Fred Astaire retired from making musical movies in 1957, but he wasn’t finished dancing.

In 1958, he produced a one-hour TV special called “An Evening With Fred Astaire”: 


with choreography by Astaire and his long-time collaborator, Hermes Pan: 



Much of the media’s attention was focused on Fred's new dance partner, an unknown named Barrie Chase.   (They even wound up on the cover of TV Guide the week the show aired):

Reviews were rapturous, and the show won a then-record 11 Emmy awards. 

This number, featuring jazz musician Jonah Jones, was one of the highlights:


You may not know it, but you’ve seen Barrie Chase in a non-dancing role in the movie “White Christmas.” 

She’s the “Mutual I’m Sure” chorine, Doris:




And now, here are some of the rapturous items we’re featuring from our website today: