Likes

Many articles list him as enjoying and eating steak

Tweed jackets and slacks
Molded rubber shoes he dubbed “Space Shoes”
Knitted neckties in solid colors (mainly black)
Japanese food
Potato pancakes (also verified in The Danny Kaye Story pg 105)
Corned beef sandwiches
Conducting symphony orchestras

Reference: (Sept. 24, 1962)

Opera

Reference: (April 24, 1975)

Jack Benny

Reference: (Sept. 24, 1962) (March 26, 1944)

John Barrymore, actor

Reference: (March 26, 1944)

Enjoyed lounging around in sports clothes; liked feeling comfortable

Reference: (Dec. 1, 1964)

Likes funny women "but those who still remain women."
Some of the funny women he enjoyed: Carole Lombard, Rosalind Russell, and Eve Arden

Reference: (Aug. 12, 1957)

Likes to watch and study people
Likes to pick up foreign phrases to use in his routines

Reference: (May 17, 1944)

Liked caviar
Liked Kentucky Fried Chicken

Reference: “Her Heart Belongs to Daddy”

Dislikes

Getting “dressed up”
People who take themselves too seriously
Sit-down dinners
Regular hours
Being confined to any one place for long periods of time—unless it’s a podium in front of a symphony orchestra

Reference: (Sept. 24, 1962)

Chow mein

Reference: (February 22, 1975)

Refuses to write letters

Reference: (Aug. 16, 1957)

Hates to see earrings on women

Reference: (Aug. 16, 1957) (May 1951)

Doesn't like veils on women

Reference: (May 1951)

Doesn't like being "regarded as an uncultured funnyman"

Reference: (Oct. 1948)

Other Interesting Details

About his house...

Lived in a Georgian-style house in Beverly Hills, 4 bedrooms, an office, servants quarters, and a pool

Had fulltime help and a gardener

Owned a boxer named Beavy and a cat named Cream Nose
(in the book, The Danny Kaye Story, published in 1958, it is noted that he had 2 boxers at the time)

Reference: (Dec. 1, 1964)

Admitted he was "a health nut"; took vitamins

Reference:  (Nov. 1970)

His press agent, Bob McElwaine, said that he never took a drink except just before bed "because he says the stuff puts him to sleep"

Reference: (Aug. 16, 1957)

As described in a May 17, 1944 article:

Volatile, "acts by instinct"
"Goes everywhere on the run; walking is too slow"
"Drunks fascinate him, but he seldom has more than a glass of beer himself"
"Sings operatic arias on any and all occasions, especially in the shower"
"Prides himself on never breaking a promise or verbal contract"

Danny Kaye’s House

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