The Floating Hero

As your extensive Latin America Lambada Nights tour taught you well, every woman on earth loves a man who can dance. And no one can compete with the legendary Fred Astaire. As a critic once said of him, “Astaire starts dancing where the others stop hoofing.” We’re fairly certain that Fred was born with tap shoes on (or at the very least, a top hat), since by the age of 6, in 1905, Astaire hit the vaudeville stage dancing with his sister Adele. When the brother-sister act was over years later, Fred found his most famous partner, Ginger Rogers with whom he did ten movies (you’ll remember that Madonna gave the pair a shout in her 1990 hit “Vogue.” That is big time.) But Astaire wasn’t just a star in front of the camera. He had incredible control over the production of his movies, as well as the choreography. And damn, he looked dapper doing everything he did. Called “the best dressed American actor in American movies, alongside Cary Grant, “Astaire remained a style and fashion icon well into his later years. One of his most famous acts from Blue Skies, “Puttin’ on the Ritz” will forever ingrain him in America’s hearts and minds as the most stylish man about town. When in doubt, throw on some tops and tails. Cane optional.