Adele Astaire Adele Astaire Adele, Lady Charles Cavendish (born Adele Marie Austerlitz; September 10, 1896 – January 25, 1981), was an American dancer, stage actress and singer. She was Fred Astaire's elder sister, and his partner in a 27-year career in vaudeville and theater, beginning when he was five and she was eight. Adele Marie Austerlitz was born on September 10, 1896, in Omaha, Nebraska. Her parents were Johanna "Ann" Geilus, an American-born Lutheran of German descent, and Frederic "Fritz" Austerlitz, an Austrian-born Roman Catholic of Jewish descent. Adele's younger brother, Fred, was born two years after her. When Adele was eight
Ginger Rogers she directed the musical "Babes in Arms" off-Broadway in Tarrytown, New York, at 74 years old. It was produced by Michael Lipton and Robert Kennedy of Kennedy Lipton Productions. The production starred Broadway talents Donna Theodore, Carleton Carpenter, James Brennan, Randy Skinner, Karen Ziemba, Dwight Edwards, and Kim Morgan. It is also noted in her autobiography "Ginger, My Story". The Kennedy Center honored Ginger Rogers in December 1992. This event, which was shown on television, was somewhat marred when Astaire's widow, Robyn Smith, who permitted clips of Astaire dancing with Rogers to be shown for free at the function itself,