Mr Astaire told Mr. Nicholas the truth. That Stormy weather performance was the greatest performance we ever saw and this is 2021 and it still is the greatest.
In 2023, that is still the greatest dance sequence ever recorded on film! 🎥 What’s even more mind blowing about that dance sequence, is that the whole dance being filmed in one take and unrehearsed!🤯😱😨 As unbelievable as that sounds, it was even confirmed by the Nicholas Brothers themselves! They said, "the director said, “just do it." And so it was done, unrehearsed and in one take!😮🥵
I will always be curious about the bruises and pain they suffered from during the week after performing the world’s greatest dance routine ever recorded on film. I’m sure that it was worth it.
I met Fayard Nicholas outside an Oscar party in 1992 (I was on a videography crew). I had seen some MGM clips of the Nicholas Brothers. I told Fayard: "Seeing you and your Brother dancing just blew me away!" He smiled deeply to hear that, enthusiastic, and ever the gentleman.
Fred Astaire gave them their props. Plus Fayard in this video said that Fred Astaire always called him Mr. Nicholas as a show of respect. He didn't call him boy or any of those other derogatory names.
I mean he could of called him FAYARD like his friends did, yeah it’s better then derogatory names but you left out his name as if the only options are “mr” or something derogatory
You know who did stand up to the racism that limited the opportunities of black dancers? Betty White. She featured the great Arthur Duncan on her TV variety show. She faced a lot of criticism and outright hatred for that back in 1954. Her response was, "Get used to it." She continued to feature him.
If all of these people (Fred, Gene and Harold and Fayard) had lived in Europe (pre and post wars) they would have been allowed to perform together and compete with one and other. Don't forget it was the segregation laws of the USA that kept them apart and attempted to reduce the Nicholas Brothers to a "flash act" (which they were not). Gene Kelly was a Social Democrat in his politics but was viewed with suspicion because he tried to champion integration. No use blaming individuals when the problem was the institutionalised racism of the times.
Racism is so ugly and has denied us so much. I will never understand racism. I don't get it. People are people. The Nicholas Brothers in my opinion are the best tap dancers I have ever seen. Much respect to Gene and Fred for trying.
@@sylvialawrence261 Exactly! Thinking they were superior shows that there were serious issues behind the fact they really thought they really were. How sad is that?
I totally agree with you about this. I once worked as a certified nursing assistant, and trust me--I don't care what one's race, gender, or socioeconomic status-- whenever they left the home in body bags, they were all dead. It's a sad state that the time between birth and death is filled with such hatred for one another.
You have to understand that not all white people felt the way some of them did. I never liked how we were kept apart, to me, it was so wrong and I still feel the same way today. And yes, I am a 73 year old white lady who has had many friends who happened to be of darker skin color than me.
We have to understand the era in which they lived. Fred Astaire was not racist and, like Gene Kelly was against racism, but these guys were entertainers earning money, and the quickest way to lose your spot on the gravy train was to prominently feature two young black dancers. Gene Kelly did actually dance publicly on stage with them, so he was able to somehow pull it off without losing popularity with the majority of his Caucasian fans. I have read many accounts where the Hollywood royalty of the Golden Age were largely open-minded and against racism but unlike today where it can be publicly opposed without backlash they couldn't do that. Marilyn Monroe once made a deal with a nightclub owner to have her idol - Ella Fitzgerald - perform every night at a segregated club on the condition that Monroe would sit up front to help bring in the money. Clarke Gable was utterly furious and threw a tantrum when he learned that Hattie McDaniel was refused entry to the Oscars due to the color of her skin when she won for their classic GONE WITH THE WIND (the pair were personal friends and Gable had threatened to walk out on his contract if McDaniel wasn't represented but his agents would have none of it). Vincent Price actually challenged the-then status quo by going on radio and publicly decrying and speaking out against racism sometime in the 1950's. Most of these performers cared nothing about skin color, they recognized only the talent. It was the Hollywood executives who wrote the rules and of course, the stars had no choice but to conform.
Humble and grateful. Not your typical in your face "star" we have to tolerate today. I too have only recenfly discovered the Nicholas Brothers thanks to RU-vid . Incredible !! Have to add that l've also "discovered" many other artists of that period through RU-vid. Eleanor Powell , Buddy Rich (early) . Gene Kruper to name a few. Every days a schoolday . Thankyou.
Gene Kelly didn't let segregation stop him from having the brilliant talented Nicholas Brothers in one of the most incredible dance scenes in movie history. The film was The Pirate! Watch it on YT. It's to "Be a Clown". You can see Gene's beautiful lines from studying Ballet all his life. But the brothers kept up and improved on those lines right up into the air with incredible jumps!
There are four things in that routine that really say something. The first, of course, is the "Holy sh**!!!" moment when they encounter the noose. With the horrific history of lynchings of black people, that made a strong statement. The other three are subtle, but show the respect of Kelly and the filmmakers for the Nicholas Brothers. First, when they stack themselves up, it is Kelly on the bottom supporting the brothers. Second, at the end of the routine when they do their acknowledgement sitting on the floor with their arms outstretched, Kelly is in the back and the brothers are in front of him. That was no accident. He wanted them to have the spotlight. Finally, after he does his quick change and comes out for the bow, he doesn't step in front of the brothers. Many, if not most other entertainers would have stepped to the front for a solo bow, since they were the solo singer. But Kelly stepped up the where the brothers were and stood with them. Again, that was no accident. That was respect for two of the greatest dancers we'll ever see.
Agree with you. Gene Kelly also physically interacted with them. during that number. I always wondered whether Fred Astaire chose not to push for them to be in a picture with him not due to race (although at the time it would have played a big part).....but due to competition. The Nicholas Brothers were younger and IMO better dancers than Mr. Astaire (and yes Mr. Astaire was a great dancer),. If Gene Kelly could insist on them being in a movie with him then why not Fred Astaire?
Kudos to Kelly, but the Nicolas brothers were very popular. Their style of dance was athletic, like Kelly. Kelly didn't want them to out dance him, though. This is from one of the Nicholas brothers.
Imagine the best of 'white' Hollywood dancers of the 30s and early 40s with the best black dancers of the same era, in the same movies! The talent and mutual respect these artists had for each other would have propelled those movies into legend and maybe helped America to grow up a little faster--a whole lot faster.
I would have framed the question a little differently. It was an attempt to devalue the friendship and mutual respect these two men had. Early Hollywood, like today, is a mirror of a fallen race. I love this guy.
what a wonderful gentleman and talent----i enjoyed this interview----kudos to fred astaire for his truthful appraisal of certainly the best dancing sequence in the history of film----stormy weather---it still hurts me to wtch those splits down the stairs and how they popped up to finish the number with speed and panache---anyone know who the interviewer was?
@mitchell colen: Almost positive it's the highly regarded journalist Renee Poussaint. No idea why she's not credited in the overview. It you're not familiar with her other work, it's top notch and well worth investigating.
It's only fair to point out that Fred Astaire was under contract to RKO in the 1930s and didn't any control of who his co-stars were going to be. If the RKO producers told him the Nicholas Brothers were going to be featured in one of his films he would have been thrilled. In those days (especially early in Fred's film career) the stars were given little to no creative control, especially in the casting dept.
Mr. Astaire has a history with African-Americans... for example, he and his sister Adele trained at the dance studio of Leonard Harper, the producer and choreographer. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Harper_(producer)
Class man right here all those old timers had class fred astare gene Kelly the nicholas brothers ect.. now days the people of entertainment sing about how big there Ass is! How many guns they got man the world went to crap it’s a shame
Just in case I fall asleep "at the wheel," as the saying goes, does he ever discuss the dancing abilities of his sister in law, Dorothy Dandridge? Can someone tell which movie did "Thangs ain' what they used to be" appear in, the one in which dancers are dancing their way into a speakeasy? I've not heard it played better since, after lo these many years. It's the pace that makes me like that rendition over all others. BTW, the vernacular is mine.
Examine the current state of the world. 2 Timothy 4:1-5 states "You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. People will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!" Jesus is coming back. Are you ready?
Astaire wasn't going to allow them to film with him because he wasn't stupid. The quickest way to relegate yourself to obscurity would be doing a dance film with the Nicholas Brothers at the height of their careers. Studios wouldn't want them to have star billing because it would relegate their white cash cows to obscurity. That's a level of respect that really holds them back in a way.
Fred Astaire only danced in one film with Gene Kelly and Kelly, I believed, only danced in one film with the Nicholas Brothers. Big names such as Kelly and Astaire, quite understandably, weren't anxious to compete with other top dancers, black or white, in the films that they starred in. However, I doubt that even the Nicholas Brothers would have relegated Astaire to obscurity had they appeared together. Though he was much older than either Fayard or Harold (who was just a kid in the 30s), Astaire had an elegance that would still have stood out.
Astaire was always as much of a star as he was a dancer; we'll never know if Nicholas could have been the same because he never got a chance to show it. There were a great many black tap dancers who could out tap Astaire . . . tap wasn't what made Astaire a theatrical icon.
I think your comments A W are disrespectful of Astaire. I don't recall reading of anyone Astaire declared should or should not be in his films; the studio took care of that sort of thing and that is where the blame lies.
Pretty shocking that even after being hailed as a great, and honored by the Kennedy Center, Fayard was so poor during his last sickness that he could not pay his utility or medical bills, IDK if he was improvident (he was a happy-go-lucky soul, but not a big spender) but it cannot have been inevitable. The Nicholases worked for years for big money. Eddie Anderson died rich, and Bill Robinson would have done so if he had not been a horse player. Sammy Davis was loaded but careless about taxes. I wonder what Fayard's problem was.
Astaire made his name in 1930s movies, when the Nicholas brothers were kids. If he had forced the studio to bring them in then, they'd have been given roles as dancing bellhops or shoeshine boys -- and the social justice crowd would be hating Astaire for THAT. So let them stew in their own juices.
Fred Astaire was blessed with good collaborators. Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George and Ira Gershwin, Hermes Pan, etc. His films were vehicles for story lines. While the Nicholas Brothers gave a pyrotechnic performance, that does not lend itself to a solid story-line but a moment in the story. It was the combination of talents that contributed to Fred Astaire's success, not just the fate of his condition at birth.
Sounds damn crazy , he knows the Nicolas brothers had a storyline for days!!!! Look at their talent it's unremarkable!! Talking to air lying to hisself,;;;is tht how they do it to feel good about their Short comings??..... I'm so sure...
(Hebrews 11:24-26) "By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; {25} Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; {26} Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward."
Fred was born 1899, Fayard Nicholas was born 1914 and Harold was born 1921...there was an age difference and, Fred could Tap dance, but was more of a ball room dancer. It is like comparing apples to oranges, both are good but not the same.
The brothers were great at what they did BUT they were not the all-around dancer that Astaire was. They were, basically, one note but great, great at that one note. Astaire was doing modern jazz dancing when he was in his 60s. Tap dancing and doing splits there was nobody better. Nobody! BUT....
Apparently the moron who posted the comment im responding to is culturally deprived and most definitely do not know music. We we make a reference regarding The Almighty Nicholas Brothers we are looking at the serious modern African tradition of the diaspora.. Fred Astaire was a great dancer and the best I've ever seen for a Causian Whit American however he was Tapping out African rhythms the were born at Kongo Square, New Orleans, Louisiana... Do your research before you make statements that are highly unlikely because at the end of the Fred Astaire could never be as authentic as his teacher John Bubbles...
