The results are in, and after three weeks we find out which is your favorite dancer. Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly are undoubtedly two of the greatest dancers who ever lived. But there can only be one winner of this poll. With 57% of the vote, the winner is...... Fred Astaire!!!
Fred Astaire is actually my favorite dancer too. Gene Kelly was the more artistic of the two, but Fred Astaire brought such class to dancing, and to his movies. He is most remembered in his films with Ginger Rogers. We need to remember though that he was popular on Broadway long before the Fred & Ginger teaming. Fred Astaire danced with his sister Adele for many years until she retired from dance. You can hear a clip, or download a MP3 of them singing "I'd Rather Charleston" here. He then made a wonderful film debut playing himself, in the Joan Crawford/Clark Gable classic "Dancing Lady" in 1933. His appearance in the film is very small, but his dancing was fabulous! Fred Astaire only appeared 41 films, which seems pretty small compared to other actors of his day. He only wanted his best work to be seen on film. Also, he was such a perfectionist in his dancing. Even after hours of many takes, he was never completely satisfied with his work. Fred Astaire died on June 22, 1987 from complications of pneumonia, and is now buried at Oakwood Memorial Park in Chatsworth, CA (Los Angeles County).
The poll of Astaire vs. Kelly was very close to the end. I checked on it here and there to see how it was doing. Sometimes Gene Kelly was ahead, and for a while they were tied. In the end, Fred Astaire came through on top. Take time to vote now on my current poll, "Which is your favorite movie monster?" The poll ends November 1st at 8:00 pm Pacific Standard Time.
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