The Astaires: Fred & Adele

I have been a Fred Astaire fan for most of my life, and I watched his films with Ginger Rogers, and others, whenever they were on television as I was growing up. Now I have the entire collection on DVD, and they still delight me.

The Astaires: Fred & Adele, by Kathleen Riley (2012), was the first book I have come across that focuses only on the life and career of Fred and Adele Astaire together. Since it had the support and input of Fred’s daughter, Ava Astaire McKenzie, I figured it would be accurate and respectful, and it is.

I knew quite a lot about Fred Astaire’s life (mostly from the book, The Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Book, by Arlene Croce, 1972), so I knew that he started his career as the partner of his sister Adele. And from most accounts, Adele was the more talented of the pair. It is hard to believe that there could be a more talented dancer of that time than Fred, however. Since there is no film footage (that I’m aware of) of Adele and Fred dancing together, I could only try to imagine what it was like.

There are many quotes relating to Adele’s “specialness” from people who knew her or had seen her perform. Some of the descriptions included in the book are: star quality; an ineffable sparkle; that little something extra; a natural clown; a wonderful madcap; outrageous; dazzling. “She had Becky Sharp’s wit, satirical gift, and untameability without her ruthlessness;” “She could suggest infinite mischief with a turn of the mouth or a lift of the eyebrow.”

Riley presents a lot of other descriptions of Adele, which all make her sound almost magical in her ability to captivate an audience. Unfortunately for me, all of this does not help me understand her dancing talent or what it was about Adele Astaire that inspired such adoration.

Of course the book doesn’t only focus on Adele. Most of it is about both Astaires, as siblings and as a professional team. But most of the praise and enchantment are about Adele. The book covers their lives together, starting with background information about their parents and up to Fred’s beginning in Hollywood and to Adele’s death in 1981.

The most interesting part of the book is the well-researched information about the theater world that the Astaires performed in together from 1917 to 1932 (when Adele retired and got married), the various musicals they were in, and the people they met. They had a great impact on the style of the age and were extremely popular on both sides of the Atlantic.

Included in the book are: a chronology table of the Astaires' shows and performances; a table of other notable events in the theater, 1917-1933; research notes; and a bibliography.

For any Fred Astaire fan who is interested in his career with his sister and/or the theater world at the beginning of the 20^th century, this is an interesting read.