Did Fred and Adele Astaire star in the Mary Pickford silent movie, “Fanchon and the Cricket”?
No. It is, however, a common misconception as Fred and Adele were present as observers during the filming but did not participate.In 1914, Fred and Adele took a summer vacation at Delaware Water Gap, a resort area in Pennsylvania. While Ann (Fred’s mother), Adele and Fred were there, Mary Pickford arrived on location to film a short, “Fanchon and the Cricket.” They visited the set to watch, but did not appear in the film. Fred’s autobiography and his biographies agree on this- for example, the most thorough, Billman’s “Bio-Bibliography”, writes, “They observed filming as visitors, but insisted they did not appear in the film. They were, however, fascinated with their first up-close observation of the moviemakers who were friendly with all of the youngsters.” Besides, as copies of the short are not known to exist, it’s pretty much a moot point.
