Eleanor Powell - AFI Tribute to Fred Astaire

[gocal777]

2 scientists in a lavatory? , maybe I missheard it , It had to be laboratory.

[Laudon1965]

Do you by any chance also have footage of Mikhail Baryshnikov's tribute to Mr. Astaire from this award show?

[ShortySOM]

What a wonderful tribute to one classy lady. BRAVO

[masefu0]

Yes, now what we have??? Madonas,. Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse.....bua, bua, bua!!!

[gfks11]

Brilliant performance!!

[bratrat]

Astaire & Powell- two talented class acts.

RIP, Mr. Astaire and Miss Powell...

[hajune]

Without question these two were the hardest working pair ever. Fred practiced and practiced and even created blue prints to make sure the steps were right. Ellie was called the Iron Lady and danced 12 hours daily. She said she would rather dance then eat. The speech was a snopsis of their total dedication to their field and we are the better off to have witnesses the two greatest dancers ever. Fred's dance studio's live on even 55 years after he retired. They are flourishing. That says it all.

[hajune]

When a 17 year old Debbie Reynolds was trying to learn tap for the Singing In The Rain movie she was in tears. It was too hard she said. Fred saw her and held her hand and invited her to watch him rehearse, a super rare priviledge. Only Hermes Pam and he were ever at those rehearsals. Debbie saw him turn red faced and sweat profusely and struggle to learn new steps. He was exhausted. He turned to her and said this is the way it always is. Now go out and learn it and you will be just fine.

[tmax45R]

@hajune Gene Kelly told L.B. Mayer he had doubts about Debbie because she couldn't dance. L.B. had both in his office and introduced Debbie as his leading lady. He then told Gene Kelly to now go and teach her to dance.

[dannybex]

@hajune this is nitpicky, but Reynolds was actually 19 when "Singin" was shot. She was born in '32. And what tmax45R said isn't exactly true. It was Donen and Kelly's idea to hire Reynolds for the very reason she was an unknown. She may not have been very good at the start, but he knew he she could do it if she worked hard.

[IndianQueen001]

I love this!!!!! I wish CBS carried out their legacies!!!!!!!! You don't hear anything about them on TV anymore!! Everytyhing is always about the new, but the old gave birth to the new!!

[TheJazzlady40]

great speech

[dreamer2anime]

RIP eleanor you were an inspiration and a huge reason if not the first to inspire me to tap dance

[cscentrlTV]

Now that's a standing ovation!

[AstaireFans]

Thanks so much for this!

[tallpaul521]

Perfection -- Miss Powell and Mr. Astaire. Miss Rogers was in New Orleans that evening.

[Nabokov50]

What year was this?

[ALD1296]

0:20 that's Debbie Reynolds! :DD

[JudithIN410]

Ginger Rogers was not present. At a later point in the show, Astaire read a letter she'd sent, saying she was performing somewhere that evening.

[kobnum]

Do you know if Ginger Rogers at the event? I would think she be the host of the show or something.

[tomkellycartoons]

Elegance, talent, beauty and class all the way. Brava, Miss Powell, wherever you are.

oxoxoxoxoxo

[hajune]

Ellie taught tap impromtu in her 60's. By all accounts she could still woo them. Fayard Nicholas from the Nicholas Brothers taught some classes with her attended by TCM's Robert Osbourne. He always melted when seeing her and made it a point to sit as close to her as possible. Ellie was the master at putting 3 types of difficult steps together that resulted in an uneven rhythm ( that's good). She would share those moves with Fayard early in their careers. Fayard used them in some of their dances.

[ytshawzam]

I got to observe one of her impromptu lessons! It was around the time of this clip, not long before she passed away. At a screening of her films at the Vagabond Theater in Los Angeles she was appearing in person and regalled us late arrivers to dance lessons in front of the theater on Wilshire blvd. while everyone else was inside enjoying the films! Someone asked if she gave formal lessons and she referred them to the Nicholas Brothers. She was really cool and signed autographs for all.

[JudithIN410]

Wonderful! I'd read of this; great to hear from someone who was there. Thanks for commenting.

[hajune]

Early on Ellie was not a great actress. She seemed uneasy acting. Spencer Tracy gave her some advice. Just be yourself and do script within the confines of your personality blended with the character you are playing.She improved after that. In her last 10 years Ellie became a minister. She said she was married to God in the best and kindest of ways. She also said we are God's gifts and what we become is our gift back to God. She had a Sunday School TV program in the 50's. She won an Emmy for it.

[UTubeManiakk]

OH MY GOD! That was such a great speech! I'm crying! "I still wish we could do it just one more time" :'(

no more talents like that... I wish I had an opportunity to live in the same time with them!

[genelsac]

Eleanor Powell personifies class, elegance and pure talent. To me, she'll always be the queen of tap and with Fred, have set the bar really high.

I've also noticed how Debbie Reynolds quickly stood up to honor and give respect to an esteemed colleague of the bygone era. Sigh! I doubt if any of the new breed of Hollywood stars would do that.

[mark121959]

She was (along with Astaire and many others) dedicated to her talent and woked hard at it. Any ideas of "fame" were incidental to just supporting their families. It says a lot that she described them both as just "hoofers". So unlike now; they (Powell and Astaire) regarded fame as an afterthought...now we are in an era of those who seek fame as primary with talent as incidental.

[hajune]

Ellie died within a year of honoring Fred. She found out she had cancer shortly thereafter .When my mom was a girl she wrote 9 letter to her. Ellie ALWAYS wrote back encouraging my mom that she could be a championship ice skater. Grandma threw those letters away. Wish I still had them. When Ellie died our paper barely mentioned it. Mom read it and started sobbing. She had lost a friend that she never met. I was a college women's basketball scout. Ellie was the greatest female athlete I ever saw.

[gwtwcarlos]

@hajune what a wonderful comment!!- beautifully written, full of sentiment...carlos.

[netwitt1]

Happy Birthday, Ellie! I'm with Hajune - in the front row, I hope! And I have LOTS of questions to ask after the show. But for now we'll all have to settle for being stunned and exhilarated by your brilliance, Ellie.

[hajune]

Nov 21th Ellie will be 97. She was a class act off and on the stage. We miss you dear one. I am sure you are busy dancing up a storm in the next world. I already got tickets to see you when I arrive. Hope you are performing with Fred. If you are I will try to get there sooner.

[Lampshade51]

What a rare treat to see Eleanor Powell in the 1980s. I don't think that she made a public appearance for many years, and the audience of show biz greats showed their surprise and respect with a standing ovation.

She was right up there with Astaire, Gene Kelly, and Ginger Rogers.

[Eagle027]

Considering her age at the Time. I would still consider her a beautiful woman.

[Fredfanish]

I was just thinking the same thing. She really aged well.

[hajune]

Eleanor Powell DID speak from her heart. You would be hard pressed to find somebody more sincere then her. She rehearsed the words much like Lincoln did with the Gettysburg Address, and then spoke from her heart. Not to give a rousing speech to Fred would be inappropiate. My friend who teaches speech at Ohio U said this was one of the most impressive short speeches he ever heard. Ellie was not a great actress when first starting . She was very shy. I am proud of her, giving this tribute to Fred

[wilsondylanmccartney]

I LOVE Eleanor Powell, but I prefer someone that's real at the podium, and not performing. Not putting on an act, and going by a speech. Someone that just gets up and goes by their heart.

[JudithIN410]

I agree that the speech sounded rehearsed - but why not? She was not just plucked from the audience for her spontaneous comments. If you were chosen to make remarks at such an important affair, among hundreds of peers, and for an international tv audience, wouldn't you prepare for it???

[wilsondylanmccartney]

No. I would try to just go on heart, soul, and instinct. Then its more real. More personable, more sincere, and personal.

[JudithIN410]

I'm sure she was given a specific amount of time for her remarks. Hard to "go on heart, soul, and instinct" with the clock ticking. Remember that she was a performer, and a perfectionist at that. Of course she was going to prepare her speech, as all the others (including Astaire) obviously did.

[mhoopisblues]

@JudithIN410 Hmm..hmm..well: Astaire didn't seem to be VERY prepared, i think. Very charming, very humorous, but not prepared. "Oh my my, now comes the hard part. I don't know how to start or how to finish and i haven't had ONE drink..." No, he wasn't prepared but wonderful Astaire. Miss Powell had a speech like an Actress and i prefer the one of Mr. Astaire, but he liked it obviously and that's the whole main point.

[SHOELESSJOE60]

Where do you see...rehearsed, looks fine to me.

[problem49]

It breaks my heart that colossi such as these will never be with us again.

[joeasmythe]

What a pleasure watching the stars of the Great Era. No one around like them anymore, Hollywood has become hollyweird....

[nandesneto]

i love her.

[grrallnamesaregone]

What a cutie she always was! So sweet. I have seen other people (like Ann Miller) steal that "still wish we could do it one more time" line, but Powell was the first to say it...and the best.

[TL250Rider]

What year was this?

Both Legonds are gone.

Thank you

[JudithIN410]

1981

[TL250Rider]

This Lady Could Dance. It is so great to watch her dance.

She is the best.

Thank you for the listing.

[Dragonrdh]

She remained very beautiful.

[elvisnutkid]

Happy 110th birthday Fred

u rock

[myrnaloysboy]

Just look at Debbie Reynolds, on her feet without hesitation. She knows how to respect old Hollywood, she is fantastic. Good on you Deborah!

[kangaroosbraun]

dont you think whe should have won the oscar in 64? for The unsinkeable Molly Brown?

[myrnaloysboy]

Oh yes Miss Reynolds is totally brilliant, I respect her emermously for trying to preserve Hollywood's past with her Movie Museums.

[myrnaloysboy]

Sensational

[rochefort]

Thanks for posting this!! I love Eleanor Powell and always wanted to know what happened to her after she left MGM....

[dinovinolvr]

I love Eleanor Powell. My parents took me to see a comeback performance at Harrah's Tahoe when I was a little girl. She was my idol and it was a birthday surprise. We sat close to the stage and at the end of her show I ran up to the edge of the stage and she gave me a hug.

We exhanged a few letters and pictures over the next few years. She was even nice enough to recommend a certain kind of tap for my tap shoes. Such a special lady.

[ilovepuroland]

She is so classy. I wish Hollywood stars were like this today--then maybe I'd enjoy watching their movies.

[opelske]

Beautiful lady inside and outside. Sure do miss her kind of talent today. God Bless her in Heaven! A wonderful video to share.

[hajune]

That was one of the greatest short speeches I ever heard. Few peple knew at the time she had terminal cancer and she would not be with us within a year. If Heaven could just loan her out to us for a while it woud be appreciated in this time of need and in a time we could use a class act like Elly who was both a great person and a dancer unequalled! She should have been given a lifetime acheivement award.

[JudithIN410]

At the time of this event, even Ellie didn't know she had cancer. This was taped in early April and she was diagnosed in May. She learned it was terminal after surgery in June. I certainly agree that she was a class act, in all ways, and deserved much more recognition.

[opelske]

I agree! So elegant! We're lucky to have film to remind us that real dedicated talent was once celebrated.

[mca1218]

OMG. Thank you for a cleaned up, restored, version of this clip. I love it!! And "sparkling" is the perfect word to describe Ms. Powell. I'd also add earthy, witty, understated, direct, and warm. It's a pleasure just to listen to her describe how they trained, dancing in 'counter rhythm' and so forth. And what an impact she had on an audience who gave a standing ovation for even a one-time appearance between Fred & Ellie. Always a lady. Thanks for this.

[carolerory]

wow..new it existed..thanks for sharing for all

of us Fred and Ellie fans...good good good..

[pebrogan]

What a lady - what a class act and what an amazing dancer. Thanks for sharing that wonderful clip. It made my day!!

[netwitt1]

Great clip, Judy. Woohoo! And yes, wasn't Ellie just sparkling - those were the exact words that came to my mind as I watched the clip. She was a gem inside and out.

[tomkellycartoons]

Ahhh...that magnificent woman...sparkling like mad till the very end. What an inspiration! Thank you ever so for posting this gem....

[JudithIN410]

Eleanor Powell was born 96 years ago today - November 21, 1912.

[canoga1958]

Great job Judy! Thanks so much for posting.

[Shurayuki18481]

What a great quality version! Thanks so much! Go Ellie!

[JudithIN410]

If I hadn't seen your post of this months ago, I would never have known it existed. Thanks! :-)