Astaire and Rogers by Edward Gallafent Columbia University Press, 256 pp., $24.95 THE PLACE of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers as the American dance couple, perhaps even the American romantic couple, ...

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made nine musicals together at RKO studio, the first in 1933, the last in 1939 — and then one more in 1949. In the process, they revolutionized the Hollywood musical.

Fred’s first and longest-lasting dance partner was his sister Adele, who was two-and-a-half years older than Fred and can be credited with leading him into the dancing life. As the Australian theater ...