Fred Astaire: Why Does Something Become Popular?

Douglas Holt, explains to Oxford University Press how the process of the rise to popularity truly works. He says, “These individuals and groups became immensely influential by advancing innovative ideology, and thereby developing intensely loyal followers” (Why Does Something Become Popular). He explains how famous icons stand out to people because they make alternative approaches towards things that have once been mastered. Because of Fred Astaire’s effortless work in the ballroom genre of dance, and his innovative approach to filming dance numbers, he helped popularize dance.
Fred Astaire found a love for performing at a very young age, and it started his short, yet successful partnership with his older sister, Adele. Together the brother sister team toured Vaudeville Circuit before making it to Broadway in 1917. Ten years later they starred in the 1927 George and Ira Gershwin musical Funny Face. His sister continued to move on with her life, moving to Britain where she married her husband, while Astaire stayed home facing challenges trying to find jobs on his own. Once the brother-sister team broke off, Astaire’s parents then sent him to school at Ned Weyburn’s
Fred Astaire died from pneumonia, and was buried in the Memorial Cemetery in Chatsworth, California. The world responded to Astaire’s death in sorrow. President Reagan said: ''Nancy and I are deeply saddened by the loss of a very dear friend. Fred Astaire, an American legend, has died. We join the entire nation in mourning his passing, and our heart-felt sympathies are with his wife, Robyn, and his family” (Shepard). Fred Astaire won over America’s heart and continues to popularize dance through his phenomenal execution of ballroom dancing and his innovative way of filming dance to appeal to bigger audiences. Fred Astaire was able to create a name for himself that no one else could