Baseball
Danny had always been a baseball fan. One article described him
as a "walking baseball encyclopedia." (March 4, 1987) A 1986 article, "True Blue
and Knows History, Too" by Jim Murray, proves that. "He likes to think of himself
not as a Dodger fan but the Dodger fan." In fact, Danny enjoyed baseball so much
that he became one of the original owners of the Seattle Mariners. From 1977 to 1981,
he remained part owner. Jim Murray puts it this way his article: "He did own a major
league baseball team a few years ago--the Seattle Mariners. It wasn't the same thing.
Danny found it so hard to get interested in his own property that he used to call
up Dodger owner Peter O'Malley and say: 'How did we do today?' And O'Malley, perplexed,
would say: 'Just a minute, I'll get the standings and see what Seattle did,' and
Kaye would say: 'No, no! Not them! How did we do? The Dodgers!' He couldn't handle
the American League." Danny then went on to explain, "'The American League was just
something that came to town at World Series time,' he says. 'I thought it consisted
entirely of the New York Yankees.'"
– The Eighties –
Skokie
At the start of the new decade, Danny took part in his first m
ovie
in years. Skokie was a made-for-TV movie, televised on CBS, and starred such other
talent as Eli Wallach and Carl Reiner. Based on true events, Danny played a fictional
character, Max Feldman, a Jewish holocaust survivor living in the town of Skokie,
Illinois. The movie shows the struggle of events as American Nazis attempt to march
in Skokie, a place where the majority of citizens are Jewish, many of them holocaust
survivors. It was one of the few dramatic roles that Danny did and one of the best,
earning him a Golden Globe nomination. "Kaye was suggested for the role by writer
Ernest Kinoy, who recalled Kaye’s effectiveness in his only other dramatic performance,
in 'Me and The Colonel.' The emotional challenges of the role and the intellectual
implications of interpreting the First Amendment appealed to Kaye. 'I’m at the point
in my life where I want to stretch a little bit instead of doing things I’ve done
before,' he said. 'It’s taking another step. It was so unlike anything I’ve ever
done, it intrigued me.'" (November 14, 1981) The movie was well-accepted by critics,
with admirable, sometimes stunning reviews. One reviewer said, "Danny Kaye’s performance
as the militant survivor of a Nazi concentration camp is the best in his career.
He is able to make you forget that he is a brilliant comic whose gift for mimicry
and linguistic acrobatics has never been excelled." (November 17, 1981) Carl Reiner
said, “Danny surprised everybody. He came on the set looking like Danny Kaye. He
didn’t do anything special except put on a suit that didn’t fit him very well. He
really committed himself. My hair stood on end when he talked about his mother.”
(November 14, 1981 - Review) In Skokie, Danny's character, Max Feldman, delivers
a powerful public speech about his days in Nazi Germany. Danny explained, “We filmed
that temple scene in Skokie, where all of the picture was produced. I thought all
the people seated in the temple were extras. But as I finished the scene there was
a deathly silence. Tears were streaming down the faces of the others. I thought I
had done well to move the extras to tears. Then I discovered that 90 percent of them
were actual holocaust survivors with numbers tattooed on their arms. I was stunned."
(November 14, 1981) In the televised documentary A Legacy of Laughter, Carl Reiner
said this about that moment: “I saw him do it four or five times from four different
angles, different close-ups. Each time he did it for real. He was feeling it. The
tears were welling up in his eyes, in our eyes. He was that guy.”
Conducting
The televised documentary, A Legacy of Laughter, also mentioned
that “Danny had been conducing orchestras since the early days of his career, and
had been doing benefits for musicians’ pensions since the mid-fifties. He was loved
by the musicians he worked with and by several celebrated conductors who handed over
their batons.” According to a September 19, 1981 article, "Mr. Kaye began his conducting
career in 1954 when, as a joke, he agreed to conduct a Philadelphia Orchestra benefit.
The event was an enormous success and invitations soon followed from symphony orchestras
around the world." In an April 20, 1
978 article, Danny explained, “At that time,
nearly 25 years ago, I was doing a vaudeville engagement in Philadelphia. When Ormandy
asked me to do the concert as a benefit for the Red Cross, I only knew two selections,
the ‘Trish Trash Polka’ and ‘The Stars and Stripes Forever.’” The article continued
by explaining that now, at that time, Danny had a repetoire of more than 200 selections.
It should have been no surprise that Danny would start conducting; after all, he
loved music. In fact, Danny loved operas as well as classical music. What is surprising
is that Danny couldn't read a note of music. In a July 4, 1959 article, Sylvia said,
"He was born with a middle ear, or whatever you call it. He also has a natural beat.
I’ve offered to teach him to read music for 20 years. Danny has never had a lesson.”
It wasn't only his wife, though, that admitted this. Danny, himself, admitted he
couldn't read music in "An Evening With Danny Kaye," the televised concert at Lincoln
Center shown on PBS. One article explained that Danny studied by listening to recordings
of the songs. (May 4, 1981) His manager, Herb Bonis, said, "[...] he memorizes by
ear whatever it is he’s going to conduct. Then he conducts the whole number from
memory.” (December 10, 1964) In the April 20, 1978 article, Danny further explained
his process:
“I’ve learned all of the numbers I do by listening,” Kaye explained. “I do all of
my conducting from memory. I’m not a musician. But I think I can sing all of the
musical entrances of favorite operas and the introductory portions of most great
overtures."
"I sing the various passages to convey to the musicians how I want the score to be
played,” Kaye said. “Also, let me assure you it will be a very serious and strenuous
rehearsal. The timing is very important as I build the two-hour concert. There are
places where I talk to the audience. But when I turn around to the orchestra there
must be split-second response when I give the downbeat."
The fact that Danny did it all from memory and learned the songs just by listening
is incredible...especially when you consider that in 1978 he had over 200 selections
in his repertoire! Danny conducted many orchestras and did it beautifully. Itzhak
Perlman, in A Legacy of Laughter, said, “But whatever it is that he would do, the
orchestra sounded great. They sounded great. Danny had this incredible charisma on
the stage, something in the beat, something that gives an orchestra a gorgeous tone.”
Zubin Mehta, at one time the music director for the New York Philharmonic, had great
respect for Danny and his talent. He said, “[Danny] has got a clearer beat than three-fourths
of my colleagues,” (May 4, 1981) In another article, Mehta said, “He is an extremely
talented person. He has instant recall.” He also "recalled an instance when he was
visiting Kaye with composer Michel Legrand (“The Umbrellas of Cherbourg”). 'Legrand
fiddled around with the piano. Danny was not prepared for it, but instantly recalled
what Legrand had played. If he had learned to read music in his youth, he would really
have become a musical talent.'"
A typical concert with Danny has been captured on film--Live From Lincoln Center:
An Evening With Danny Kaye televised by PBS in September 1981. This particular concert
can be found on YouTube. If you're lucky, you might even still find a copy to purchase.
Typical comedic editions to the concert are as such: entering "with a whole quiver
of batons. He occasionally brought in the violins with a leg kick and conducted 'Flight
of the Bumble Bee' with a flexible red flyswatter." He also conducted one song facing
the audience so that they could see what occurred on the face of a conductor. He
imitated various conductors, including "the conductor who should have retired 100
years ago." (September 24, 1981) Over the years, Danny earned over $5 million for
the musicians' pensions.
Awards
In the mid-fifties, Danny had received an honorary Oscar for "[...]
for his unique talents, his service to the Academy, the motion picture industry,
and the American people." In 1982, he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
from The Academy Awards "for his charitable works," (March 4, 1987) and in 1984,
he was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors. He received two Golden Globes, one for
his role in On the Riviera (1951) and Me and the Colonel (1958). He was nominated
for a Golden Globe award for his roles in The Court Jester (1956) and Hans Christian
Andersen (1952) and for his role in the made-for-TV movie Skokie (1981). According
to this March 4, 1987 article, "He also received a special Tony award in 1953 and
Emmy awards for The Danny Kaye Show in 1964 and best children’s television special
in 1975."
His Health and Death
In a December 12, 1984 article, Danny said, "I enjoyed
sparkling health until I was 70. Then it all hit the fan." In February 1983, not
long after his 70th birthday, he had quadruple bypass surgery. Though he recovered
from the surgery, Danny contracted Hepatitis C from a blood transfusion. That didn't
stop him from attempting to work, however, as he felt led. After December 1984, when
Danny was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors, he had surgery for a hip replacement.
Later in 1985, he appeared in an episode of The Twilight Zone, "Paladin of the Lost
Hour." Early in 1986, he made a memorable guest appearance on The Cosby Show as Dr.
Burns, the dentist. This was to be his last appearance on film. Though he was struggling
physically, his performance was wonderful...as it always was. Aside from a paler
complexion and an older appearance, one might never have known that Danny was ill
with Hepatitis C. A little over a year later, on Sunday, March 1, 1987, Danny was
admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He was reported as in extremely critical
condition, suffering from hepatitis and internal bleeding. (March 3, 1987 - #1) At
3:58 a.m. on March 3, 1987, Danny died. One article said the cause was a heart attack
brought on by the "complications" of hepatitis and internal bleeding. (March 3, 1987
- #2) Another article listed the cause as "heart failure." (March 4, 1987) Ron Wise,
a hospital spokesman, reported that Danny's family was at his side--his wife, Sylvia,
and daughter, Dena--and that “They had a personal message, thanking his fans.” (March
3, 1987 - #1)
Danny brought so much joy and happiness to so many...
to those who saw his performances,
to those who saw his films,
and especially to so many of the children around the
world who had never even laid eyes on a movie screen.
He will always be missed.
