Danny Kaye

Biography: Danny Kaye

Inimitable, multi-talented entertainer Danny Kaye first gained fame on Broadway by upstaging the great Gertrude Lawrence in Lady in the Dark in 1941 with an unforgettable rendition of the "Tchaikovsky," in which he rapidly fired off the names of 54 Russian composers in 38 seconds. Born David Daniel Kaminski, a garment worker's son in Brooklyn, New York, Kaye left school at age 13 to work as a mischievous busboy in the popular "borscht belt" resorts of the Catskill Mountains. While endeavoring to break into vaudeville and nightclub acts as a singer and dancer, Kaye also occasionally worked as a soda jerk and an insurance salesman. In 1939, he made his Broadway debut in Straw Hat Revue with Imogene Coca. Following the run of Lady in the Dark, he began making a series of educational films during the '30s. In 1943, he signed a movie contract with producer Sam Goldwyn, and became a star when he appeared in Up in Arms (1944). A talented mimic, physical comedian, singer and dancer, he was unlike any performer who had come before him. Kaye specialized in playing multiple roles or personalities in such films as Wonder Man (1945), The Kid From Brooklyn (1946), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), The Inspector General (1949), and On the Riviera (1951). Probably his best films are The Court Jester (1956), which contains the unforgettable "pellet with the poison's in the vestle with the pestle" routine, based on similar but less effective bits in earlier films, and White Christmas (1954). His wife, composer-lyricist Sylvia Fine, wrote most of his best gags and patter numbers throughout his career. Though tremendously popular during the mid-'40s through the '50s -- most particularly in Great Britain, where played to record-breaking crowds in the Palladium in 1948 and 1949 (he even made personal visits to Buckingham Palace) -- his bright star began to wane in the late 1950s when he began spending most of his time working for UNICEF, and traveling the world-over to entertain impoverished children. In the early to mid-'60s, he starred in The Danny Kaye Show, a comedy-variety television series for which he won an Emmy in 1964. He also found time to conduct symphony orchestras and appear in Two by Two on Broadway. In 1955, Kaye was awarded an honorary Oscar; the Motion Picture Academy also awarded him the Jean Hersholt Award in 1982 for his selfless work with UNICEF. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide less

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Movies (18)
TV (1)
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Skokie (1981)
Cast: Danny Kaye John Rubinstein Herbert Wise Carl Reiner Brian Dennehy
Tags: Docudrama Courtroom Drama Political Drama Drama
Length: 121min
Skokie is the true story of a critical test of Constitutional rights in Illinois. In 1977, a small band of American neo-fascists calling itself the National Socialist Party of America plans to stage a swastika-dominated demonstration and rally. Their...
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Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1971)
Cast: Vincent Price Danny Kaye Jules Bass Arthur Rankin, Jr. Paul H. Frees
Tags: Animated Musical Family Holiday Film
Length: 53min
Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass have produced such animated holiday classics as Rudolph's Shiny New Year, Frosty the Snowman, and Santa Claus Is Coming to Town. The holiday cheer continues with this video. Screenwriter Romeo Muller has adapted the...
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On the Double (1961)
Cast: Danny Kaye Margaret Rutherford Harry Stradling Wally Westmore Diana Dors
Tags: Comedy
Length: 92min
Danny Kaye headlines this lively WW II-era comedy. He plays a foot soldier who with his fellow troop is preparing for D-day. Trouble begins when he is caught pretending to be the most important generals in England, a man he closely resembles. The two...
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The Man from the Diners' Club (1963)
Cast: Danny Kaye Frank Tashlin Telly Savalas Martha Hyer George Kennedy
Tags: Slapstick Comedy Crime
Length: 96min
Heavy on slapstick and light on the more subtle forms of humor, this standard comedy by Frank Tashlin is still an amusing junket with Danny Kaye at the forefront as Ernie Klenk, a bumbling employee of the Diner's Club credit card company. Ernie has...
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The Court Jester (1956)
Cast: Danny Kaye Basil Rathbone Angela Lansbury John Carradine Cecil Parker
Tags: Adventure Comedy Slapstick Parody/Spoof Satire Musical Comedy
Length: 101min
Danny Kaye spoofs medieval swashbucklers in this classic musical comedy. While the infant King of England awaits his rightful place as leader of the British Empire, his rule is usurped by Roderick (Cecil Parker), an evil pretender to the throne. Brave...
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The Five Pennies (1959)
Cast: Danny Kaye Tuesday Weld Bob Hope Harry Guardino Bob Crosby
Tags: Drama Showbiz Drama Musical Musical Drama Biopic
Length: 117min
The Five Pennies is the life story of influential jazz cornetist Red Nichols, played here by a remarkably straight-faced Danny Kaye. The somewhat romanticized screenplay chronicles Nichols' rise from obscurity, annotates the many future bandleaders...
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Merry Andrew (1958)
Cast: Danny Kaye Noel Purcell Robert Coote Anna Maria Pier Angeli Saul Chaplin
Tags: Musical Comedy Comedy Musical
Length: 103min
Though Merry Andrew is more subdued than earlier Danny Kaye efforts, it's still a lot of fun. Kaye is cast as Andrew Larabee, a mild-mannered but highly unorthodox archeology professor at a British boy's school. While on an expedition in Italy, Andrew...
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White Christmas (1954)
Cast: Danny Kaye Bing Crosby Michael Curtiz Vera-Ellen Rosemary Clooney
Tags: Romantic Comedy Musical Comedy Musical Showbiz Comedy Holiday Film
Length: 120min
White Christmas, Paramount's belated follow-up to the 1942 hit Holiday Inn, was the studio's first VistaVision production. A veritable warehouse full of oldie-but-goodie Irving Berlin tunes are woven into the film's simplistic plotline, along with a...
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Me and the Colonel (1958)
Cast: Danny Kaye Akim Tamiroff Françoise Rosay Alexander Scourby Nicole Maurey
Tags: Military Comedy War Drama Comedy War
Length: 105min
In this drama, a Jewish refugee finds himself stranded in Paris just as the Nazi invaders arrive. Desperate to escape, he commanders the car of a Polish colonel who hates Jews. In order to save himself, the colonel helps the fellow escape. En route,...
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Knock on Wood (1954)
Cast: Danny Kaye Henry Bumstead Torin Thatcher Mai Zetterling Leon Askin
Tags: Action Comedy Spy Film Action Comedy Thriller
Length: 103min
With the exception of the brilliant The Court Jester, Knock on Wood must rank as the best of Danny Kaye's movie vehicles. Capitalizing on the star's recent successful engagement in London, the film casts Kaye as a neurotic American ventriloquist...
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Danny Kaye

Biography: Danny Kaye

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