My Facebook friends already know that I have desperate crushes on classic movie stars—Lauren Bacall, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Hedy Lamarr, Ingrid Bergman, Ginger Rogers and Vivien Leigh, to name a few. I have no idea why I missed Rita Hayworth, so let’s make it official. She was both beautiful and charistmatic, and the woman could dance, as Fred Astaire discovered in rehearsing for You’ll Never Get Rich (1941). She was a natural:

Fred Astaire’s seemingly inexperienced costar was anything but intimidated. “She learned steps faster than anyone I’d ever known,” he noted. “I’d show her a routine before lunch. She’d be back right after lunch and have it down to perfection. She apparently figured it out in her mind while she was eating. (Grunge.com)

And don’t tell Ginger, but…

Shortly before his death in 1987, Fred Astaire told interviewers that Rita Hayworth was categorically his favorite dance partner.

Wow.

Some YouTuber with way too much time on his hands decided to create a video with scenes from You’ll Never Get Rich to the music of…wait for it…Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll.” I think that was actually time well spent.