**FILE**Fayard Nicholas of the Nicholas Brothers poses prior to the Professional Dancers Society awards ceremony on Feb. 27, 1994, in Los Angeles. Nicholas, who with his brother Harold wowed the tap dancing world with their astonishing athleticism and inspiring generations of dancers, from Fred Astaire to Savion Glover, died Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2006. He was 91.(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire appear in a scene from the 1934 movie

Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell dance to Cole Porter's

Jul 31, 1998; New York, NY, USA; The son of an Austrian immigrant, FRED ASTAIRE entered show business at age 5. He was successful both in vaudeville and on Broadway in partnership with his sister, Adele. After Adele retired to marry in 1932, Astaire headed to Hollywood. Signed to RKO, he was loaned to MGM to appear in Dancing Lady (1933) before starting work on RKO's Flying Down to Rio (1933). In the latter film he began his highly successful partnership with Ginger Rogers, with whom he danced in 9 RKO pictures. The picture shows a portrait of the famous actor dancer, Fred Astaire. (Credit Image: ? KEYSTONE Pictures USA)/ eyevine

Fred Astaire poses with his wife, Robyn, at their home in Beverly Hills, Ca., on May 9, 1990. Astaire will celebrate his 85th birthday tomorrow. (AP Photo/Wally Fong)

Actor Fred Astaire and his wife, Robyn, are photographed Wednesday, May 9, 1984 at their home in Beverly Hills, Ca., where they will celebrate his 85th birthday on May 10. (AP Photo/Wally Fong)

Actor and dancer Fred Astaire poses at his Beverly Hills, Calif., home, May 9, 1984. He will be 85 on May 10. (AP Photo/Wally Fong)

Fred Astaire grins broadly as he stands outside his Beverly Hills home where he will celebrate his 85th birthday, May 9, 1984. "I'm not retired," says the veteran entertainer who now prefers to be known simply as an actor, and he has no plans for fussing or partying because, he says, "I never liked birthdays." (AP Photo/Wally Fong)

Dancer and film star Fred Astaire, with his wife, Robyn, arrive at Stage 9 of 20th Century Fox Studios to attend a dinner and reception in honor of Queen Elizabeth II in Los Angeles, Feb. 27, 1983. Astaire was just one of a throng of Hollywood stars who attended the affair hosted by first lady Nancy Reagan. (AP Photo)

Actor Fred Astaire shares a laugh with George Burns at the party celebrating Burns' 80th year in show business, Jan. 17, 1983. Others are unidentified. (AP Photo/Craig Molenhouse)

Fred Astaire arrives at Century Fox Studios with his wife, Robyn, in Los Angeles, Ca., in 1983. (AP Photo)

Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire are shown together in Los Angeles, Ca., on June 23, 1982. (AP Photo/Lennox McLendon)

Famed dancing duo of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire step lightly among crowd of other RKO Studio stars at luncheon on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles to celebrate the donation of RKO archives to the university, June 23, 1982. The pairs were among 30 RKO stars, including Ralph Bellamy, Jane Wyatt, Virginia Mayo, Sam Jaffe and others, attending the presentation of the $5 million collection. (AP Photo/Lennox McLendon)

Fred Astaire with his wife Robyn pose at the ASCAP"Pied Piper Award ceremony in 1980. (AP Photo)

Actor-dancer Fred Astaire, 80, and jockey Robyn C. Smith, 35, attend the Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles, Ca., in 1979. (AP Photo)

Former first lady Betty Ford, right, talks with first lady of the American theater, Helen Hayes, left, and Fred Astaire at a dinner honoring Astaire at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, Oct. 7, 1978. Astaire received the 1978 National Artist Award of the American National Theatre and Academy. The event was Mrs. Ford's first public appearance since her recent facelift surgery. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Actor Fred Astaire, center, his sister Adele Douglas, right, and Columbia Pictures' Daniel Melnick, arrive at the Shubert Theater in Los Angeles, Oct. 6, 1978 to attend the American National Theater and Academy's presentation of the 1978 National Artist Award to Astaire. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Fred Astaire and Dan Melnick, head of Columbia pictures, are pictured at the Shubert Theater in New York at awards night for Astaire, Oct. 6, 1978. (AP Photo)

Actor-dancer Fred Astaire tells the plot on his latest TV movie, "A Family Upside Down", in his Beverly Hills home, March 27, 1978. Astaire, who usually plays younger men in films, and will be 79 years old in May, will have the part of a family man 73-years-old. "That's the oldest fellow I've ever played," he said. (AP Photo)

Actor-dancer Fred Astaire tells the plot on his latest TV movie, "A Family Upside Down", in his Beverly Hills home, March 27, 1978. Astaire, who usually plays younger men in films, and will be 79 years old in May, will have the part of a family man 73-years-old. "That's the oldest fellow I've ever played," he said. (AP Photo)