Orig FASCINATING RHYTHM (1924) Fred & Adele Astaire, Gershwin on Piano
The dancing partner who made Fred Astaire (1899-1987) famous isn’t the one most people remember. It was his sister, Adele (1898-1981) a year his senior. The two learned to dance, journeyed east from Nebraska to New York in 1903 and began a long vaudeville career as a boy-and-girl specialty duo.
It was not until 1917 that their charm and dancing specialties reached a Broadway audience. In London, the bright-eyed, exuberant Americans were welcomed even more enthusiastically than in their own country. Fred had known George Gershwin since 1916, when he went to the composer looking for a vaudeville number. They had vowed they’d work together some day; that day came on Dec. 1, 1924, when the Astaires headlined George and Ira’s first full-length New York musical, “Lady, Be Good!”
Playing a brother-and-sister dance team down on their luck, the Astaires had found the perfect vehicle for their talents. Fred got his first solo, while the romantic end of things was held down by his sister and the leading man. During their time in London, Adele met and married a British aristocrat and departed the stage...
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/fred-and-adele-astaire/
- George Gershwin (b. Jacob Gershwine; Sept. 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An American in Paris (1928), the songs "Swanee" (1919) & "Fascinating Rhythm" (1924), the jazz standards "Embraceable You" (1928) & "I Got Rhythm" (1930), & the opera Porgy and Bess (1935), which included the hit "Summertime"...
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Gershwin
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the well known Harry's New York Bar in Paris many noted American writers, artists and expats gathered in the 1910s, 20s, 30s, 40s and beyond. Maybe you know of it.
There's a piano in the bar downstairs that supposedly was Gershwin's, or used by him, so the staff say. It's a very popular place with American tourists; I like to think it's true that Gershwin played music there.
Thanks for replying! 
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🍸 Harry's New York Bar is a bar in Paris, France located at 5, Rue Daunou, between the Avenue de l'Opéra and the Rue de la Paix. The bar was acquired by former American star jockey Tod Sloan in 1911, who converted it from a bistro and renamed it the "New York Bar."..
At the time, American tourists and members of the artistic and literary communities were beginning to show up in Paris in ever-increasing numbers and Sloan hoped to capitalize on his fame and make the place a spot where expatriates would feel at home. His bar did become a popular spot for members of the American Field Service Ambulance Corps during World War I..
* The "Ivories" Piano Bar at Harry's is where George Gershwin composed An American in Paris...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry%27s_New_York_Bar
