Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers

In the mid 1960s, I saw one movie (on tv) starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers - "Top Hat" (1935). At that time, I didn't care much for musicals, especially with dancing scenes. But I do remember watching the movie with my parents, and hearing my Mother's comments about Astaire and Rogers being such a great movie dancing team.

Mr. Astaire was one of the first major stars I'd written to, asking for an autographed photo. I found his home address in, as I recall, The Celebrity Register, at my local library. I didn't have a photo to send, and at that time, I'd never even thought about sending a photo to an actor for autographing. I simply wrote a brief letter and requested a photo. This was in 1968. A few weeks later, I was delighted to receive a large manila envelope with this photo.

It wasn't until about 1980 when I wrote to Ms. Rogers. I'd heard she sent 5x7 photos to fans requesting a photo, and I didn't have one to send her anyway, so I wrote a letter, complimenting her on the movies I'd seen (since that first Astaire/Rogers movie I saw in the '60s, I'd seen both of them in other movies, together and individually). Within a few weeks, I received this photo from her.