Dance maestro Fred Astaire, the man whose top hat and tails graced the cinema screen for decades, died from pneumonia in Los Angeles on 22 June, 1987, at the age of 88.

His work with legendary dance partner Ginger Rogers , with whom he starred in ten films, and composer Irving Berlin, who contributed songs to six of Mr Astaire’s films, helped make him the cinema legend that lives on today.

A box office hit on both sides of the Atlantic, Mr Astaire demonstrated great agility and dance prowess. His skills developed from the world of ballet, through to tap, vaudeville and revue leading him ultimately to the movie musicals for which he is best-known.

He was born Frederick Austerlitz in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 10, 1899, the son of an Austrian immigrant travelling salesman. He had one sister, Adele, 18 months his senior. With Adele he went to ballet school and later to a performing arts school which pioneered modern tap dancing.

He and Adele made their vaudeville debut in 1905. Their Broadway debut came in 1917 and they danced their way through to 1922 when they received rave reviews in For Goodness Sake with songs by George and Ira Gershwin.

In the 1920s they continued along the route to stardom with stage triumphs such as Funny Face , Lady Be Good and Band Wagon but in 1932 Adele retired to get married and left Mr Astaire looking for a new partner.

He teamed up with Clare Luce for Cole Porter’s comedy musical The Gay Divorce which was to be his last stage musical. A screen test for RKO pictures saw Mr Astaire signed up but there was to be no work and he made his film debut on loan-out to MGM in the 1933 film Dancing Lady .

Later that year he featured in Flying Down To Rio where his female counterpart was RKO contract player Ginger Rogers . Their one dance number together stole the picture and the pair became the silver screen’s dance heroes going on to make nine films in just six years. They were depression-era money-makers including Top Hat, Follow the Fleet and Swing Time .

His RKO contract having run out, Mr Astaire freelanced and was involved in a number of films - Easter Parade with Judy Garland , his tenth and final film with Ms Rogers, The Barclays of Broadway , Royal Wedding with Jane Powell, The Band Wagon and Silk Stockings starring Cyd Charisse and Funny Face with Audrey Hepburn .

One very special face-to-face meeting between Mr Astaire and Ms Rogers came in 1950 when she presented him with an honorary Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for “his unique artistry and his contributions to the technique of musical pictures”.

Mr Astaire ended his professional dancing career in 1970 when at 70 he said his age restricted his ability to perform at a level acceptable to himself. However his acting continued and he received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role in The Towering Inferno the blockbuster of 1974.

In 1933 he married Phyllis Livingston Potter and the couple had two children, Fred Jr. and Ava. Mrs Astaire died of cancer in 1955.

Mr Astaire married his second wife, Robyn Smith, then aged 35, in 1980. She was a former jockey, who shared Mr Astaire’s life-long love of horses and horse-racing. Throughout his life Mr Astaire worked hard to achieve his success which did not come easily. He learned his trade from the very basics and entered the world of performing through the hard road of revues and touring.

His months of having to find work through freelancing were not easy and despite an enviable success rate not every film that carried the Astaire name met with hearty applause from the critics.

True, he could sing and act but both skills were hidden behind the wizardry that was his ability to dance. They were the vehicles through which he showcased his ultimate love of dance, vehicles which carried him to the top. Mr Astaire strived to be the best and achieved his aim. He brought a unique persona to the screen. His style, his innate grace, his singing voice, and of course, his dancing, are all inimitable. The charm, the elegance and the true class of the man still shine today.