I started dancing when I saw Fred Astaire in 'Flying Down to Rio,' at approximately nine years old. Fred Astaire influenced me, more than anything, to be in 'show business.'

Compositionally I always wanted to be like Fred Astaire.

No dancer can watch Fred Astaire and not know that we all should have been in another business.

What I got, unconsciously, from admiring Fred Astaire was that he didn't want what he was doing to look difficult. What was difficult, in my opinion, was making it look so genuine, so effortless. I equally have tried to remain unseen on the screen.

My mom always had me and my brother watching old Fred Astaire movies.

Did any artist ever bring more pure joy to more people than Fred Astaire?