78 Quotes by Fred Astaire

It’s nice that all the composers have said that nobody interprets a lyric like Fred Astaire. But when it comes to selling records I was never worth anything particularly except as a collector’s item.

I don’t remember anybody ever pointing me out as a dancing prodigy, but I played a not bad second base.

I had some ballet training but didn’t like it. It was like a game to me.

I have never had anything that I can remember in the business – and that includes all the movies and the stage shows and everything – that I didn’t enjoy. I didn’t like some of the small-time vaudeville, because we weren’t going on and getting better. Aside from that, I didn’t dislike anything.

The unpadded shoulders, the three-buttoned long and boxy coat, the too-short, thin pants, and the thin ties with striped buttoned shirts in dark colors-well, I suppose this may go very well with some personalities but it’s not for me. To me, all such look like TV producers. Maybe they want to.

What counts more than luck is determination and perseverance. If the talent is there, it will come through. Don’t be too impatient. Stick at it. That’s my advice. You have to plug away, keep thinking up new ideas. If one doesn’t work, try another.