I meant to include these links with the clips from Swing Time below. Fred Astaire's first dancing partner was his sister Adele, and they were famous as a stage act long before Fred got into movies. I know this only because there is a recent biography of the siblings which was reviewed in The New Criterion a few months ago. You can read that review here, and one that appeared last week in The Weekly Standard here.
Fred and Adele
7 responses to “Fred and Adele”
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Sounds like good reading–thanks for the links.
There’s also a very good, short biography of Fred, Fred Astaire, by Joseph Epstein, in which it’s revealed that Fred hated his big hands and designed all kinds of clever ways to hide their size in his dance routines. -
You’re welcome. Funny about the hands: I mentioned what you said to my wife, and she pointed out that in the blackface routine in Swing Time he didn’t do that at all. But that was a different effect from most of the dance numbers in the movie.
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Hi Mac,
Please excuse the only very loosely related connection here.
I thought of you last week at choir practice when the director passed out the music for “Gaudete”. I am thoroughly enjoying it.
It’s been a long time and I hope y’all have been well here. For my part, I’ve taken some lumps but am still very blessed. -
Great to hear from you. Hope those lumps weren’t too bad. I’m glad you’re getting to sing such great music.
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Nice to see you, Dave!
AMDG -
Great to see you Dave!
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Thank y’all, it’s great to see you too. Lumps are extended family ugliness that’s not apt to ever go away. Everything close to home is good.
Light On Dark Water 
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