I looked around and, incredibly, there doesn't seem to be an Astaire thread.
I've been lucky enough to see most of his films. And the performance I liked best was "Bojangles of Harlem" from Swing Time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6cLbk9k8BI
I know Astaire gets a lot of sh*t for this because he performed in blackface. Be that as it may, he and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson were friends. And I don't think Astaire would ever have done anything to hurt his friend.
Anyway: any other Astaire fans out there?