Career: In 1923, Crosby played the drums in a band comprised of high school students. Two years later, he formed a vocal duo with Al Rinker. With the help of bandleader Paul Whiteman, they made their debut in 1926 at the Tivoli Theatre in Chicago. Pianist Harry Barris became the third member of the group and they went by the name The Rhythm Boys. In 1928, the group had a number one hit with a cover of Ol' Man River. In 1931, Crosby made his debut as a solo artist and recorded a number of chart-topping singles. Crosby's biggest hit was his recording of Irving Berlin's White Christmas, a song he first sang on a Christmas Day radio broadcast in 1941. It has sold more than 100 million copies around the world. He made a successful transition into the world of films, winning an Academy Award in 1944 for Going My Way. His other film credits include Holiday Inn (1942), The Bells of St Mary's (1945), Road to Utopia (1946), Here Comes the Groom (1951), White Christmas (1954), and The Country Girl (1954). His last TV appearance was a Christmas special recorded in September 1977 and featured a duet of The Little Drummer Boy with David Bowie. On October 14, 1977, he suffered a fatal heart attack on a Spanish golf course. He was 74.

Career: Astaire continued to achieve success on his own on the stage, before making his Hollywood debut in Dancing Lady (1933). He starred with Ginger Rogers for the first time in Flying Down to Rio (1933). Despite being reluctant to become part of another dance team, Astaire went on to star with Rogers in 10 films, including The Gay Divorcee (1934), Roberta (1935), Top Hat (1935), Follow the Fleet (1936), Swing Time (1936) and Carefree (1938). Astaire also starred alongside Bing Crosby in Holiday Inn (1942) and Blue Skies (1946), Rita Hayworth in You'll Never Get Rich (1941), Leslie Caron in Daddy Long Legs (1955), and Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face (1957). Astaire's last musical film was Francis Ford Coppola's Finian's Rainbow (1968). He received his only Academy Award nomination for his role in The Towering Inferno (1974). He died on June 22, 1987 at the age of 88.