Fred Astaire was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter. He is widely regarded as the "greatest popular-music dancer of all time". He received numerous accolades including an Honorary Academy Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, a BAFTA Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award. He was honored with the Film Society of Lincoln Center tribute in 1973, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1978, and AFI Life Achievement Award in 1980. He was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1972, and the Television Hall of Fame in 1989.
Astaire in 1941
Fred and his sister Adele in 1906
Fred and Adele Astaire in 1921
Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire in Top Hat (1935)
The Academy Honorary Award – instituted in 1950 for the 23rd Academy Awards – is given annually by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Since 2009, it has been presented at the separate annual Governors Awards rather than at the regular Academy Awards ceremony. The Honorary Award celebrates motion picture achievements that are not covered by existing Academy Awards, although prior winners of competitive Academy Awards are not excluded from receiving the award.
Charlie Chaplin originally received competitive nominations for The Circus (1928); however, the Academy rescinded them in lieu of this Honorary Award. He later earned three nominations for The Great Dictator (1940), one for Monsieur Verdoux (1947), won a competitive award for composing Limelight (1952), and obtained a second Honorary Award.
Walt Disney holds the record for most Oscar nominations (59) and wins (22). He received four Honorary Awards in addition to those wins.
Shirley Temple received the first Juvenile Award, in the form of a miniature statuette.
D. W. Griffith directed many silent classics, including The Birth of a Nation (1915), Intolerance (1916), Broken Blossoms (1919), Orphans of the Storm (1921), et al.
