STATUS: It is 100% true!
Fred Astaire’s will stipulates that he never be portrayed in a film.
Fred Astaire is likely the most famous ballroom dancer of the 20th Century, although he was a lot more than just a dancer. The American Film Institute named him the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time.
For a man who was so famous on the silver screen, Astaire made a curious demand upon his death in 1987. In the decade or so leading up to his death, Astaire had been turning down requests for “official” film versions of his life, and upon his death, Astaire went one better.
In his will, Astaire stipulated that he never been portrayed in a film.
He felt that he should be judged by his life, and his life only, and not what some filmmaker may wish to say about his life in a film.
Oddly enough, in 1997, his widow, Robin, allowed Dirt Devil to use digital technology to make it appear as though Astaire was dancing with a Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner.
Astaire’s daughter was aghast – she stated that she was ”saddened that after Fred’s wonderful career, he was sold to the devil” (as you might imagine, Astaire’s daughter is not a fan of her step-mother – a woman that I am pretty sure is younger than her).
So there will never be a Ginger Rogers bio-pic, because you can not have a movie about Ginger Rogers without Fred Astaire!
What would happen if someone did do portray him in a film? and who would want to, he seemed like he was as dull as dishwater.
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