Fred Astaire - Radio Interview - 1968

On August 31, 1968, Joel Reisner and I conducted a radio interview with Fred Astaire at his home in Beverly Hills. The resulting two-hour program, including music from some of Mr. Astaire's movies, was first broadcast on KPFK Radio in Los Angeles on September 21, 1968.

Upon arriving at Mr. Astaire's home, he modestly told us he didn't think he had much to talk about. As these recordings reveal, he had quite a lot to say. He was charming, cordial, elegant, relaxed, friendly, articulate, and knowledgeable. In short, he was everything you'd expect of Fred Astaire and more.

I don't know of another existing audio interview with Mr. Astaire that is this extensive and far-ranging about his work in film and television and how he approached it. I'm posting our conversation for scholars, students, film buffs, admirers and anyone else interested in sharing this time with one of the great artists of the twentieth century.

Thank you for visiting this page and enjoy your time with Fred Astaire.

Bruce Kane

Audio Sections

Each section begins with a musical interlude.