“Comedian fast with names”
Star-News – Jan. 28, 1981
In his television musical special (It was actually Sylvia's special; Danny just made
an appearance on it. - J.N. webmistress) Danny Kaye will re-create his legendary
novelty number in which he reels off the long names of Russian composers. Danny’s
show-stopping classic, “Tschaikowsky,” which he introduced in the 1941 Broadway hit,
Lady in the Dark, made him an overnight star. Kaye will do this Kurt Weill and Ira
Gershwin song on the TV show, Sylvia Fine Kaye Presents Musical Comedy Tonight –
II when it airs Feb. 11 on Public Broadcasting Service. During rehearsals, Mrs. Kaye,
who’s producing and hosting the program, revealed that it originally took Danny 39
seconds to rattle off the 57 Russian names; after years of practice, he has pared
the time down to a breathless 32 seconds.