Astaire: The Man the Dancer

by Bob Thomas

In January, 1933, a young Broadway star named Fred Astaire entered the RKO studios for a screen test. "Can't act. Slightly bald. Also dances," was the reaction of one official. Thus began the amazing film career of one of the world's most celebrated dancers.

Astaire: The Man, The Dancer captures the elegance and mystique of the most recognized and loved figures ever to dance across the silver screen. During nearly eighty years in every major entertainment medium, he has persevered and excelled. He never quit, never passed up an opportunity to push himself and to dance to new levels of achievement. The first complete, up-to-date biography - is a fitting tribute to the man and his art.

Foreward by Peter Bart, Editor-in-Chief, Variety.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Media Tie In, Film

435 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1984

About the author

Robert Joseph "Bob" Thomas was an American Hollywood film industry biographer and reporter who worked for the Associated Press from 1944.

Born in San Diego, he grew up in Los Angeles, where his father was a film publicist. He attended UCLA. He lived in Encino with his wife, Patricia. They have three daughters. Thomas, aged 92, died on March 14, 2014 at his home.

Thomas made his mark by engaging celebrities in activities that brought out their personalities, whether by measuring their waistline after childbirth (as he did with Betty Grable) or testing just how tall a leading lady needed to be by kissing her himself (as he did with June Haver). Acclaimed as the dean of Hollywood reporters, Bob Thomas wrote about the movie business for the Associated Press since the days when Hollywood was run by the men who founded it: Jack Warner, Darryl F. Zanuck, Harry Cohn and Louis B. Mayer.

During his long history of reporting for the AP, Thomas authored at least 30 books. Many in the film industry credit his 1969 biography of producer Irving G. Thalberg as sparking their interest in pursuing a career behind the scenes. Other Thomas biographies include Joan Crawford, Marlon Brando, David O. Selznick, Walter Winchell, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Howard Hughes, Abbott & Costello, Walt Disney, and a children's book, Walt Disney: Magician of the Movies. - Wikipedia

Reviews

[William Schram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astaire: The Man, The Dancer is a biography of Fred Astaire. I don’t really watch movies or old television but I have at least heard of Fred Astaire; he was the dancing man. I still hear about his Astaire Brand dancing classes on the radio.

Fred Astaire was born in 1899 and took up dancing to imitate his sister Adele. Adele was a genius by all accounts, but Fred had a work ethic to match anything anyone could throw at him. Eventually, he and his sister were performing together in Vaudeville halls and other places like that. They drew in pretty big crowds as well.

Adele grew up and didn’t want to be a star anymore, so Fred went off on his own and joined a movie studio, RKO. He single-handedly brought them back from the brink of bankruptcy or some other situation where they would have lost control of the studio. This was also where he met Ginger Rogers and his first wife, Phyllis Potter. While I say he met her, he did not meet her at the studio, but rather at a party. All throughout his life, Astaire was a shy man. This became unfortunate when he was a huge movie star and was stopped on the street all the time.

The book is really good. There are plenty of bits of input from Astaire himself since Bob Thomas wrote it when Astaire was still alive. There are also stills and photos from Astaire’s movies and theater productions that show him performing. While the book is old, Fred Astaire died in 1987, so it doesn’t really affect the book all that much.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

For any Fred fan out there, this book is a must. It begins with his career in Vaudeville with his sister Adele. It then chronicles his transition into Broadway and then movies (when his sister retires). There are interesting anecdotes about making the movies (including the one about the troubles with Ginger's feather-y dress in Top Hat). It then tells about Fred's "retirement", his love of horse racing, the death of his wife Phyllis, and meeting his second wife Robyn. This is a good book because throughout the book are Fred's thoughts on certain topics. True fans will love reading about this classy gentleman.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting to hear from someone who knew/interviewed Astaire. This was published shortly before Astaire died so it ended on a positive note with a quote.

[Annemarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was very interesting to read about Fred Astaire's life as he danced his way through many movies. I learned some things about his character that I never would've guessed.

[Florence · Rating 5 out of 5]

My hero :-)

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew very little about Fred Astaire and enjoyed learning about his early years in Vaudeville with his sister Adele. Some of the transitions feel a bit rough, but overall I enjoyed it.