Danny Kaye

Renowned for his exceptional gift at imitation and unmatched prowess as a physical comedian, Danny Kaye emerged as one of the most beloved figures in American entertainment throughout World War II and the immediate postwar period. His elastic features and frenetic energy propelled him to prominence on screen and small screen alike, as well as through recordings and stage productions, where he moved effortlessly between zany novelty numbers and heartfelt ballads. Despite these achievements, his most lasting impact came through relentless humanitarian service; his bond with the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) ran so deep that he was selected to accept the Nobel Peace Prize on the organization's behalf.

David Daniel Kominsky entered the world on January 18, 1913, in Brooklyn, NY. At fourteen he abandoned high school to hitchhike to Florida alongside his friend Louis Elison, the pair singing for spare change. Back in New York they formed an act called Red and Blackie, later serving as “toomlers,” or all-purpose entertainers, on the borscht-belt circuit in the Catskills. In 1933 he joined the Three Terpsichoreans’ vaudeville troupe, adopting the name Danny Kaye for the first time. After touring in the stage revue La Vie Paree, the group sailed for the Orient in 1934. While performing in Japan and China, Kaye honed his pantomime skills and facial contortions, also experimenting with singing in nonsensical syllables punctuated by the rare intelligible word.

Returning to the United States in 1936, he partnered with comedian Nick Long, Jr., and later toured with Abe Lyman’s Band before heading to London for its cabaret scene. The venture faltered, sending him back to New York, where he met pianist and songwriter Sylvia Fine. She became both his artistic collaborator and his spouse, penning several of his signature pieces such as “Stanislavsky,” “Pavlova,” and “Anatole of Paris.” Much of this material featured in The Straw Hat Revue, which premiered on Broadway in 1939. Kaye next earned widespread notice in Moss Hart’s The Lady in the Dark, then joined Cole Porter’s Let’s Face It! before touring to aid the war effort, during which he sold roughly one million dollars in bonds in just six months.

His first feature film, Up in Arms, appeared in 1944. The following year he launched his own CBS radio series, introducing hits including “Dinah,” “Tubby the Tuba,” “Minnie the Moocher,” “Ballin’ the Jack,” “Bloop Bleep,” and “Civilization.” His sole U.S. chart success, “I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts,” arrived in 1950. In 1947 he portrayed the title character in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, widely regarded as his quintessential screen role. After appearing in 1948’s A Song Is Born, he returned triumphantly to London for record-breaking runs at the Palladium and several Royal Command performances. In 1950 he became the first solo artist to headline at Canada’s National Exhibition, then toured British provincial music halls in 1952.

While maintaining a busy film schedule, Kaye completed On the Riviera in 1951 and then starred in Hans Christian Andersen, among the most profitable releases in MGM history. Two Frank Loesser compositions from the score, “The Ugly Duckling” and “Wonderful Copenhagen,” reached the U.K. Top Five. He appeared in both Knock on Wood and White Christmas in 1954, and after The Court Jester in 1956 he played 1920s cornetist Red Nichols opposite Louis Armstrong in 1958’s The Five Pennies. From 1963 to 1967 he hosted the variety series The Danny Kaye Show, later returning to Broadway in 1969 for The Madwoman of Chaillot and starring the next year in the Richard Rodgers and Martin Charnin musical Two by Two.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Kaye frequently conducted symphony orchestras and made regular television appearances, earning an Emmy for the 1975 CBS broadcast Danny Kaye’s Look-In at the Metropolitan Opera, part of the Festival of Lively Arts for Young People series. He also headlined small-screen adaptations of Pinocchio and Peter Pan. Beginning in the early 1950s, however, much of his energy went toward UNICEF, where he served as ambassador-at-large for thirty-four years. In addition to a Special Oscar awarded in 1954, he received the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1982. Following a heart attack, he died on March 3, 1987, at the age of seventy-four.