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Danny Kaye Bio
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Danny Kaye This 1930’s Golden Globe winning American actor, singer and comedian is probably best remembered for his comedic roles in such movies as ‘Up in Arms’, ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’, ‘The Court Jester’ and ‘White Christmas’ in which he starred with Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney. Danny Kaye’s life began on January 18th 1913 when he was born to a Jewish Ukrainian immigrant family in Brooklyn, New York. After completing his education at PS 149 in Brooklyn. Danny went on to attend Thomas Jefferson High School although he never graduated. He became interested in entertainment when he attended the summer resorts of the Catskill Mountains in Sullivan and Ulster Counties, in upstate New York. Danny’s film debut came in 1935 when he appeared in a short comedy movie entitled, ‘ ‘Moon Over Manhattan’. In 1941 Danny had the starring role in the hit Broadway comedy ‘Lady in the Dark’. His show-stopping number was "Tchaikovsky," by Ira Gershwin, in which he sang the names of a whole string of Russian composers at breakneck speed, seemingly without taking a breath. In 1944, after signing with MGM, Danny made his feature film debut in the comedy “Up in Arms’ but Samuel Goldwyn was concerned about Danny’s ethnic Jewish looks and wanted him to undergo surgery on his nose but Danny refused. So in order to soften his looks the company decided to have Kaye’s hair dyed a light red colour, which eventually became his trade mark.
After this visual transition Danny was instantly picked up by producer Robert M Savini and he next had Kaye featuring in his 1945 feature, ‘The Birth of a Star.’ It was rumoured that Danny Kaye avoided the draft in the Second World War by faking an illness. This was never proved but the FBI did maintain a file on Kaye's connections to supposed Communist groups, but he was never prosecuted. Kaye starred in several movies with actress Virginia Mayo in the 1940s, and is well known for his roles in films such as ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ in 1947 with Boris Karloff and ‘The Inspector General’ in 1949. ‘On the Riviera’ in 1951 co-starring Gene Tierney, and in the all time favourite, ‘White Christmas’ in 1954 which also starred Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney. ‘The Court Jester’ 1956 , and ‘Merry Andrew’ 1958. Kaye starred in two pictures based on biographies, ‘Hans Christian Andersen’ in 1952 about the Danish story teller, and ‘The Five Pennies’ in 1959 about jazz pioneer Red Nichols starring Barbara Bel Geddes and Louis Armstrong.. Danny’s wife, Sylvia Fine, wrote many of the witty, tongue-twisting songs Danny Kaye became famous for. In the 1960’s, for four years, Kaye hosted his own variety television show, The Danny Kaye Show. Kaye also did a stint as one of the What's My Line? Mystery Guests on the popular Sunday Night CBS-TV program which had also featured Johnny Carson, Woody Allen and Jack Lemmon. Kaye also guest-starred in episodes of ‘The Cosby Show’ starring Bill Cosby and in the 1980s remake of ‘The Twilight Zone’.Kaye was the original owner of the Seattle Mariners along with his partner Lester Smith, from 1977-81.
Kaye received two Academy Awards, an honorary award in 1955 and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1982. Kaye died in 1987, from a heart attack, following a bout of hepatitis. He left his widow, Sylvia Fine, and a daughter, Dena. He is interred in the Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York. His grave is adorned with a bench that contains friezes of a baseball and bat, an aircraft, a piano, a flower pot, musical notes, and a glove. ABB |
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| Facts: |
Danny Kaye - Starred in 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' in which Robert Altman appeared.
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Danny Kaye - Starred in 'White Christmas' with Bing Crosby . |
Danny Kaye - Starred in 'White Christmas' with Rosemary Clooney .
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Danny Kaye - Starred in 'The Five Pennies' with Louis Armstrong . |
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