Fred Astaire singt und tanzt

For a man with a thin, reedy, but pleasant voice it is astonishing that the best composers America ever produced wrote for this man on both stage and screen. When you've introduced songs by Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George Gershwin and Vincent Youmans you are keeping step in some mighty good company. Which is the music Fred Astaire stepped to during his entire career.

This first of two specials with the Dancing Master himself has him singing and dancing with partner Barrie Chase, and trumpeter Jonah Jones and his jazz combo. Fred gets to do a number of his famous film and stage songs and the highlight for me was a new dance routine done to the old blues number, The Saint James Infirmary. Jonah Jones sings it and Astaire and Chase dance heavenly.

Frank Sinatra later patented this kind of special with only one or two guests, but Astaire was the one who did two of them first and if not best, different. As a dancer it was not an intimate saloon song that he used, but the full stage to practice his art.

If this is ever broadcast don't miss it. Or the succeeding special the following year.

By 1957, Fred Astaire had starred in his final musical films as a leading man: "Funny Face" and "Silk Stockings." He then unofficially retired- until NBC television producer Bud Yorkin brought him back. Having done Broadway in the 30's and radio in the 40's, television was the only medium he had not yet conquered. This stunning hour-long variety show was done live, in color, and basically illustrated, in Astaire's own words, a 'dance bash.' He performed a medley of songs from his movies, presented a team of dancers who had done bits in his last films, and performed with jazz great Jonah Jones. And he re-introduced himself as a leading man with newcomer Barrie Chase, of the longer-than-long legs and Fosse-like moves, in two duets: the ballroom turn "Change Partners" and the jazz flavored "St. James Infirmary Blues," performed on trumpet and narrated by Jones, and danced in a stunning duet with Astaire and Chase that alternates between athletic and sexy. She (in black capri pants) was roughly 25 years old, he (sans white tie and tails) was 59. The special won nine Emmy awards, including one for Astaire himself, and has been preserved on color videotape- currently the SECOND oldest ever color videotape program. Truly a major achievement of early television. Hopefully it will be re-released soon; the public should see this marvelous time capsule of television.

This NBC special, from the fall of 1958, was the first full-fledged special program to be produced on color videotape. The tape is well-preserved and the old Chrysler cars are fun to look at. This is a piece of television history which, thankfully, has survived in pretty decent condition. That said, the show itself is a wonderful variety hour top-lined by Fred Astaire, who, here in his late 50s, still could weave the magic he did so well in his many musical movies. His dance partner is Barrie Chase, a remarkable and beautiful dancer who holds her own, and then some. Jonah Jones adds some great jazz to the program, and when one is done viewing this, one is tempted to say the old cliché, "They don't make 'em like that anymore." This has not been released on DVD or any home video medium, but the entire program can be viewed in five parts on YouTube. The clarity of videotape gives the program an almost spooky immediacy that you can't quite get with a filmed program. This program was aired live on the east coast, and then the videotape was shown three hours later on the west coast. Videotape in the early days was considered very hard to edit, so this recording is just like seeing the live eastern broadcast. The YouTube download looked pretty good streaming on my 40-inch flat screen, which is a testament to the restoration of the tape. I have no idea how videotape is "restored", but there are few digital artifacts present, and the picture is very good and the sound superb. A wonderful show.

This remarkable artistic and historic treasure may be viewed in its entirety at the Paley Center for Media, 25 West 52nd Street, New York, NY 10019. It is available at the Paley along with the three other television specials that he made from 1958 through 1968.

Unfortunately, the holder(s) of the legal rights to these TV specials for unknown reasons have made them unavailable for reissue onto commercial DVD. Fred's many admirers---and all lovers of great dancing in general---should post on IMDb their objection to this situation on behalf of every person who appreciates fine art, timeless entertainment and superb dancing by the greatest master of popular dance to have ever appeared in film.

The names of these TV specials as they appear on IMDb are "An Evening with Fred Astaire"(1958); "Another Evening with Fred Astaire"(1959); "Astaire Time"(1960); and "The Fred Astaire Show" (1968).