Fred Astaire: Miß Oates kommt nicht zum Lunch

This remarkable artistic and historic treasure may be seen in its entirety at the Paley Center for Media, 25 West 52nd Street, New York, NY 10019. It is available at the Paley along with the three other television specials that he made from 1958 through 1968.

Unfortunately, the holder(s) of the legal rights to these TV specials have not made them available for reissue onto commercial DVD. Fred's many admirers---and all lovers of great dancing in general---should post on IMDb their objection on behalf of every person who appreciates fine art, timeless entertainment and superb dancing by the greatest master of popular dance to have ever appeared in film.

The names of these TV specials as they appear on IMDb are "An Evening with Fred Astaire"(1958); "Another Evening with Fred Astaire"(1959); "Astaire Time"(1960); and "The Fred Astaire Show" (1968).

Astaire Time was the third special that Fred Astaire did with dancing partner Barrie Chase. I well remember back when I was a lad these specials were considered top of the line. Well when you're dealing with Fred Astaire you can expect nothing less.

Also featured in this hour long special was Count Basie and his orchestra and his legendary blues singer Joe Williams. The highlight of the hour is Astaire and Chase dancing to Hallelujah How I Love Her So with Williams singing and the Basie orchestra playing in the background. It was a song Williams introduced, but a more famous version is found on an album that Frank Sinatra did with Count Basie for his Reprise records label.

I wish these were out on DVD and/or VHS. In all of his TV specials, Fred Astaire created some numbers that are every bit as good as the ones we all know and remember from his big screen films. A whole new generation ought to see them and appreciate the elegant man of dance.