Danny Kaye was a great American entertainer with an enormous creative range, encompassing dance, popular song, classical music, complicated verse, impersonation and improvisation, which melded together into an utterly unique style. He was equally popular and at home on the stage, television, the silver screen, and radio. Over the course of his career, Kaye’s talents were lauded as deeply original and American.
Born David Daniel Kaminsky in Brooklyn in 1913, Danny Kaye was the son of an immigrant Russian tailor. After dropping out of high school he worked for a radio station and later as a comedian in the Catskills. Known as “the Borscht Belt,” the venues throughout the Catskills were often a place for comedians and other entertainers to experiment. After his solo success in the Catskills, the young Kaye joined the dancing act of Dave Harvey and Kathleen Young in 1933. On opening night he lost his balance and the audience broke into a roar of laughter. He would later incorporate this into his act. Throughout the late 1930s Kaye went out and performed on his own—often with material written by his wife, Sylvia Fine.
In 1939 Kaye made his Broadway debut in “The Straw Hat Revue.” Enjoying growing popularity, Kaye won over the Broadway crowd that same year with his show-stopping comic singing in “Lady in the Dark,” in which he rattled off the names of more than fifty polysyllabic Russian composers in thirty-nine seconds in a song called “Tchaikovsky.” Throughout the early 1940s he performed night club acts, on Broadway, and to support the troops overseas during World War II. Though Kaye had appeared in his first film in 1937, it wasn’t until almost ten years later that his film career hit its stride.
As Kaye was already one of the most popular entertainers of his time, Hollywood spared no expense in creating movies that would best showcase his talents. Throughout his career he starred in seventeen movies, including The Kid from Broadway (1946), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), The Inspector General (1949), Hans Christian Andersen (1952), and the incomparable The Court Jester (1956). In The Court Jester, Kaye displays the vocal talents which made him famous when he says simply, “The pellet with the poison’s in the vessel with the pestle, the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true”
A strong advocate for social responsibility, in 1954 Kaye began his long-standing association with the United Nation’s Children’s Fund, and that same year won a special Academy Award for his humanitarian work. Throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s Kaye continued to work in the movies and in 1963 had his own television show. The Danny Kaye Show ran for four years and was an enormous hit, winning an Emmy in its first season. Though the 1970s and 1980s found Kaye less popular, he continued to be a strong supporter of UNICEF, and appeared in their short film, Pied Piper. Of his many charitable performances, his work for symphony musicians’ pension funds was the most popular. He raised more than ten million dollars by performing benefit concerts, where he was known to conduct “The Flight of the Bumble Bee” with a flyswatter. In one of his final performances, Kaye proved the versatility of his talent and earned rave reviews for his impassioned portrayal of a Holocaust survivor in the 1981 television move Skokie.
In 1987 Kaye died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California. An amazing actor, singer, dancer, comic, and all-around entertainer, Kaye was a Renaissance man off the stage as well, where he was a celebrated chef, a baseball team owner, and an airplane pilot, flying everything from Piper Cubs to Boeing 747’s. His deep and continued commitment to the betterment of the peoples of the world was an inspiration to all, and his intelligent humor created a style all his own that made him one of the most beloved entertainers of his time.
Harmony is well defined in music. Mathematicaly so. As for the human kind , watch Kaye and Amstrong . It is at you tube: serch for “kaye amstrong when the saints go marching in”.
Danny Kaye……such an amazing Actor…there is no other like him! I have watched his films several times over and the more I see him the more I fall in love with his character, personality, gifted charm, unique style, he was such a very very talented man. …and gave so much of himself.
Taken from us all too soon…I had just turned 40years of age when my father told me of D anny Kaye’s passing and what a talented man he is… now 22years later, I have a huge colection of DK’s Films ,Music and a book about him..this is still not enough, why are’nt his films shown on tv why can’t we buy more of his tv shows.??????..i have a vcr of some short pieces from the tv shows and would dearly love to have more!
Please Help!!!!
During a speech to the United Nations, Danny began by speaking in fast, idiomatic and nonsensical phrases for several seconds, leaving the ambassadors somewhat perplexed, until he turned and looked up at the translators booth, and wished them luck in translating! Is this a part of the American Masters video? I have been looking for the clip, which I saw some time ago, but cannot retreive.
RE: DANNY KAYE To those of you who have requested the Danny Kaye album music of “Mommy, Gimme a Drinka Water”……I do have ALL of the original songs on the album which are digitally remastered, making for a WONDERFUL sound with less LP “popping sound” and bringing back such fond memories. I would be more than happy to share the music with you for free. I have also posted 3 of his songs from the album on youtube 1) Crazy Barbara 2) I like old people, Don’t you 3) Mommy, Gimme a Drinka Water. My youtube name is SINGSOW and my email address is: singsow@aol.com
Please feel free to write me at any time : ) Please write DANNY KAYE on the subject title in your email so that I know it’s not junkmail. Thanks much, Christine
OMG, this thing is so funny. I will share it.
I’m trying to locate danny kayes movie, ” the pied piper” to buy or rent. Is it available? Thanx, david
As I watch White Christmas I remember how much I enjoyed Danny Kaye as a child. They don’t make actors like him anymore.
Has his television show been put on DVD ?
Please make this American Masters about Danny Kaye for sale. I would love to own it and give one to my parents.
Danny Kaye was one of the great actors of our time. I watch White Christmas over and over every year. I love him and Bing Crosby, the girls also, Rosemary Cloney and Gwen Vernon.
Regarding the comment from Fran on 12/21/10 — the “girls” in White Christmas were Rosemary Clooney and VERA ELLEN, not Gwen Verdon. Get your actors straight for the next trivia contest!!!!
I was only 10 years when “The Danny Kaye Show” came on the air;
And I was smitten… still am, 47 years later.. I still get goose bumps when I
hear him sing a ballad like “Anywhere I Wander”… I have found his movies and TV
on the web recently and have been really enjoying.. someone on the web said
“watching Danny Kaye movies makes you feel good..” so true..
I have loved watching him sing and dance and act and be silly and my heart sings
when I see that mischievous smile; and the incredible red hair !
It was all so sweet and wholesome and funny… he was the greatest entertainer of all time,
in my opinion.. We miss you, Danny. Thanks for all the laughter and tears you gave us..
I loved watching Danny Kaye as a child and now my 3 yr old daughter loves him also. WE watched White Christmas so many times we need to get a new cd. My daughter loves to see him dance with Vera Ellen. Is he in any other movies with her?
I am waiting for Jim Carrey to play him in the movies. Isn’t there a book on this most generous, witty, adorable, talented human being. Mr. Carrey could play him – he’s pretty close in talent if not a peer.
I loved Danny Kaye, his wife’s lyrics – so much talent in just one guy. Still miss him.
I remember him well, I used to wait for his weekly television show and watch it along with my mother when I was a child. Along with Red Skelton, he made us laugh and forget our troubles. Variety shows like these along with shows from Dean Martin and Carol Burnett are a thing of the past. Television has deteriorated to an all time low over the past ten years with cheap reality shows. Very few shows make you feel good anymore. I wonder if we will ever get any family variety shows again with real stars. They must cost a lot to produce, but I bet the sponsors would get pleanty of business to make it worth their while.
Make the Danny Kaye DVD available. Better yet, why not make the whole American Masters series streamable over the Net, much like Netflix does, so we can watch anytime we feel like it.
DVD is a dying platform. Time for PBS to modernize its delivery capabilities…
For Marsha: I, too, have often thought that Jim Carrey is the closest we’ve ever come to Danny Kaye. Some comedians don’t “age” well (Abbott & Costello), some, like Danny Kaye, are so universal, with their physical comedy, musical talent, impersonations, and improvisations (Chaplin), that they stay fresh forever. Future generations watching Knock on Wood and The Court Jester will be just as blown away as I was in the 50s & 60s.
Danny Kaye compiled a book “Tales from Around the World” I received as a gift in the late ’50’s – it was a favorite. That copy is gone & I’ve searched for another ever since. It was a thick, hardcover book that included stories, poems, songs, and commentary regarding the different countries & cultures by Danny Kaye. Have any idea where I can find a copy???
I cannot recall the last time a Danny Kaye movie was shown on TV. – Like so many of the people who have left comments on this forum – DK was an uplifting entertainer and as a child his films/songs transported me to a lighter world……………….yes, definately an amazing and original artiste.
I recently listened to the BBC radio show (hosted by Elliot Gould) about the Secret Life Of Danny Kaye and it immediately brought back all the reasons I loved to watch and listen to this great man. His movies were timeless and I’m glad to have many in my collection. A couple of things I wish I had kept were two audio records. One was Danny telling folk tales from around the world (Stone Soup springs to mind) but this record was broken beyond repair when I was quite young. I kept the sleeve for years in the hopes of finding another copy but it to has now been discarded. In the more recent past, I got rid of (and loathe am I to admit it) a 78 RPM record of Danny and Dena singing together. One side was mainly Danny (singing about Dena, I believe, and was titled “Little Child” or something like that). The A side (for me, if not in reality) was a nonesense duet (”Abba Dabba Whoop Whoop Bop”, or something like that) and was absolutely adorable. I discarded this in a move a few years ago as I thought I’d never be able to play it again. Once again, I was wrong and live in regret.
I’m watching White Christmas as I type this. My wife and I watch it every Christmas season. What a great movie and what a great performance by Danny Kaye!
Just watched an interview with him from the dick cavvett. Show,not sure what year it was,but I remember him fondly what a wonderful man he was