RIO"S CLASSIC REACTION: Fred Astaire Dance Solo "Roberta" 1935 (REACTION)

[@ukiahsguitarsolos3436]

Fred Astaire....what can you say? He's the best.

[@stormhawk3319]

As a dancer I’d only give Fred 11 out of 10.

[@chattyroz2934]

Fred Astaire was a brilliant dancer. Tap dancing was just part of his repertoire. He was also a wonderful singer and an appealing actor.

[@OLD_SOUL1900]

The best!!! "Roberta", out of the other Fred and Ginger films, is very underrated. I personally love it. Thanks for giving this oldie a try.😉

[@LynneConnolly]

In the old days the sound wasn't good enough to record the taps, so they had to be dubbed on after. Fred always did his own taps, effectively doing the dance twice, once for the camera, once for the mics.

[@luminiferous1960]

Here is some information on two stars of tap dancing who preceded Fred Astaire, and on Sammy Davis, Jr's early career prior to his becoming a member of the Rat Pack in the 1960s. Perhaps the earliest star of tap dancing was William Henry Lane whose stage name was 'Master Juba' (1825-1852). 'Master Juba' was one of the first African tap dancers to perform for white audiences as well as the first black performer to get top billing over a white performer in a minstrel show. Lane combined many different dance styles that he learned from his poor Irish neighbors and added many more such as the shuffle, pigeon wing, the slide buck dancing and clog into a new dance that became known as tap dancing. Juba performed before the monarchs in Europe as well as many other shows, and eventually settled in London where he performed with an English dance company and opened his own dance studio. ********** Bill “Bojangles” Robinson (1878-1949) was a Broadway legend, starting as a vaudeville performer, and moving on to Broadway and Hollywood films from the late 1920s to the 1940s. Born Luther Robinson in Richmond, Virginia, in 1878, his parents, Maria and Maxwell Robinson, died in 1885. Young Bill was reared by his grandmother, Bedilia Robinson, who had been a slave. In Richmond, he got the nickname "Bojangles" from "jangler," meaning contentious, and invented the phrase "Everything's Copasetic," meaning tip-top. Robinson got his first professional job in 1892, performing as a member of the chorus for Mayme Remington in the show The South Before the War. When Robinson arrived in New York in 1900, he challenged the In Old Kentucky star tap dancer Harry Swinton to a Buck-dancing contest and won. From 1902 to 1914, he teamed with George W. Cooper. Bound by a rule in vaudeville, which restricted blacks to performing in pairs, they performed together on the Keith and Orpheum circuits, but did not wear the blackface makeup that performers customarily used at that time. Robinson's most famous dance was his 'staircase' dance involving complex tap rhythms on each step, which he introduced in 1918. Broadway fame came with the all-black revue, Blackbirds of 1928, in which he sang and danced "Doin' the New Low Down." Success was instantaneous. He was hailed as the greatest of all dancers by at least seven New York newspapers. Robinson was one of the first African-American dancers to get exposure through film. He was well-known for being one of the best two-footed dancers (whatever he did on his right foot, he did on his left). However in America in the 1930's it was nearly impossible for black dancers to make it into white cinema, and so whenever Bill Robinson was in a film with a white person he was always at least a butler or a doorman. Robinson and Shirley Temple teamed up in the films The Little Colonel (1935), The Littlest Rebel (1935), Just Around the Corner (1938) and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938). Claiming to have taught tap dance to Shirley Temple, Sammy Davis, Jr., Eleanor Powell, Florence Mills, and Fred Astaire, Robinson profoundly influenced the younger generation of tap dancers. ************* In 1929 at the age of 4, Sammy Davis, Jr. joined the Will Mastin Trio with his father and uncle, and toured the vaudeville circuit, accompanying his elders with flash tap dance routines. At the age of 8, he made his motion picture debut in Rufus Jones for President (1933), a black short subject two-reeler filmed at Brooklyn's Warner studios, in which he played a little boy who falls asleep in the lap of his mother (played by Ethel Waters) and dreams of being elected President of the United States. He was reportedly tutored by his idol Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, from whom he took tap dance lessons. In 1942 at the age of eighteen Davis was drafted into the Army and assigned to Special Services where he performed in army camps across the country. In 1946, upon being discharged from the Army, he rejoined the Will Mastin Trio and perfected his performance by doing flash-styled tap dancing and impressions of popular screen stars and singers, playing trumpet and drums, and singing to the accompaniment of Sammy, Sr. and Uncle Will's soft-shoe and tap as background. He also recorded some songs for Capitol Records and one of them, a rendition of "The Way You Look Tonight," was chosen the 1946 Record of the year by Metronome magazine, which also named him the year's "Most Outstanding New Personality." The addition of comedy and tap dancing brought new life to the group, so by the beginning of the next decade they were headlining venues including New York's Capitol club and Ciro's in Hollywood. It was in this period that Davis met Frank Sinatra. By 1952, at the invitation of Frank Sinatra, the group played the newly-integrated Copacabana in New York. In 1954, Davis signed a recording contract with Decca Records, topping the charts with his debut LP entitled Starring Sammy Davis, Jr., and another LP entitled Just for Lovers. After recovering from the loss of an eye in a car accident, he continued to score a series of hit singles including "Something's Gotta Give," "Love Me or Leave Me," "That Old Black Magic," and "Too Close for Comfort." After a succession of successful club appearances, Davis made his Broadway debut in 1956, with Sam Sr. and Will, in Mr. Wonderful, a musical comedy that was created just for him. He made his solo debut on television on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and did some serious acting in episodes of the "General Electric Theatre" and "The Dick Powell Show." In 1958, he played the role of a jive-talking sailor in the film Anna Lucasta. In 1959, he played the mischievous Sportin' Life in the screen version of Porgy and Bess.

[@MizJilly]

90 years later, and this still looks so cool and current. The man was just brilliant!

[@AmatureAstronomer]

Fred started in 1903 in Vaudeville, the same time as Bill Robinson. Fred was famous for tap dance, modern dance and ballroom dancing. Later, Fred made some movies with Ginger Rogers and Bill made some with Shirley Temple.

[@Dej24601]

A great dance scene is Astaire with Rita Hayworth doing a popular “swing dance” called the ‘Shorty George.’ This is from the 1942 film they made called ‘You Were Never Lovelier.’ kzbin.info/www/bejne/jYbLmX57gbqreJIsi=Q-t6FDr8i4N-jM03

[@lynette.]

My absolute favourite dancer along with Gene Kelly. They did all acted danced and choreographed.

[@EgbertWilliams]

Fred Astaire could dance. Who knew?

[@auapplemac1976]

Good snark.

[@Fast_Eddy_Magic]

"The black dude from 'The Shining'." was Scatman Crothers (I think that's how it's spelled).

[@lynette.]

You want Jumping Jive with the NicholS brothers and the great Cab Calloway it will make your eyes water.

[@GarthKlein]

The joke is that the name of the song is, "I won't dance."

[@Dej24601]

Back then, stars were expected to be multitalented - acting, dancing, singing. Studios would pay for them to be trained if they were not already professional dancers or singers. Some people obviously had less talent and then the focus would just be on them to act.

[@jughead88]

Bill "Bojangels" Robinson? Is that who you were thinking of?

[@Stogdad1]

Fantastic!!!!

[@Lamm139]

I don't know how old you are, but Fred Astaire was 36 at this point. Imho 36 isn't old at all, except for a child or a teenager. He played his last role in a horror movie ("Ghost Story"/1981) and died in 1987. I was very sad when they announced that he has passed. My grandgrandfather was at the same age and died in the same year.

[@gail1869]

Michael Jackson got a lot of his moves from watching Fred Astaire.

[@lanecountybigfooters5716]

Michael and Fred were friends of sorts. They spoke frequently. Michael studied Fred's moves and Fred admired him in return. An unusual friendship from two amazing dancers and performers in different ages.

[@Fast_Eddy_Magic]

Pretty sly for a young guy! 😂 Seriously, very impressed you know so much about it. 👍

[@karimhicks8376]

Your thinking of SCAT MAN CROTHERS!!

[@UnderratedLisa]

Gang Starr - Gotta Get Over (Taking Loot) Explicit

[@SuperZooon]

another reaction type who cant shup up. I lasted 1 mimute. Bye

[@jetjaguar5200]

Scatman Crothers!❤

[@jklang7217]

He was 36 at this time, !! and yes, that is considered old!!