Besides Ginger who danced well with Fred?

[Brittany Ashley]

Rita Hayworth! Surprised no one mentioned her yet. 

 

He supposedly said she was his favorite dancing partner.

[Karen Q]

I would have to say Cyd Charisse.  I seem to remember a story that Astaire was once asked who his favorite dancing partner was.  Ever the gentleman, he said if would be difficult to choose, but “once you dance with Cyd Charisse, you know you’ve been danced with,”  or words to that effect.  I love Band Wagon and always rewind “When There’s a Shine on your Shoes” and “Dancing in the Dark.”  Cyd is just beautiful in that plain white dress.

[starryeyzze]

6 hours ago, ESei said:

Cyd Charisse and Astaire are wonderful together as dancers (in Silk Stockings as well as Band Wagon) though they are never as believable a couple as Fred and Ginger.I really liked Astaire and Garland in Easter Parade. They both have a jazzy and American style that often came out in his solo tap numbers but not in his dances with partners. I thought that Audrey Hepburn and Astaire were great together in the title song from Funny Face.

I agree. Personally, I prefer Cyd Charisse with Gene Kelly.  That Gotta Dance number from Singing in the Rain is everything. Kelly made better use of Cyd's athleticism and ballet training.  Their dancing is sexy and looks very modern. 

[Dusty Cowboy]

Well we've covered about all of them .. But I liked the comment about Fred dancing with Fred !!  How about when he partnered up with say .. The coat rack & gym equip, the drum set, the piano, his cane and of course the ceiling .. I could go on and on, but you get the idea ..  There is that other Powell he had a great dance with in Royal Wedding, Jane and let's not forget about Jerry, the King Mouse ,,

[TopBilled]

What about Fred dancing with Gene Kelly? 

 

[TopBilled]

And Fred with Bing Crosby:

 

[TopBilled]

Fred with Betty Hutton, doing "Oh Them Dudes" from LET'S DANCE:

 

[Audrey at Manderley]

I adored him with Rita Hayworth! ?

[schwartzie95403]

I believe that Fred Astaire said that his favorite partner was Rita Hayworth.

[Princess of Tap]

6 hours ago, starryeyzze said:

Ann Miller is in Easter Parade and dances with Fred.

My favorite tap solo for Ann Miller is in a MGM movie called "Small Town Girl".  The song is "Gotta Hear That Beat."  It was directed by Busby Berkeley. If you like Ann Miller, you ought to check it out.

 

[Princess of Tap]

37 minutes ago, schwartzie95403 said:

I believe that Fred Astaire said that his favorite partner was Rita Hayworth.

Fred Astaire's father was from Austria: A real 19th century gentleman.  Fred Astaire was born in the 19th century too, 1899 to be exact.

Being a gentleman, he would never say in public who his favorite partner was.

But I do absolutely believe that it had to be Rita Hayworth or Cyd Charisse  for the movies. 

And Rita may have had the edge because, Hélas, Cyd didn't know how to tap dance. LOL

[Lover-o-Classics]

Cyd Charisse in Silk Stockings... and Jane Powell, in a delightfull number from Royal Wedding called "How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life?"  She could dance and chew gum at the same time.

[sagebrush]

15 hours ago, Princess of Tap said:

Fred Astaire's father was from Austria: A real 19th century gentleman.  Fred Astaire was born in the 19th century too, 1899 to be exact.

Being a gentleman, he would never say in public who his favorite partner was.

But I do absolutely believe that it had to be Rita Hayworth or Cyd Charisse  for the movies. 

And Rita may have had the edge because, Hélas, Cyd didn't know how to tap dance. LOL

Fred and Rita just looked REALLY good together, in height, in style, in talent. I see them dance and I have no awareness of their age differences.

As much as I love the Flamenco-style "Begin The Beguine" dance number he did with Eleanor Powell, I always wished he had done that number with Rita. I'm not stating that I think it would be better, just different (because of her background.)

[Jlewis]

Cyd Charisse in The Band Wagon's "Dancing In The Dark" will get repeated a lot here. On the surface, it looks deceptively simple. No rotating room like Royal Wedding to allow Astaire to dance on the ceiling and no razzle dazzle stunt work here. The city park set looks virtually unchanged since James Stewart and Eleanor Powell used it seventeen years earlier in Born To Dance. Yet choice of music is as important as anything else.

[TopBilled]

5 hours ago, Jlewis said:

Cyd Charisse in The Band Wagon's "Dancing In The Dark" will get repeated a lot here. On the surface, it looks deceptively simple. No rotating room like Royal Wedding to allow Astaire to dance on the ceiling and no razzle dazzle stunt work here. The city park set looks virtually unchanged since James Stewart and Eleanor Powell used it seventeen years earlier in Born To Dance. Yet choice of music is as important as anything else.

Thanks for such a great post. I especially agree with your last sentence.

[Pat221b]

Joan Leslie is very good in THE SKY'S THE LIMIT, which I think is a very underrated film.

[dischick]

This is going to be a weird answer, but I loved watching him dance with Jane Powell in Royal Wedding, and Petula Clark in Finian’s Rainbow.

[TopBilled]

Did Fred dance with any other men besides Bing Crosby and Gene Kelly?

I am not sure who all his dance partners were on Broadway.

[dischick]

I just googled the topic of Fred Astaire’s dance partners and several men showed up on the list like Hermes Pan and George Murphy.

[Pat221b]

Mr. Astaire danced with George Murphy in BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940. It's an interesting duet. Mr. Murphy is a capable dancer, but Mr Astaire is, well, Astaire. He also performs with Jack Buchanan in THE BAND WAGON.

His primary partner on Broadway was his sister Adele.

 

[Princess of Tap]

 

2 minutes ago, Pat221b said:

Mr. Astaire danced with George Murphy in BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940. It's an interesting duet. Mr. Murphy is a capable dancer, but Mr Astaire is, well, Astaire. He also performs with Jack Buchanan in THE BAND WAGON.

His primary partner on Broadway was his sister Adele.

 

 

7 minutes ago, dischick said:

I just googled the topic of Fred Astaire’s dance partners and several men showed up on the list like Hermes Pan and George Murphy.

 My favorite teaming of Fred Astaire with a man is Leroy Daniels in "The Band Wagon".  They danced to the song, "A Shine on Your Shoes". Leroy Daniels was a vernacular black dancer.

On Broadway in The Band Wagon Fred Astaire danced with ballerina Tilly Losch.

[TopBilled]

8 minutes ago, Pat221b said:

Mr. Astaire danced with George Murphy in BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940. It's an interesting duet. Mr. Murphy is a capable dancer, but Mr Astaire is, well, Astaire. He also performs with Jack Buchanan in THE BAND WAGON.

His primary partner on Broadway was his sister Adele.

 

Here they are:

 

[jkbrenna]

There will always be only one Ginger Rogers. I like Ginger best of all with Fred. They danced as one person. I watch their feet. 

[Cmmarion612]

Leslie Caron did a fantastic job with Astaire. 

[sagebrush]

Fred also led a chorus of about 25 men in the "Top Hat, White Tie And Tails" number from TOP HAT, before killing them with his cane! (ok- that's probably a stretch)?