Finian's Rainbow - Cast

Fred Astaire(1899-1987)

Fred Astaire was born Frederic Austerlitz, Jr. in Omaha, Nebraska. He started his professional career at the age of five. He spent the first 25 to 30 years of his career dancing and singing with his sister, Adele. As children, Fred and Adele appeared as a touring vaudeville act. In 1917, they appeared on Broadway in the revue "Over the Top." They spent the 1920s appearing on the stages of New York and London. Plays they appeared in included "Lady Be Good," "Funny Face" and "The Band Wagon."

When Fred and Adele split up the act in 1932, Astaire performed on the stage for a year, but then in 1933, he headed for Hollywood. Astaire made his first film, "Dancing Lady," in 1933.

From 1933 to 1949, Astaire starred in 31 movie musicals. His leading lady and dance partner in 10 of those films was Ginger Rogers. His last film musical prior to "Finian's Rainbow" was in 1957.

In addition to starring in films, Astaire worked as a choreographer. In 1945, he started the Fred Astaire Dance Studios. In the 1950s, Astaire moved from film to television. He had great success with dancing specials on TV in the 1950s and 1960s. His "An Evening with Fred Astaire" in 1958 won 9 Emmy awards. His dancing partner for many of these TV specials was Barry Chase.

After "Finian's Rainbow" in 1968, Astaire put away his dancing shoes and started a new career as a dramatic actor. He appeared on the TV series "It Takes a Thief" in a regular, recurring role and he appeared in several non-musical movies. In 1974, Astaire received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in "The Towering Inferno." Four years later, he earned an Emmy award for his acting in the TV movie "A Family Upside Down." Astaire's last film was "Ghost Story" in 1981. Six years later, he died from pneumonia.

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Petula Clark(1932-)

Petula Clark, born in Surrey, England in 1932, started her professional career as a child. She went from singing in a church choir to singing with an orchestra in a department store. At the age of only 10, she was singing on the radio for British troops during WW II. Later, she toured the United Kingdom, singing in a show with another child star, Julie Andrews. Clark was such a hit as a child star that she became known as the British Shirley Temple.

At the age of 12, Clark made her first two films. From 1944 to 1949, she appeared in 11 more films. In the 1950s, Clark continued to appear in films, and she also appeared occasionally on British TV.

Although Clark was successful in Britain, US and world audiences did not become familiar with her work until the 1960s when she became a very popular singer. Since then, her record sales have reached 70 million. In the 1960s, Clark had two number one hits in the United States - "Downtown" for which she won a Grammy award and "My Love." She also had two number one hits in the United Kingdom and five in France. From 1958 to 1968, Clark focused solely on her singing career and she did not appear in any films until "Finian's Rainbow" in 1968. She followed that with "Goodbye Mr. Chips" in 1969.

Clark spent much of the early 1970s doing concert tours in the United States, including performing in Las Vegas. She retired from show business for a few years from the mid-1970s until 1980 to raise her children. When she returned to performing, Clark made one last film, "Never Never Land," in 1980. Clark then switched to stage, appearing for the next two decades in London's West End, in touring productions in the United States and, in 1993, on Broadway in "Blood Brothers." Other musicals that Clark has appeared in are "The Sound of Music" and "Sunset Boulevard."

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Don Francks(1932-)

Don Francks started performing when he was only 10 or 11. He entertained people by imitating singers he heard on the radio in his Canadian home. Years later, he started a professional career as a singer on radio. In 1954, Francks started working on TV and five years later, he made his first film, "Ivy League Killers." He also appeared in plays, on and off Broadway, early in his career.

Francks' role as Woody in "Finian's Rainbow" was the only part that gave him some success and recognition. For most of his career, he has been a jazz musician, singer and TV and movie actor, usually in supporting or smaller roles. His last film in 2007 was the German film, "I'm Not There."

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