Fred Astaire in "Carefree" (1938). He first presented Jerome Kern's "The Way You Look Tonight" in "Swing Time" (1936); the Gershwins' "They Can't Take That Away from Me" in "Shall We Dance" (1937), "A Foggy Day" and "Nice Work if You Can Get it" in "A Damsel in Distress" (1937); Johnny Mercer's "One for My Baby" from "The Sky's the Limit" (1943) and "Something's Gotta Give" from "Daddy Long Legs" (1955); and Harry Warren and Arthur Freed's "This Heart of Mine" from "Ziegfeld Follies" (1946). Astaire also co-introduced a number of song classics via song duets with his partners. For example, with
Fred Astaire's solo and partnered dances many years, Fred Astaire was plagued by interviewers who wished to know who his favorite dance partner was. Ever the gentleman, Astaire would reply either "Bing Crosby" or "Gene Kelly". The closest he may have come to identifying a possible favorite was in "Interview" magazine in June 1973 where he said: "Barrie Chase is the best partner - she's the latest partner that I've had, and believe me, that girl has got it - that girl can dance." Although Astaire was the primary choreographer of all his dance routines, he welcomed the input of collaborators. This is particularly true in