Cat. #00038911: FRED ASTAIRE

Uncommonly early 8x10-inch black and white portrait at the peak of his fame, boldly signed in black fountain pen against the dark color of his jacket, yet fully legible. A notation on the verso indicates that it was autographed in 1939. In good condition for its age. Supremely gifted dancer and singer Fred Astaire began his career on the vaudeville stage, paired with his sister Adele.  He landed a film contract in 1933, and went on to perform mesmerizing acts of terpsichory, often paired with Ginger Rogers, in classic films like Flying Down to Rio (1933), The Gay Divorcee (1934), Roberta (1935), Top Hat (1935), Follow the Fleet (1936), Swing Time (1936), Shall We Dance (1937), A Damsel in Distress (1937), Carefree (1938), The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939), Holiday Inn (1942), You Were Never Lovelier (1942), Yolanda and the Thief (1945), Blue Skies (1946), Easter Parade (1948), The Barkleys of Broadway (1949), Royal Wedding (1951), Daddy Long Legs (1955), Funny Face (1957), Silk Stockings (1957), and Finian's Rainbow (1967).  He also had non-musical roles in the disaster film The Towering Inferno (1974), which earned him an Academy Award nomination, and the horror favorite Ghost Story (1981).