American actor, dancer, singer, choreographer, and television presenter. He is widely considered the greatest dancer in film history.

Fred Astaire was born in Omaha, Nebraska, to Johanna (Geilus) and Fritz Austerlitz, a brewer. Fred entered show business at age 5. He was successful both in vaudeville and on Broadway in partnership with his sister, Adele Astaire. After Adele retired to marry in 1932, Astaire headed to Hollywood. .

Signed to RKO, he was loaned to MGM to appear in Dancing Lady (1933) before starting work on RKO's Flying Down to Rio (1933). In the latter film, he began his highly successful partnership with Ginger Rogers. During these years, he was also active in recording and radio. On film, Astaire later appeared opposite a number of partners through various studios. After a temporary retirement in 1945-7, during which he opened Fred Astaire Dance Studios, Astaire returned to film to star in more musicals through 1957. He subsequently performed a number of straight dramatic roles in film and TV. .

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. As a dancer, his 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 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 Astaire the fifth-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood cinema in 100 Years... 100 Stars..

“I suppose I made it look easy, but gee whiz, did I work and worry.”.

“Dancing is a sweat job.”.

“All the girls I ever danced with thought they couldn't do it. So they always cried. All except Ginger. No, no, Ginger never cried.”.

On Ginger Rogers when he was asked who his favorite dancing partner was by British TV interviewer Michael Parkinson in 1976: “Excuse me, I must say Ginger was certainly the one. You know, the most effective partner I had. Everyone knows. That was a whole other thing that we did...I just want to pay a tribute to Ginger because we did so many pictures together and believe me it was a value to have that girl...she had it. She was just great!”.

On Gene Kelly: “You know, that Kelly, he's just terrific. That's all there is to it. He dances like crazy, he directs like crazy. I adore this guy. I really am crazy about his work.”.

The photo of Kim McKimmie with Ken Follett was taken at a literary luncheon event and book signing in Sydney, Australia in November, 2007.
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Miss Kim says “I was beyond thrilled to rub elbows with the magnificent Mr. Follett.”
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Ken Follett is one of the world’s most successful authors. Over 170 million copies of the 36 books he has written have been sold in over 80 countries and in 33 languages!
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Born on June 5th, 1949 in Cardiff, Wales, the son of a tax inspector, Ken was educated at state schools and went on to graduate from University College, London, with an Honours degree in Philosophy – later to be made a Fellow of the College in 1995.
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He started his career as a reporter, first with his hometown newspaper, the South Wales Echo, and then with the London Evening News. Subsequently, he worked for a small London publishing house, Everest Books, eventually becoming Deputy Managing Director.
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Ken’s first major success came with the publication of Eye of the Needle in 1978. A World War II thriller set in England, this book earned him the 1979 Edgar Award for Best Novel from the Mystery Writers of America. It remains one of Ken’s most popular books.
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Although ALL of his novels are riveting reads, his four bestselling Kingsbridge Novels are loved around the world for their historical detail and epic storytelling. 
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In 1989, Ken’s epic novel about the building of a medieval cathedral, The Pillars of the Earth, was published. It reached number one on best-seller lists everywhere and was turned into a major television series, which aired in 2010. The story centers on the struggles of Prior Phillip and his mason-turned-architect Tom as they attempt to build the greatest gothic cathedral in the medieval world.
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The sequel, World Without End, is set two centuries later and follows the lives of four children who witness two men being killed the day after Halloween. From that moment, their lives are bound together by love and revenge, as they confront the Black Death and the beginning of the hundred years war.
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The saga continues in the third novel, A Column of Fire. Beginning in 1558, it charts the star-crossed romance between Ned Willard and Margery Fitzgerald over half a century. Meanwhile, Europe turns against England when Elizabeth Tudor becomes queen and finds herself beset by plots to dethrone her. 
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The fourth Kingsbridge novel, The Evening and the Morning, is set around the year 1,000, when England was constantly under attack from Vikings and would soon be conquered by the Normans. Here, Ken explains the inspiration behind the book: “The story is set at the end of the Dark Ages and the beginning of the Middle Ages, so it’s an evening and a morning. And the phrase is Biblical, of course: ‘And the evening and the morning were the first day’. This is a time when people began to demand what we call the rule of law, which means that disputes are settled according to rules, regardless of how rich or powerful you are. This is a vital component of freedom.”
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Ken Follett is quoted as saying “Well, for people who want to write best sellers, the best advice I can give is to say that the novel has to engage the reader emotionally.” He also says, “I want to tell a story that makes the reader always want to see what will happen next.”
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Kim says, “He certainly engages the reader with writing true “page turners” wherein the reader is completely immersed in a whole world skillfully created by this megastar writer.”
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Look at his complete bibliography to be amazed, very impressed and totally in awe of the talent of this master storyteller. His latest epic novel, Never, was published a few months ago to rave revues. It is an action-packed thriller, dramatically set the Sahara Desert, China and the United States in the present day with emerging nuclear confrontations.
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Ken, who loves music almost as much as he loves books, is an enthusiastic bass guitar player. He lives in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, with his wife Barbara, the former Labour Member of Parliament.
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