Fred astaire gay

Yes, Fred Astaire was not gay. We can be certain of this because he was married to two different women during his lifetime. In , Fred Astaire married Phyllis Potter, and they had two. Through a series of thematic vignettes, Niven spills the tea on the passions and pretentions of stars like Humphrey Bogart (a real softie), Mary Astor (at her best in bed), Fred Astaire (a.

Fred met and fell in love with Robyn Smith, a young woman who shared his devotion to race horses (she was a jockey). Despite the year age difference the two decided to marry in It was a very happy union, lasting the rest of his life. So, at the very least; he might have been bi. Fred went on to achieve success on his own on Broadway and in London with Gay Divorce (later made into the film The Gay Divorcee) while considering offers from Hollywood.

The Gay Divorcee (), a film version of Gay Divorce, was the first of Astaire's major pictures with Ginger Rogers (–) and an even bigger hit. With seven more films in the s (the most popular of which was Top Hat in ), Astaire and Rogers became one of the legendary partnerships in the history of dance, featuring high spirits.

Meet the forgotten dancing star of Broadway Melody of Was his death at 43 a suicide? I didn't remember having seen it before, even though I have always been a fan of Busby Berkeley-style productions like this. There was a dancer named Nick Long Jr. I did a search on the web, but I couldn't find very much on him. He did two movies in Hollywood at the same time, the other being The King of Burlesque.

Nick was a lyrical partner in the style of Fred Astaire, but he was best known as an aerobatic dancer who did stunts like leaping over seven women or flying off the stage in breathtaking jumps.

He was known as the inventor of "Furniture Dancing" , which was later imitated by Astaire and Gene Kelly. After I saw him I wondered what else he had done and why I had never heard of him before. He and Astaire had physical similarities; both were thin and lithe and Astaire had runtish facial features like Nick. Compared to co-stars like Robert Stack neither Astaire were good-looking. Both Nick and Fred had high squeaky voices.

Despite these drawbacks, donning a top coat and tales did amazing things for both dancers. Fred Astaire and his sister Adele had been a very successful team on Broadway before he headed to Hollywood. Nick would follow the same path.

how old was fred astaire in easter parade

I think one answer was Astaire had a great choreographer, Hermes Pan, who knew how to make Astaire and Ginger Rogers look great on stage. Nick did his own choreography, which was a mistake, since it didn't push Nick to dance beyond his own physical limitations. Pan was the creator of the effortless, sophisticated and romantic routines that made Fred and Ginger famous. He was a creative genius and Astaire called him his "ideas man".

Pan was a dancer, too, and he was Astaire's rehearsal partner and Ginger's stand-in. Like Nick Hermes Pan spent a large part of his youth on the streets of New York and launched his career there. Also, like Nick Pan never married and it was well known in the movie industry that Pan was gay. He was very religious and kept his sexuality totally concealed.

Fred Astaire was married twice and had kids, but Gore Vidal claims to have had an affair with him. Perhaps this explains the special bond between him and Pan. Nick never had a Hermes Pan to help him create an on-stage persona, perfect his technique and grow as an artist. Pan was a gentle, kind and patient man who was well-liked by everyone. He was loyal to his friends. Unlike an talent agent who was only in it for the money and would disappear when his fees dried up, Pan stuck with you through good and bad times.

Like the best of coaches he was happiest when a dancer perfected the routines he created and then rehearsed them in. Sometimes, like with Astaire, he had a true partnership of give and take during the creative process. To return to Nick Long, Jr.