On this edition of From the Vault we present an interview recorded in 1968 with one of the great dancers of our time, Fred Astaire. Original program producer Bruce Kane introduces us to this remarkable audio:
“On August 31, 1968 Joel Reisner and I conducted a radio interview with Fred Astaire at his home in Beverly Hills… upon arriving at Mr. Astaire’s home to conduct the interview he greeted us at the door and modestly, but quite seriously, told us that he really didn’t think he had much to talk about.
…Mr. Astaire had quite a lot to talk about. Throughout our visit he was charming, cordial, elegant, relaxed, friendly, articulate and knowledgeable. In short he was everything you would 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.”
From the Vault is presented through the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project, funded in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, past grants from the Grammy Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the American Archive funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, along with the generous support of Pacifica Radio Listeners.
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