacy of more than 30 major films,
0:57:51 > 0:57:56a dozen stage plays and countless vaudeville appearances...
0:57:57 > 0:58:00..Fred Astaire died, aged 88,
0:58:00 > 0:58:04on the 22nd of June, 1987.
0:58:06 > 0:58:10He asked to be buried in Oakwood Park Cemetery, Los Angeles.
0:58:11 > 0:58:17The same resting place as his wife, his mother, and his sister.
0:58:19 > 0:58:23He felt he owed everything to three women.
0:58:23 > 0:58:26His mother gave him determination.
0:58:26 > 0:58:29I think Adele gave him the competition he needed
0:58:29 > 0:58:31to find his own way.
0:58:31 > 0:58:34And I think Phyllis gave him that passion
0:58:34 > 0:58:37that informed the rest of his career.
0:58:43 > 0:58:47All his life, Fred wanted to be his own man,
0:58:47 > 0:58:51not just a brother to Adele, or a dance partner to Ginger.
0:58:51 > 0:58:55And yet it was the women who made him.
0:58:55 > 0:58:57Without them, there might have never been a Fred Astaire.