- Dad
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- Nov 07, 2020
Astaire Quotes
A legacy that still moves dancers today.
These Astaire quotes celebrate Fred Astaire's lasting influence on dance and film, from early Hollywood talkies to the dancers who still study his every move. See Business quotes for more on show business.
- Last Updated on Aug 01, 2026
- Mother
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- Nov 07, 2020
She was just the most wonderful mother. She loved working with Fred Astaire - she would talk about working with him.
- American
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- Nov 07, 2020
In America, at the beginning of talkies, they pulled Fred Astaire from the theaters and put him on the screen and had all of these great composers write songs for him. They call it the Great American Songbook; I call it the Fred Astaire Songbook because they were written for him.
- Difficult
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- Nov 07, 2020
What I got, unconsciously, from admiring Fred Astaire was that he didn't want what he was doing to look difficult. What was difficult, in my opinion, was making it look so genuine, so effortless. I equally have tried to remain unseen on the screen.
- Business
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- Nov 07, 2020
I started dancing when I saw Fred Astaire in 'Flying Down to Rio,' at approximately nine years old. Fred Astaire influenced me, more than anything, to be in 'show business.'
- Black And White
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- Nov 07, 2020
I loved old black and white movies, especially the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals. I loved everything about them - the songs, the music, the romance and the spectacle. They were real class and I knew that I wanted to be in that world.
- Brad Pitt
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- Nov 07, 2020
I've worked with Jack Warner and Jimmy Stewart - and Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, and Johnny Depp twice. I've had dinners with Fred Astaire and Cary Grant.
- Know
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- Nov 07, 2020
No dancer can watch Fred Astaire and not know that we all should have been in another business.
- Doing
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- Nov 07, 2020
I grew up with the movies of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire and Judy Garland - these are the kinds of shows and the kinds of numbers in shows that I dreamed of being in and doing when I was a kid.
- Evening
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- Nov 07, 2020
I spent an entire evening seated between Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, being charmed from either side. It was pure Hollywood magic.
- Like
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- Nov 07, 2020
There's an old Fred Astaire movie where the stage becomes bigger and deeper and more complex. Moments like that really did impact on me and influence me.
- Look
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- Nov 07, 2020
I love the old Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly movies; they're so beautiful to look at. It's such a shame we don't make them anymore. Although, I don't know how you could make tap dancing current and topical.
- Down
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- Nov 07, 2020
While I was making my solo films, RKO was busily trying to get me and Fred Astaire back together. The studio wanted to capitalize on the success of 'Flying Down to Rio' and realized that the pairing of Rogers and Astaire had moneymaking potential.
- Big
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- Nov 07, 2020
Whether it's Cyd Charisse and Fred Astaire or 'West Side Story,' see it on the big screen. That's the way we should appreciate it.
- Dance
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- Nov 07, 2020
I asked Fred Astaire once when he was about my age if he still danced, and he said 'Yes, but it hurts now.' That's exactly it. I can still dance, too, but it hurts now!
- Captain
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- Nov 07, 2020
I wanted to be Stan Laurel, then I wanted to be Fred Astaire and then Captain Kangaroo. I actually started out as a radio announcer when I was 17 and never left the business, so that's literally 70 years.
- Dream
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- Nov 07, 2020