Orig FASCINATING RHYTHM (1924) Fred & Adele Astaire, Gershwin on Piano [View all]

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