That's Entertainment, Part II together for the first time since the 1946 film "Ziegfeld Follies", and for only the second time in their careers. (It was the last time 76-year-old Astaire danced on film, though the veteran actor continued to make film and TV appearances into the 1980s; Kelly would go on to appear in the 1980 musical "Xanadu".) According to film historian Robert Osborne, in specially-filmed introductions produced for Turner Classic Movies, it was Astaire who suggested to Kelly that the two take advantage of this potentially last-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform together, something Kelly actually wishes for out loud during his narration of
Fred Astaire where the tape had deteriorated with kinescope footage. Astaire won the Emmy for Best Single Performance by an Actor, but the choice had a controversial backlash because many believed that his dancing in the special was not the type of "acting" for which the award was designed. At one point Astaire offered to return the award, but the Television Academy refused to consider it. Astaire played Julian Osborne, a non-dancing character, in the 1959 movie "On the Beach" and was nominated for a Golden Globe Best Supporting Actor award for his performance, losing to Stephen Boyd in "Ben-Hur". Astaire appeared