Who’s Greater: Fred Astaire Or Gene Kelly?

FredAstaire, left, and GeneKelly talk during MGM’s musical extravaganza “That’s Entertainment” Part II in this 1976 handout photo. (AP)

This year Gene Kelly would have turned 100. But of course he’ll always be young and vibrant and “Singin’ in the Rain.”

So we thought we’d spend a few minutes in appreciation. And we thought we’d ask the question: was Gene Kelly the greatest dancer and innovator in American movie musical history, or was Fred Astaire – who was 13 years older than Kelly?

Historian and theater and dance critic Iris Fanger told Here & Now, “They were both great… what makes us very lucky is that these are the only 2 major dance artists of the 20th century… that we have the greater body of their work on film.”

Let us know what you think in the comments below, or join the debate on our Facebook page.

Bio: Gene Kelly’s 100th Birthday: Patricia W. Kelly Considers Her Husband’s Legacy

Guest:

Iris Fanger, dance and theater critic and historian.

We welcome comments from all of our listeners. Post below. Please stay on topic and be civil. Comments may be moderated by us, but you are solely responsible for the content of your comments.

JFerreira

There’s no direct comparison. Astaire was elegant, sophisticated, a pure joy to watch in motion, especially with Ginger Rogers in his arms. Kelly had more power and intensity and was fascinating on the strength of his dance motions alone. Both were in their own category of greatness, however, as the saying goes, remember that Ginger Rogers or Leslie Caron had to do what each of them did only backwards and in a dress and heels…
Jlbcar

Not sure how you can have a conversation about the best American dancers (as opposed to who was better Astaire or Kelly) without mentioning the Nicholas Brothers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBb9hTyLjfM
- Lynn
  
  Producer Lynn here, I LOVE the Nicholas Brothers, this is one of my all-time favorite dance clips! I’ll find a way to talk about them too!
bellbird

Between those 2 it’s Gene Kelly in my book–handsome, sexy, athletic, powerful! Sigh… It always gave me the creeps when Fred Astaire was with some much younger woman (like Audrey Hepburn). He looked like some skinny old uncle. yuck
mr. twicky

Absolutely silly to discuss which of these two men was greater. It’s like asking who was greater Mozart or Beethoven. The answer is that, although some may have a preference for one or the other, neither is “greater” than the other. Kelly and Astaire were both innovators who advanced the art of dance and dance on film. It could be said that Gene Kelly likely would have had quite a different career without the advances already made by Astaire. To dismiss Astaire as nothing more than a “ballroom” dancer is pure baloney, as was much of this discussion. I don’t think this sort of nonsensical comparison does much to honor Kelly on his milestone birthday.
Susie B

Asking who is the greater dancer is as ridiculous as picking a “best actor” at the Oscars; every great artist makes a unique contribution. It is perfectly acceptable, though, to ask “Who is your favorite?” and for me it will always be Fred Astaire because of his supremely gracious and gentle persona in addition to his sublime dancing.
Angelina

Of course they were both unique in their own ways…Angelina
John

Robin, Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly were both great dancers but were from different times. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made their movies while the country was trying to recover from the Great Depression. It was a time of great innovation in cinema and Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers brought to the screen a break from the hard times. Let’s just look at “Swing Time” from 1936. Fred takes dancing lessons just to meet Penny(Ginger) and miss steps and falls down just to make the sample lesson take longer. They start singing “Pick yourself up, dust your self off, start all over again”. A song everyone knows and The Great Depression metaphor. Penny gets fired when her boss over hears her telling Fred to save his money, that he’s too clumsy to ever learn to dance. You should see her face when Fred reclaims her job by going into a fantastic dance routine with her. And the movie goes on from there and the song, “The way you look tonight” gets the academy award.
Hal88

There is no comparrison. They were so completely different in style and both uniquely brilliant. But, in 2012 the fact that we’re even discussing this is brilliant in itself. Unfortunately there are generations growing up without the knowledge of what these two men did or who they were.
I wish there was a way to expose more people to their extraordinary talents. And to the Nicholas Brothers, and everyone else of their generation who were so truly talented.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000369743327 Jamie Huntington-Meath

Fred
Bonnie Hillman

Apples and Oranges !
But both are delicious !
Cyd Charrise said that of her dance partners .
She is right .
two different styles of dance
Olson_ad

Two completely different dance styles, equally gifted and exciting to watch. They both made you feel that it was effortless, like breathing. Mr. Kelly was very athletic, almost gymnastic in some of his dances. Mr. Astaire was graceful, every move flowed to the next with ease. Mr. Kelly was a blue collar dancer, Mr. Astaire a white collar dancer.
irv miller

this astair-kelly thing is rediculous. Compare to baseball where the hall of fame cocsists of a pitcher who doesm’t his and a hitter who can’t pitch. Both are there specializing in doing different things with amazing talent. Don’t applaud one and denegrate the other. As the saying goes “different strokes for different folks” Stop grousing and enjoy the great talent of both.