Why didn't you tell me I was in love with you?

I don't like top hats, white ties, and tails.

In dealing with a girl or a horse, one lets nature take its course

I don't want to be the oldest performer in captivity... I don't want to look like a little old man dancing out there.

There comes a day when people begin to say, 'Why doesn't that old duffer retire?' I want to get out while they're still saying Astaire is a hell of a dancer.

I often take a brand-new suit or hat and throw it up against the wall a few times to get that stiff, square newness out of it.

It's nice that all the composers have said that nobody interprets a lyric like Fred Astaire. But when it comes to selling records I was never worth anything particularly except as a collector's item.