Phyllis Potter: Fred Astaire’s Wife, What Happened To Her

Phyllis Potter is famous for her association with Frederick Austerlitz commonly known as Fred Astaire, an American dancer, actor, singer, choreographer, and television presenter. Phyllis Potter was married to Fred Astaire, who is widely considered the greatest dancer in film history. They were married from the year 1933 until death separated them. Let’s take a quick look at the life of Fred Astaire’s wife, Phyllis Potter.

Phyllis Potter: Bio Summary

Who Is Phyllis Potter?

Phyllis Potter was born in the year 1908, in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Her alternative names are Phyllis Livingston Baker or Phyllis Baker Potter. She is the daughter of Caroline E. Livingston and Dr. Harold Woods Baker, a physician. Phyllis is the grandchild of Robert Cambridge Livingston, Maria Whitney, and William Henry Baker.

Phyllis Potter is a Boston-born New York socialite. She got married to Eliphalet Nott Potter III (1906–1981). They got married on 27 December 1927, in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. They were the parent of Eliphalet IV. Eliphalet IV is also known as Peter. Phyllis got married again to her second husband Fred Astaire. They got married in the year 1933.

At the time Phyllis got married to Fred, she was 25 years old. Fred married Phyllis despite his mother’s and sister’s objections. They produced two kids. They had a son and named him Fred Jr. He was born in the year 1936. He appeared with his father in the movie Midas Run and later became a charter pilot and rancher.

Phyllis and Fred gave birth to a daughter and named her Ava Astaire. She was born in the year 1942. She remains involved in promoting her father’s legacy. Phyllis and Fred were married until death took Phyllis away. They were married for twenty-one years.

What Happened To Phyllis Potter?

Phyllis Potter passed away. She died from lung cancer, at the age of 46. She died on September 13, 1954. Her death affected her husband Fred Astaire so much that he was devastated. He even attempted to drop out of the film Daddy Long Legs (1955), which he was in the process of filming, offering to pay the production costs to date, but was persuaded to stay.

However, at the age of 81 years, Phyllis’ husband Fred Astaire decided to remarry after he met Robyn Smith on January 1, 1973. Fred and Robyn met after a friend introduced Robyn to Fred at Santa Anita. They got married on June 24, 1980, at Fred’s home in Beverly Hills, California. Robyn Smith was 45 years Fred’s junior.

At the time of their marriage, Fred Astaire was 81 years old while Robyn Smith was 35 years old. Robyn Smith is an American retired jockey. She was active from 1969 to 1980 and accumulated 247 wins in California and New York race tracks, and became the first female jockey to win a stakes race in 1973. Fred Astaire and Robyn Smith remained married until the death of Fred Astaire.

What Happened To Phyllis Potter’s Husband, Fred Astaire?

Phyllis Potter’s husband Fred Astaire passed away on June 22, 1987, in Los Angeles, California, the U.S. He died of pneumonia at age 88. His body was buried at Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery in Chatsworth, California. One of his last requests was to thank his fans for their years of support.

At the time Fred Astaire died, he was still married to Robyn Smith who appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated on July 31, 1972. After Fred died in 1987, Robyn Smith became embroiled in a series of legal disputes over the use of her late husband’s image.

Robyn Smith prevented the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts from using video footage of Fred Astaire during his televised 1992 tribute to longtime Hollywood collaborator Ginger Rogers.

Also, in 1998, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Robyn Smith in a decision over whether an instructional videotape manufacturer could use public domain footage of Fred Astaire in the films Second Chorus and Royal Wedding to teach dance steps.

Who Was Fred Astaire?

Fred Astaire was an American dancer, actor, singer, choreographer, and television presenter. He is widely considered the greatest dancer in film history. His stage and subsequent film and television careers spanned a total of 76 years. He starred in more than 10 Broadway and West End musicals, made 31 musical films, four television specials, and numerous recordings.

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As a dancer, Fred Astaire’s outstanding traits were an uncanny sense of rhythm, perfectionism, and innovation. His most memorable dancing partnership was with Ginger Rogers, with whom he co-starred in a series of ten Hollywood musicals during the age of Classical Hollywood cinema, including Top Hat (1935), Swing Time (1936), and Shall We Dance (1937).

Among the other notable films in which Fred Astaire gained further popularity and took the genre of tap dancing to a new level were Holiday Inn (1942), Easter Parade (1948), The Band Wagon (1953), Funny Face (1957), and Silk Stockings (1957). The American Film Institute named Fred Astaire the fifth-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood cinema in 100 Years… 100 Stars.