Has anyone read the new biography published earlier this year, titled "Puttin' on the Ritz: Fred Astaire and the Fine Art of Panache"? The author is the late Peter J. Levinson. I got a pretty good deal online and read it through. It's a long book, and it contains many of the tropes that are part of the Fred Astaire legend: his vaudeville career with Adele, his first meeting with George Gershwin, getting started with Hermes Pan, and much, much more. There were quite a few errors, especially in the first part of the book, but the second half accomplishes the feat of humanizing Fred. I would love to have a discussion about this book, hope someone interested in Fred's life finds his or her way to this site.

Julie