DANNY KAYE (1913-1987)

DAVID DANIEL KAMINSKI

Born: January 18th, 1913 (Brooklyn)

Died: March 3rd, 1987 (heart failure)

Marriage: Sylvia Fine (1940-His death)

Children: Dena Kaye

Interesting Fact: In his youth he wanted to become a Doctor. This is interesting since laughter is the best medicine.

Awards: Though he was never nominated for an Oscar in acting he did receive two honoree awards: one in 1955 and another in 1982 as the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. In his first season of his show he received an Emmy and was nominated three other times for different shows. He was awarded two Golden Globes: "Me and the Colonel" (1958) & "On the Riviera" (1951). He also has a Star on the Walk of Fame in Motion Picture, Radio & Recoding. He also received a Laurel Award, a life achievement award from the Screen Writers Guild and hand prints at Grauman's Chinese Theater.

My Favorite Film: "The Court Jester" (1956) is his most popular film. Usually I'd rather pick my favorite as an unknown film I've discovered. With Danny Kaye, however, I am going to have to agree with the crowd that this is also my favorite.

Chef, Pilot, Conductor, Actor, Singer, Comedian, Dancer, TV host, UNICEF ambassador, husband & father - Danny sure kept himself busy. History shows that movie stars had a hard time balancing all of these talents and duties with family like, but Danny didn't just balance them, he juggled them.

For many reason's Danny is my favorite comedian of Hollywood. He could stand on his own as the funny & straight man, while being the orchestra at the same time. He was clean in his act and had his own unique form of tongue twisters that he and his wife, as his writer, developed. Most of all, he is my favorite for his love of children that far surpassed many of his day. Being an ambassador of UNICEF and with the film of "Hans Christian Andersen" (1952), you can see his kindness and care for them. What a legacy to leave behind!

His famous tongue twisting scene.

Here is a clip from Five Pennies.

THE MUSICAL DANNY KAYE

To start off the posts of the week right, I've turned my attention to the quadruple threat, named Danny Kaye. In Acting, Dancing, Singing & Comedy, he excelled with flying colors that have never been duplicated to this day. From "The Court Jester" (1956) to "Hans Christian Andersen" (1952), he created a Musical genre on his own.

What I love about him was his clean humor. He never had one inappropriate moment, not one dirty joke, just PURE comedy. No one can successfully imitate his speedy limericks or his dizzy tongue twisters, but this wasn't all he had to offer the world. His voice was honest and his acting moving.

He may not have danced like Gene Kelly nor sung like Frank Sinatra but he created his own space in the universe of Hollywood.

AS AN ACTOR:
"Hans Christian Andersen" (1952) & "Wonder Man" (1945) are the first to come in mind. To me, he will always be the author from Denmark. He was the perfect fit for the film, since his voice was matched with his acting. In "Wonder Man," we see him take on two completely opposite roles. From the book worm to the party animal, he never compromised his special something that he always gave in a performance.

AS A DANCER:
With "White Christmas" (1954) as popular as it is in our day, I don't see it needful to elaborate on his talent of dancing. In fact I may only be able to mention a little known fact from the movie itself. As he & Bing Crosby finished off the "Sisters" routine, he had Bing laughing so hard, they had to re-shoot it. With each new take, the laughing got worse until they finally abandoned the idea and stuck with the first shot they had, which is in the film today.

 AS A SINGER:
He had one of the most soft and pure voices of the big screen. My favorite songs of his were "Inchworm" in Hans & the lullaby "I'll Take You Dreaming" in the Jester. Then all of sudden, he becomes a humorous opera singer in "Soliloquy for Three Heads" & "Gypsy Drinking Song" for "The Inspector General" (1949). Another is when he finds himself disguised as the lead in an Opera on "The Wonder Man."

AS A COMEDIAN:
I think the best film to portray his Comedy spectrum was "The Court Jester." It contains all of his shape-shifting, tongue twisting, facial expressing, cowardice best. What a spectacular movie! Each time he was in front of the camera, he presented to us a new side of himself. To find a twin of a comedian, I would have to turn to the great Red Skelton. Both with red hair and each with there own unique pantomimic expressions.

I wish I could show all of my favorite clips but this post would take up the whole site. Instead, I have created this collage to portray his alter egos.