> I can understand an objection to his singing on technical grounds -- he is, after all, not a singer -- but what he lacks on technical grounds, he more than makes up for in performance. He *performs* the songs probably better than most better singers could. I don't think anybody, for example, would accuse Gene Kelly of being a better singer than Placido Domingo, but which one would you rather watch?

Sometimes a performer's talents are broad and sometimes deep. Fred Astaire was a great dancer, probably the best ever. He was a good singer and a good actor. He was a good comic and a good serious actor. His talents were broad, and in the case of dancing, deep.

Gene Kelley was very much the same, but had the one advantage over Fred -- he looked like a leading man. In the dancing department he was the only one who came close to Fred Astaire.

Trivia -- What kind of role won Fred Astaire an Oscar?

Howard