The American Way . . . That’s Litigation! : Want to show a clip from a Fred Astaire film? Better ask Robyn Astaire first

Some of the most moving segments of “That’s Entertainment! III” involve the liquid dancing and mischievous percussion playing of the incomparable Fred Astaire, one of the huge stars in MGM’s stable during its golden years and celebrated in the new film.

But moviegoers might easily have been denied the pleasure of seeing Astaire--not because of lack of interest of MGM in providing the footage, but because, sources say, Astaire’s widow, Robyn, threw up legal roadblocks that only recently were overcome.

Robyn Astaire already has proven intractable over use of her late husband’s image: 1992’s Kennedy Center tribute to the career of Astaire’s longtime partner, Ginger Rogers, ultimately had to be televised without a single clip of the couple dancing together, because she demanded $15,000 per minute of footage used, a price the Kennedy Center said it could not pay. The refusal caused a furor, but Robyn Astaire did not back down.

To hear sources at MGM and co-producer Turner Entertainment (which owns the rights to the old MGM and RKO libraries, which include some of Astaire’s finest performances), who asked not to be identified, tell it, securing rights to footage of Astaire was a monumental task that took several months. Robyn Astaire demanded a high sum of money and other specific perks, including a seat as prominent as that of MGM/UA chairman Frank Mancuso’s at the May 6 premiere.

Officially, MGM says that there were no real problems and points to the finished product, which includes several clips of Astaire, as proof. They blamed the film’s long delay--it was supposed to have been released last November--solely on technological snafus and restoration details, particularly in restoring the soundtrack into stereo.

The project started when former MGM/UA chief Alan Ladd Jr. greenlit a request from George Feltenstein, head of MGM video, to put together a third look at the studio’s musical heyday for about $1.5 million. The plan was to simply cull clips from the studio’s video library. But in the midst of doing that, Feltenstein realized that he didn’t have clearances from Robyn Astaire. Astaire, who died at 88 on June 22, 1987, was the only one of MGM’s big contract stars of the ‘30s and ‘40s who later gained some control over negatives to some of his films.

Robyn Astaire did not return phone calls or faxed requests for an interview, but her representative, Thomas A. White, a Beverly Hills consultant on artists’ rights enforcement, spoke on her behalf.

“Put this in context,” he said. “Seating arrangements at a premiere are the most innocuous kind of benefit to give someone. Studios sharing the proper protocol for people who have been involved in the project, whether they be the stars, directors, producers or those who helped bring the project to life . . . in this case one of the widows . . . should not be disregarded.” White refused to discuss financial terms of the agreement.

He finds suggestions that his client is being greedy or difficult to be without merit.

“Mrs. Astaire is simply following her late husband’s wishes. There has been so much propaganda about her and her business decisions. Fred Astaire was a very shrewd, intelligent businessman. He wanted his performances to be portrayed before the public in full form, not in bites like film clips.”

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White bristles over questions about the Kennedy Center ordeal. Sources involved in the Kennedy Center Honors event said that when the center refused to pay the sum demanded by Robyn Astaire--as a rule, no one involved in a tribute is paid--she insisted that Astaire segments already shown at the tribute taping in Washington be edited out; those numbers did not appear in the subsequent broadcast of the tribute.

“The TV production was a complex matter, but let me just say that Mrs. Astaire was being coerced and she refused to be bullied,” White said. “Besides, the counterargument you always hear from anyone who wants to use the Astaire films is ‘We’re going to do this great public service to keep your husband’s memory alive.’

“Well, guess what--that’s a myth and it’s tired. It’s a feeble come-on to continue making money off an artist’s work and cheat the artist. Mrs. Astaire’s actions should be an example.”

Kennedy Center sources involved declined to comment publicly, saying it would be “beating a dead horsewoman” (Robyn Astaire is a former jockey).

But that is not expected to happen with “That’s Entertainment! III.” Feltenstein says he believes that Robyn Astaire is happy with the production and the terms of her agreement with the studio. And he sounds pleased that at last the film is scheduled for release.

“There’s one big plus out of this,” he says. “The release has been timed perfectly with MGM’s 70th anniversary, perfect counterprogramming for summer movie fare. Now, that’s entertainment.”*