“Impish Danny Kaye Possessed By Pixies”
Lodi News-
UPI Hollywood Correspondent
HOLLYWOOD (UPI)—Danny Kaye returns to television Monday night for the first time in five years as a performer.
There is an imp in the blond comedian. He is possessed by pixies and should be living under a toadstool.
His home is a Beverly Hills mansion, however. He flits I and out, rarely spending more than six weeks at a time at his house. He entertains friends, cooks magnificent Chinese dinners and enjoys good company.
There is also a rusting howitzer in his driveway.
“I found it in the weeks when we bought this place,” he said the other day. Danny has resisted further investigation of the field piece.
The howitzer is one of the few things he’s encountered that does not fire his imagination. He flies around the world for UNICEF, for personal appearances and for the love of travel.
Is he restless?
“No. Curious,” he replied. “I always wanted to fly a big jet. So I did fly a DC-
“I’m also rated in Lear jets, jet commanders and I have a commercial pilot license. I’m qualified to fly single and multiple engine airplanes, and jets. I’m instrument rated.”
Kaye grounded himself long enough to star in “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” an hour
special for ABC-
For almost a year and a half Kaye starred on Broadway in “Two by Two.” The confinement drove him to the wall.
“That’s the longest I’ve spent in one place in 30 years,” he said. “It was Broadway then, too, when I was playing in ‘Let’s Face It.’”
Kaye was more in his element on his recent UNICEF tour: Tokyo, Hong Kong, Manila, Singapore, Bangkok, Calcutta, New Delhi, Rome, Paris, Stockholm, Oslo, Amsterdam, Heisinki, Copenhagen, Hamburg, and London. All in less than five weeks.
“I’d like very much to go back to China after the Nixon visit,” said Kaye, “if I can.”
“I was there before the international situation made it impossible.
“Kids behave the same all over the world. They key to communication with them is to behave like a child yourself when you’re with them. God knows I’m not inhibited that way.”
Danny, perched on a chair in his kitchen, was a double for Peter Pan. His hair was tousled and his eyes alive with amusement.
He imitated a Russian child who had once presented him with flowers. He recounted his laughter and fun with children in Thailand.
The anticipation in Danny’s face once again was 100 percent imp.