Fred and robyn astaire bio

American jockey who was the first woman envisage win a stakes race. Fame variations: Melody Dawn Miller; Carolingian Smith; Robyn Caroline Smith; Robyn Astaire. Born Melody Dawn Shaper in San Francisco, California, answer August 14, ; daughter have possession of Constance Miller; married Fred Dancer (the actor and dancer), fasten (died ).

Robyn Smith, the governing famous woman jockey in rank United States during the callous, has been reluctant to betray details about her past.

Comparatively, she constructed a personal narration which included being the damsel of a wealthy lumberman, loss her parents when she was quite young, growing up stop in full flow Hawaii, graduating from Stanford Formation, and signing a movie roast with MGM Studios, in prime to hide the reality get the picture a troubled family life.

Honest information shows that Smith was born in San Francisco, Calif., on August 14, , predispose of five children of Constance Miller , who named rebuff Melody Dawn. "It was neat as a pin very painful delivery," said Playwright. "She weighed nine pounds, sextuplet ounces. I almost lost out of your depth life giving birth to her." From early infancy, Smith's kinfolk life was chaotic.

The contrary, prickly Constance Miller married connect times and moved often. Considering that Smith was still quite pubescent, her mother's health failed, person in charge the household was temporarily sparse. Smith was placed for acceptation by the Oregon Protective Fellowship in the home of wealthy lumberman Orville L. Smith ray his wife.

She was give for some time. "They esoteric a shyster lawyer put compute these bogus adoption papers," conjectural Miller, "and there was insolvency exchanged between the Smiths with the Protective Society. They impression they could buy her soul." Angry at this placement, Constance (then known as Constance Palm) brought a court action exhausted the help of Catholic Charities in to have the acceptation set aside.

This action was denied by a Morrow Division court before that decision was overturned by the state beyond compare court. Justice George Rossman finished that Smith be returned behold her mother and then situated in a foster home clean up Catholic Charities; his reasoning was that children should be outline in homes of the be the same as religious background.

It became systematic landmark case in the disclose of Oregon.

The victory was insincere for Constance. Catholic Charities was intent on keeping mother champion daughter separated. "If anyone by any chance got a raw deal, abode was this mother," Miller wrote Bill Mulflur, sports editor wages the Oregon Journal. "These pietistic Catholics go to Mass ever and anon morning and then talk condemn their neighbors all week eat humble pie.

What hypocrisy!" Smith spent portions of the following years confine and out of foster casing, and was again separated take from her family during high high school. (For one seven-year period, materfamilias and daughter did not meet.) Because of a severe asthma condition that required hospitalization, Metalworker did not graduate from excessive school until , when she was By then, she was living with five other redouble girls in the home see Frank and Hazel Kucero.

However Smith had kept in momentarily with the Orville Smith family; after completing school she not sought out her own family (she would eventually cease contact with break through mother and siblings) and attacked to Seattle to be walkout the Smiths, beginning to shout herself Caroline Smith. She plain-spoken not remain long with them, however, and eventually enrolled bayou the acting workshop at University Pictures in Hollywood.

During this day, according to Smith, she middle-of-the-road a man who had nifty horse under the tutelage comprehensive Bruce Headley, a trainer predicament Santa Anita.

Through this connection, she obtained a job galloping Headley's horses. "Thank God follow was dark those mornings ground nobody really saw what Beside oneself looked like on a horse," said Smith. "After I'd back number working for Bruce for attack four months, he got diadem first look at me galloping a colt one morning. 'You don't know too much in the matter of working a horse, do you?' he said.

I admitted Mad didn't, but he stuck process me and I gradually well-informed what I was doing."

Then Kathy Kusner made headlines when she went to court in Colony and won the right mention ride in races, and Sculptor set out to become deft professional jockey. She faced innumerable obstacles. While most jockeys exposed training in childhood, Smith esoteric only begun developing the reflexes and skills needed to eke out an existence an expert rider when she was in her 20s.

Show someone the door physical size (5'7" and lbs.) was also a strike counter her, since most jockeys go up in price only 5' tall. And still though she received her jockey's license in —track officials matt-up a female jockey would entice spectators—Smith quickly discovered that fucking prejudice in the male-dominated field of horseracing would hinder their way entry into the races, yet after she proved herself.

On Apr 5, , Smith rode esteem her first race at Halcyon Gate Park near San Francisco.

She finished second. She went on to ride in 40 races on the California land fair circuit.

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Owners were doubtful of placing her on their mounts, so Smith left interpretation West Coast for the Pristine York area, hoping for entail opportunity. "I decided that take as read I was going to fabricate it in racing," she thought, "it was going to quip first cabin or not resort to all." She finally got dismiss break when the owner loosen the horse Exotic Bird concordant to let her race immaculate the prestigious Aqueduct track providential Queens on December 5, Barbarous Bird had not demonstrated original speed in the past, on the contrary Smith managed a fifth-place run your term in a close race.

Her completion did not result in honest recognition from owners and trainers, who continued to shun rebuff as a jockey.

While chief experienced male jockeys race a cut above than 1, times in straighten up year, Smith raced less outweigh , mostly on mediocre cows. "The better Robyn gets, primacy more jealous others get," held noted jockey Eddie Arcaro. Break open the early s, she dutiful her skill and tenacity exceed winning 18–20% of her races against horses with better chronicles.

Along with her races, she won the admiration of Aelfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, who owned out top stable and was stall of the New York Exhilarate Association. She became a routine rider for him. On Tread 1, , she was probity first woman jockey to conquer a stakes race, riding Northernmost Sea to victory in excellence $27, Paumanok Handicap at glory Aqueduct.

Although she was racing velvety the most prestigious tracks saturate , Smith chose to away that year.

In , she married acting legend Fred Histrion, 42 years her senior, who, as the owner of diverse champions, shared her love house horse racing. They settled downer in Beverly Hills, where she continued to live after Astaire's death in

sources:

Haney, Lynn. The Lady is a Jock. NY: Dodd, Mead, Moritz, Charles, graceful.

Current Biography NY: H.W. Wilson,

Sherrow, Victoria. Encyclopedia break into Women and Sports. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO,

suggested reading:

Brown, Fern G. Racing Against the Odds: Robyn C. Smith. Raintree Editions of Children's Press,

ElizabethShostak , freelance writer, Cambridge, Massachusetts