Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Fred Astaire (May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) and Ginger Rogers (July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) were iconic dance partners who made motion pictures together from 1933 to 1949. They made a total of 10 films, nine of them with RKO Radio Pictures from 1933 to 1939, and one, "The Barkleys of Broadway", with M-G-M in 1949, their only color (Technicolor) film. Many years later, they became known by the portmanteau nickname of "Fringer", popularised by Australian entertainer Dave Gorr. Astaire started dancing in the early 1900s as a child on stage
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers his retirement. Due to their success as a partnership, Garland and Astaire were due to reunite for "The Barkleys of Broadway", but Garland was forced to drop out and Rogers took her place. The film, released in 1949, reunited Astaire and Rogers for their only movie for MGM and their only color film. During production, Astaire received an honorary Academy Award, which was presented to him by Rogers. This film was greeted with joy by critics, who were thrilled to see the partnership together once again. It was a success, earning a worldwide total of $5,421,000 on an estimated budget