Customer Reviews

Steps in Time

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fred Astaire tells his story in the same way he dances, with integrity and grace. I have been a fan of Mr.Astaire's for many years. The first movie of his I saw was "Daddy Long Legs." I was fasinated with the way he danced. When I found out that he had a biography I snatched a copy up. What I like about this book is that Fred Astaire wrote it himself. I found myself laughing at times, and after reading the book I felt as if I knew him personally. The best thing about this book is that it has 47 black and white photos. This book is a must for true fans of one of the greatest dancers who ever graced the big screen.

I am a big fan of Fred Astaire and this was the first book I was able to read about him. The fact that it is also written by him is a big plus. Fred is a shy and humble man, and his book gives that impression but it is a great account of a man that met everyone, from English and Hollywood royalty to bookmakers and bell hops (in fact, he made a point of knowing bell hops, they knew all the right places to go and the juicy stories). Fred was a private man and he never delves into much detail about his personal feelings. He's quick to acknowledge someone he likes, but you get the feeling that he holds back on people he might not have liked. He never puts down a film partner so if you're looking for an autobio that tells it all, this isn't it. However, Fred's story is still chock full of interesting tales. It doesn't just appeal to Astaire fans, it also appeals to vaudeville, theater, and history fans as Fred was born in 1899 and lived through some amazing times. The Roaring '20s were spent in New York and London (visiting with royalty and the upper class), the '30s in Hollywood where he and Ginger Rogers made people forget the Depression for a while with their movies, and he dedicates a chapter to rehashing his overseas experience in the '40s when he toured on a USO show during WWII. So if you want an easy read of an important movie and dance icon, I highly recommend "Steps In Time". Don't worry about being bored, Fred has a nice sense of humor and there are no lulls in his story. He wrote this book in the late '50s and still had decades of work in front of him, but unfortunately, he never wrote a follow up book chronicling what was still an exciting and glamorous life. Read this book and watch the movies!

Fred Astaire (1899-1987) was, quite simply, a dance genius. He appeared on stage, often with his sister Adele, in such landmark musicals as LADY BE GOOD and FUNNY FACE; he graced at least 43 films, 31 one of which were musicals; he is, for all practical intents and purpose, American dance, and he worked with artists no less legendary than he. But for all this, his 1959 autobiography is most notable for being, well, utterly mundane.

STEPS IN TIME is essentially a catalogue of the various shows in which Astaire performed, ranging from Vaudeville (with sister Adele) to SILK STOCKINGS with Cyd Charisse. He always loves his leading lady; he always likes his director; even when the show was not as good as it could have been he finds something nice to say about it; and he never, ever offers the least bit of insight into his private life, his work, or the many with whom he worked over the years. Indeed, Astaire actually has more to say about his love of the racetrack than he does about any of his films or specific dance routines.

Fans of Astaire and the Hollywood musical will certainly want to read STEPS IN TIME, but even the most ardent fan will likely be disappointed by the superficial quality of the work. One can only hope that a future biographer will give Astaire the full portrait that he himself could not.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

After finding this book in a New York bookstore, I eagerly began reading about my all-time favorite actor. Some of the personal stories about his life and work are interesting and it is fun to hear what he has to say about his success, but that is all. Astaire tells a quick story and then jumps to the next. He does not analyze much about his life, nor does he really get to the root of his personality. But it is hard to criticize such a brilliant man, so I will leave it as that. You will only enjoy this book if you love Fred Astaire as much as I do. Happy reading!

This book reveals as much about Fred Astaire in what it doesn't say as in what it tells. He was a shy man, of Austrian descent, very little formal education, and was eclipsed by his funny and attractive older sister in his days on the stage. These things shaped him into the perfectionist we saw on film. He had an incredible work ethic and was always looking for a new gimmick or dance style because he was not confident the audiences would keep on coming. He is not a natural story teller and sometimes leaves us wanting to hear more (e.g.can tell you he and a famous person had a lot of laughs together but not what they did or said that was funny). Still it is a good companion to the TV biography the BBC did about him a few years ago. All the best American composers of the day wanted to write for him (He and Gershwin were young unknowns together) and his evolution from vaudeville to Broadway to film happened during key times of all of those media. I do recommend the book if you want to know more about Fred Astaire, but not as a stand-alone source.

It was less than a year ago that STEPS IN TIME was re-published after a long period of being out-of-print. Nobody should be deterred from reading this autobiography of Fred Astaire, if for no other reason that we get the goods from the star himself, written in good plain prose.

Having said that, there are some drawbacks to this book. (1) It was published in 1960 and was never amended, even though Astaire lived another twenty-seven years; this was just after Astaire had completed the second of two TV specials for NBC, with dancer Barrie Chase. That leaves almost three decades of Astaire's life undocumented, including his playing in movies and on TV in non-musical roles, his continual coming out of retirement, and his surprising marriage in late life to a horse-jockey-turned-pilot (Robin Astaire).

(2) In terms of his basic motivations or what made Fred tick, the reader will come away from this book almost completely baffled. One reason for this is that autobiographies from older stars (and recall that Fred was a vaudeville star of the Twenties) were not written in a confessional mode as they so often are today. As a result, the Fred Astaire who wrote this volume about his life comes very close to the "nice guy" Astaire of his musicals and other entertainments.

(3) For those expecting suspense or drama, a further reason that STEPS IN TIME comes off as bland and uninsightful is that Astaire's life really does seem to be remarkably free of trauma, except for the loss of his sister (and former dance partner) Adele during childbirth and the death of his wife Phyllis to cancer in 1954. Astaire admits to being anguished about his wife's painful and relatively sudden death, but as usual in STEPS IN TIME he puts himself rather quickly into rehearsals for DADDY LONG LEGS(Fox, 1955). However, a quick look at Peter J. Levinson's recent bio PUTTIN' ON THE RITZ reveals co-star Leslie Caron's memory of his crying into a towel during DADDY's production.

It appears that Astaire has committed a kind of sin of omission with regard to his emotions. And of course he perpetuated his generation's credo of "never complain, never explain" or what Astaire, ever the Anglophile, might have called a "stiff upper lip." Astaire does admit that he could be grumpy during rehearsals and that, to use today's language, he was a workaholic's workaholic. In STEPS IN TIME he writes frankly about his perfectionism, but (a nice guy to the end) deals with the long, long rehearsal time he insisted on for each role without sounding arrogant or condescending.

A useful alternative or companion volume to STEPS IN TIME is Peter J. Levinson's comprehensive PUTTIN' ON THE RITZ, recently published (Spring 2009). Not only do we get the full sweep of Fred Astaire's life, we get honest inquiry into Fred's emotional makeup, or about as much as Fred would allow. Or get the proof straight from the movies: the nine-DVD boxed set with all the Astaire-Rogers RKO musicals of the Thirties is a good place to start. For less money, Astaire's genius is also much on display in EASTER PARADE(1948) or THE BAND WAGON(1953), both out of MGM. These are only a beginning.

An amazing story told by the man himself!! What an incredible life he led! A must have for any fan! I could not put it down. He is an amazing story teller and spends alot of the book on what you don't hear about, his and his sister Adele's incredible vaudeville act and his tour with the USO. What a wonderful man! And he focuses on things other people don't, his flops in show business! You know about his triumph's but he shares his defeats also. Definately worth every penny.

I'm a fan of Fred and I adore him so much so I recomend this book to any classic movie fan or any Fred fan! This is one of the best book's I've read and I hope many more people can read this and take a step into the life of Fred Astaire

Prior to purchasing this item I read a review that said the book didn't say anything about Fred Astaire's personality. After reading this book, you can tell about every section of Fred's life, his up and downs, his feelings, his experiences. Mr. Astire writes in the style he lived...Elegantly written. I couldn't put the book down because it was exciting to read.

I polished off this book in a matter of a week! Astaire's style in enjoyable, quick-witted and an overall delight. From his early triumphs in vaudeville to his rocket into stardom, Fred Astaire has played a pivotal role in American Life. "Steps in Time" is not only graceful and surprisingly funny, it is also reflective and poignant.