“Danny Kaye: On honesty with children and being yourself”
Chronicle Telegram – May 18, 1975
By: Arthur Unger (The Christian Science Monitor Service)
Danny Kaye “loves” children . . . but there are times when he doesn’t “like” them at all.
Said the star, in the midst of taping “Danny Kaye’s Look-
“When people say ‘I love children’ that’s too all-
Children have been Kaye’s major concern for many years—as a kind of ambassador-
And he’s been doing Met children’s programs since 1972—this just happened to be the first one to be televised. In between he’s managed to make a few movies, star in a TV variety show of his own for five years, appear in the New York theater, and conduct just about every major orchestra in the country for the benefit of the Musicians Pension Fund.
But it’s the grand rapport with children that sets Danny Kaye apart from any other entertainer. And sometimes one gets the impression that Mr. Kaye is just a little weary of the whole thing.
Lounging in his own sunny-
“I like working with children. But that doesn’t mean I like working with children more than I like working the Palace or doing a TV show. Please keep in mind that I don’t entertain for children—entertaining “with” them is totally different than entertaining “for” them.
“Most children I deal with don’t speak my language—and I don’t speak theirs. Their
culture is different, their environment is different. The only way I communicate
with them is on an emotional level . . . not on a language level. Kids have a built-
“And kids sense when they are disturbing adults, too. They may even get some pleasure from it. I remember with my own daughter many years ago—she would come in while I was trying to do something and I would say: ‘I’m sorry, but I really do not have time for you now. I’ll play with you later.’ Then once I went to her room and she said: ‘Sorry, but I do not wish to play with you now. I want to be by myself. I will see you later.’ It established a very honest relationship.
“Today I can see my daughter and tell her I need to be by myself and she will understand. She can tell me exactly the same thing and nobody feels hurt or rejected. It is an established practice. You don’t have to demonstrate love for each other every second of your life.”
Kaye’s next role is in London where he will be playing Captain Hook in a new NBC-
Any other projects planned? Is there something he yearns to do in the theater?
“Well,
if I understand the question, the last thing in the world I would like to do is ‘Hamlet.’
“I do things which please me—no matter whether there is a great deal of money involved or not. If it stimulates me, I do it. But I never know what I am going to be doing three months from now.”
Recriminations for Kaye? Doesn’t he ever look back and wish he had acted differently?
“No!
I don’t look back. I was in London recently and someone said to me: ‘Why don’t you
come back and play the Palladium like you used to? Somebody else said: ‘Why not make
movies like you used to?’ They meant well. But I don’t want to turn around, go back
20 years, and try to recapture a time and an era and a frame of mind I had long ago.
That is really stepping backwards.
“Movies are not what they used to be, the times are not what they used to be and, most important, I am not what I used to be. It doesn’t mean that I am forsaking my talent. Talent doesn’t change. What you have is a different attitude toward what you do. I’ll do what I need to do now. The only reason I’m doing ‘Peter Pan’ is because it’s something I’ve never done before, and it is nice to try it.”
How does Kaye react to current trends in comedy?
“What trends? Comedy hasn’t changed
for hundreds of years. It’s just the subject matter that changes. But the basic tenets
of comedy always remain the same.
“There are many subjects you can do today that you couldn’t do 10 years ago. Archie Bunker in ‘All in the Family’ was the first different kind of TV show we had in years—but now every channel has its own version. But never forget that trends are not made by anybody—they are reflections of what is happening in a society.”
Does it bother him that his public always seems to expect him to be a wacky, zany comic figure?
“Look, if I were really wacky and zany, I’d be doing this interview lying in bed., But that would be wacky for five minutes. If I acted in private life the way I do in the theater, I’d be in the loony bin.”
The eyes which sparkle when Danny Kaye, entertainer, is doing the talking dim somewhat when the private Danny Kaye takes over.
“Too many people have a preconceived notion of what I’m really like. But I don’t have any compulsion to satisfy, those notions. One of the basic freedoms I’ve won for myself is the freedom to behave the way I feel.”