Celebrities Project: Fred Astaire

If I had known what a prolific career Fred Astaire had, I think that I would have devoted two months to studying his work. Interestingly, I didn't feel like there was much to learn about his personal life (especially after coming off of learning about Louis Armstrong, who had such a dramatic and often turbulent life). It seems like Fred can be summed up in a few ways: he liked golf, horses, English fashion; he was a quite cautious person by nature, and he was a perfectionist when it came to his dance routines.

Probably the most interesting thing that I learned this month was that Fred had a long stage career with his older sister Adele (shown above). I read about an interesting biography dedicated to their work together: The Astaires: Fred and Adele by Kathleen Riley. They began taking intensive dance classes when they were children (about four and six years old) and they performed together into adulthood. Adele was really popular with the critics, and it seems like she was considered to be the more talented entertainer out of the brother-sister team. The team ended in 1932, when Adele left the stage to marry Lord Charles Cavendish. More information about Adele is in her obituary, and I posted an interesting anecdote about her on my art history blog. Although we don't have any film recordings of her performing, I do think it's interesting that her singing voice reminds me a little bit of Ginger Rogers's voice.

Fred and Adele Astaire in 1906

Another thing that was interesting to me about Fred Astaire was that he was close friends with George Gershwin. The two worked together so well, especially musically-speaking, that Alexander Woolcott wrote in 1927: "I do not know whether George Gershwin was born into this world to write rhythms for Fred Astaire's feet or whether Fred Astaire was born into this world to show how the Gershwin music should really be danced. But surely they were written in the same key, those two" (New York World, 23 November 1927).

These are the Fred Astaire films and clips that I saw over the past few weeks:

• The Gay Divorcee (1934): This was fun to watch, because I watched it with my Grandma and my sister. It really is quite a funny show, and we found ourselves laughing quite a bit. This was the second show that Fred performed with Ginger Rogers. The Cole Porter song "Night and Day" is in this film, and it's fun to hear Fred sing that.
• Flying Down to Rio (1933): This was the first film that Fred Astaire created with Ginger Rogers. They both had secondary roles in the movie, and honestly, it was a slow-paced film that dragged quite a bit. And only some of the speakers were authentic Brazilians, but I guess that's an unrelated issue...
• Easter Parade (1948): Apparently, Gene Kelly was supposed to do this film, but he broke his foot by stomping after he lost a volleyball game. Gene recommended Fred for the film. I was really impressed with Judy Garland's comedic timing, more than anything. 
• Daddy Long Legs (1955): There is some fun dancing in this film, and I personally like th opening scene when there are a lot of iconically-styled portraits (in the manner of Whistler or Sergeant, for example) created with Fred Astaire's likeness. Fred does seem quite old to be paired opposite such a young actress, but he mostly pulls it off alright.
• I also watched an interview with Ginger Rogers from 1968, in order to get a bit more of an outsider perspective on Fred Astaire. She tells a delightful story about how they spontaneously planned to dance for a moment on stage at the Academy Awards in 1967 (see video clip), which was fun.

All in all, I think that I had a mixed response to Fred Astaire Month. His dance routines were entertaining and fun, but I realized after a few films and video clips that I had a pretty good sense of his style. I didn't feel a compulsion to keep watching his films for enjoyment, but more so out of responsibility to this project. I did enjoy reading about his work with his sister, though, and I feel like I have a fairly good sense of who he was as a person and as a performer.

Unusual Fred Astaire Dance Routines

It is taking me longer to go through Fred Astaire material than I thought! I didn't realize how many films Fred Astaire made during his prolific career: he created around 35 movies during his career, and this is surprising considering that he really entered Hollywood when he was around 34 years of age.

In Fred Astaire's obituary in the NY Times, I found a list of some of the more unusual dances that Fred did during his career. I think that these are really fun to watch because they show off his dancing ability and also his ability as an entertainer.

Fred Astaire dances on the ceiling in "You're All the World to Me" from Royal Wedding (1951):

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced on roller skates in "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" from Shall We Dance (1937). I think it's especially fun to hear this song, since Fred and Ginger also sing this song, which was written by the Gershwin brothers.



Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth dance on top of a wedding cake in "You'll Never Get Rich":




And Fred Astaire dancing while hitting golf balls off of a tee in "Carefree":



And, although this isn't an unusual set or premise for a dance routine, I thought I would include this clip of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly dancing together (from "The Babbit and the Bromide"), since you don't always see these two mega-star male dancers appearing side-by-side. It's interesting to see them dancing together and notice how differently their bodies are formed: Fred seems lanky and tall next to Gene Kelly (which is funny because Fred was only 5'9" tall).

Summer Recap #2: Utah

We spent three weeks in Utah this past month. Earlier this summer, we didn't anticipate spending so much time there, but some changes with my sister E's release date from her mission prompted us to stay longer so that we could overlap with her. J had to fly out of town for work (to New York and Seattle), but he was with us for the Weber week and when E returned home near the end of our stay.

J had a little bit of an up-and-down time at the Weber. He got food poisoning one day, and he had to stay back at the cabin while several of us went to Seven Peaks for swimming.

 One of our primary motivations for going to the Weber this year was that we would be able to see our beloved C cousins. Sam had a blast with the C boys! Here they are, holding their "Weber sticks" before going on an adventure to "Treasure Island."

This year there was a fire nearby the Smith and Morehouse Reservoir, and the firemen were using the Pines Ranch horse pasture as a helipad. The firemen were really nice and even let the kids sit inside the helicopter!

Amanda caught a fish with her bare hands! This is going down in Weber lore!

Ant Bee brought a bag of Zel's hand-me-down costumes to Utah. Lucy was in heaven!

On one day during the Weber week, we went down to Provo and Springville. J used the internet at BYU so that he could work, and then he walked down to his grandpa's house. I met up with some of my friends from graduate school. We gathered in my friend Shelley's magical backyard. The kids had a blast playing together, and it was really fun to catch up with my friends and talk about all nerdy things related to art history.

A second generation of art historians?

After the Weber week ended, we drove down to SLC. J spent part of the weekend with us, but then he flew to NYC on a work trip. He flew back to Seattle for work afterward, and in the meantime I stayed in SLC. I helped to keep an eye on my sister L for about two weeks, but really she was the helpful one because she was constantly playing with Lucy and Sam. We went to a few museums, parks, the Seven Peaks Fun Center, the zoo, and some restaurants. I also got to catch up with some friends: Julie, Rachel, Katherine, Joanna, and Heather. It was fun to see all of them.

Lucy and Sam especially loved playing with their aunts and Uncle A. Lucy was kind of obsessed with A and would ask to see him or read books with him whenever he was in the house. She also loved watching video clips with my sister C, and she was especially intrigued when C introduced Lucy to the character Princess Yum Yum from The Thief and the Cobbler.

Lucy and Sam playing with their second cousin A and Bop S

Rock climbing at the Seven Peaks Fun Center

Visiting with Julie!

Visiting with Joanna at the "Cinderella Park"

Getting a "virtual haircut" at the Leonardo exhibit on illusions

Flying an airplane at the Leonardo exhibit on flight

I had my kids "recreate" my engagement photo with J at the Salt Lake Library

 Visiting with Heather at the zoo!

One evening we went and saw "The Good Dinosaur" at the park

We visited with my Aunt J and cousin H at their home, and then went to Daybreak for a picnic at the park

Hanging out in L's new hammock

One of my favorite things that I did on this trip was take Sam and Lucy on the Salt Lake Overlook hike. I remember doing this hike with my friends from high school, but the experience was much different when hiking with a toddler on my back and a child by my side. I'm really proud of Sam for doing this hike with me, since it is steep in many places and is a four mile hike altogether.

At the top of Salt Lake Overlook. Sam exclaimed "I'm alive!!!" when we got to the top.

The bird show at Tracy Aviary was so cool! Phin and V joined us at the aviary. (Look at Phin's cute belly!)

Another one of my favorite photos from this summer!

Lucy was trying to get into video games along with L and Sam. She would hold an (unconnected) controller and watch the other kids play, but she would always specify before sitting down, "I want to be on my team!" (As if people participate on a team other than their own!)

At the airport! E is home! She walked out of the security area so quickly that we weren't prepared, and we held up our "Welcome home!" signs backwards so they read "Home welcome" instead.

At Shivers after picking up E from the airport.

Lucy and E! We had a lot of fun spending time with E. We took her to the National Parks Adventure film the day after she came home (which happened to be the exact centennial of the National Parks). I also helped arrange things so that she could welcome a surprise visit from her close friend (i.e. love interest) T.

Lucy and V at L's soccer game, right before we left to drive back home

 Lucy crashed and fell asleep just minutes after we left the soccer game and started our drive back to Utah. She and Sam had so much fun, and no doubt her brain had to process a lot of information after such a fun and long vacation!

Summer Recap #1: Washington and Oregon in July

It is the last day of summer break for Sam. The weather was considerably cooler today, which I think is mentally helping us to prepare for the start of the new school year. We took Sam's school supplies to his teacher's classroom this morning, and Sam got to meet her and select his desk. I feel like summer is really drawing to a close, and it seemed fitting to write a few posts to recap our summer adventures.

 The Everett parade is one of the best 4th of July parades in the area, I think!

Fireworks at RB 

My first professional pedicure! The other two pairs of feet belong to my dear friends Rachael and Carrie. We had a GNO to celebrate the impending arrival of Carrie's new baby. Ironically, we all chose extreme similar colors for our nails.

We planted several new trees and flowers in our yard. Lucy is standing by the weeping cherry tree. We also planted a "youngi" weeping birch tree, an Akebono flowering cherry tree, and also an "april dawn" camellia bush. The bunnies have been nibbling on the flowers in our garden, so we have been limited in what we can plant, but they seem to stay away from the coneflowers, dianthus, and snapdragons alright.

For a few weeks, Lucy was really interested in wearing Sam's astronaut helmet around the house (especially in the evenings). Here she is waiting for her bath water to be drawn.

In the latter part of July, we had a B family reunion. There were a lot of great activities that were planned, including a "cupcake war" bakeoff, Olympic races and events, a treasure hunt. The kids even put on a talent show one night, in which Sam told jokes and Lucy showed off her letter skills with Will.

Lucy at Susie and Dave's "River Dream"

Cousins outside the Visitor's Center at Sunrise (Mount Rainier)

The Sunrise Nature Trail at Mount Rainier. We did this hike several years ago, when Sam was small enough to be carted around in the same backpack! It is fun to compare those early photos this this recent photo: not only is Sam so much older, but now Lucy is riding in the backpack.

Another fun outing involved riding the ferry and then going up the Columbia Tower, the tallest building in Seattle. I'd never been up here, and it was fun to look at the city and pinpoint landmarks, where I work, where J works, etc.

Sam kayaking at Susie and Dave's lake house. It was neat to see him be able to pull himself back into the boat if he capsized - the "canoe tip" trainings for Cub Scouts really are helpful!

Not long after the reunion, I started to panic that our summertime in the PNW was drawing to a close. We made an impromptu decision to visit Oregon one weekend and go to the Enchanted Forest. We stopped by the Pittock Mansion on our way down. It just happened to be the same day that the Oregon Regency Society was picnicking on the lawn, and their presence prompted me to discover that there is a similar chapter in Washington: the Washington Regency Society. I don't know when it will happen, but I feel like I'm going to have to be a member of this society at some point in my life.

The Pittock Mansion

The Enchanted Forest!

Lucy on the kiddie train ride at the Enchanted Forest. This is a pretty good summation of her reaction to the park. She had a fabulous time.

This is one of my favorite photographs from the whole summer. Lucy spontaneously started dancing while listening to Snow White sing within the Seven Dwarves' hut at the Enchanted Forest. This was her favorite spot of the whole theme park and we had to go back and look at it a few times. I'm so glad that we were able to take her to the park this year, especially since she is just the right size to peer into many of the windows.