Astaire Bio Pg 3

Throughout the '40s, Astaire made films with a top-notch variety of co-stars.

with Gene Kelly

with Judy Garland

with Bing Crosby

Two of his very best dancing partners were Eleanor Powell (arguably the best female dancer of that era), and the luscious Rita Hayworth.

Fred and his wife Phyllis had a home built in Beverly Hills. Phyllis had a son from a previous marriage, Peter, and she and Fred had two children of their own, Fred, Jr., born in 1936, and daughter Ava, born in 1942.
In 1946, upon completing the film Blue Skies, Fred announced to everyone's horror that he was retiring. For almost 2 years he devoted his time to his family, to his racehorses, to the Fred Astaire Dance Studios, to golf and hunting and fishing. However, in 1948, when Gene Kelly injured himself while rehearsing, Fred stepped in to star opposite Judy Garland in Easter Parade, and that was the end of the retirement.

One of his best films of the '50s was The Bandwagon, directed by Vincente Minnelli and co-starring the dynamic Cyd Charisse.

Another was Daddy Long Legs, in 1955. It was during the making of this film that Phyllis Astaire, after being ill for some months, died of cancer. Fred was devastated, but due to his professionalism, he completed the film.

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