Throwback Thursday Musical Showcase: Danny Kaye Sings "You" on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1970

Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; 1911-1987) was an American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire novelty songs.

Kaye was born to Ukrainian Jewish immigrants in Brooklyn, the youngest of three boys for Jacob and Clara Nemerovsky Kaminsky. He was the only son born in the United States.

Kaye starred in 17 movies, notably Wonder Man (1945), The Kid from Brooklyn (1946), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), The Inspector General (1949), Hans Christian Andersen (1952), White Christmas (1954), and The Court Jester (1956). His films were popular, especially his bravura performances of patter songs and favorites such as "Inchworm" and "The Ugly Duckling". He was the first ambassador-at-large of UNICEF in 1954 and received the French Legion of Honor in 1986 for his years of work with the organization.

Here is Danny Kaye singing "You" in a performance on the Ed Sullivan Show in November 1970.

Enjoy!

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    #Throwback Thursday      #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Danny Kaye as the Swedish Chef's Uncle on The Muppet Show

One of our favorite parts of The Muppet Show was when comedians and TV stars would appear in roles supporting the muppet characters and blending into the family of muppets. 

A good example of this is when Danny Kaye was introduced as the uncle of the Swedish Chef, a beloved muppet character, playing along with sight gags and vocalizations.

In this skit, Danny Kaye as the Swedish Chef's uncle, helps him prepare a live turkey.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.



#Throwback Thursday, #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Danny Kaye - Master of Many Tongues

Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; 1911-1987) was an American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire novelty songs.

Kaye was born to Ukrainian Jewish immigrants in Brooklyn, the youngest of three boys for Jacob and Clara Nemerovsky Kaminsky. He was the only son born in the United States.

Kaye starred in 17 movies, notably Wonder Man (1945), The Kid from Brooklyn (1946), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), The Inspector General (1949), Hans Christian Andersen (1952), White Christmas (1954), and The Court Jester (1956).

In many of these movies, Kaye showed a great aptitude for foreign language double-talk, speaking rapidly in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Irish, and English. In this compilation from nine of these movies, he shows off this talent, which a decade later was perfected by Sid Caesar in his television shows.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.



#Throwback Thursday   #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Danny Kaye & Beverly Sills - Just Two Jewish Kids From Brooklyn

Danny Kaye (David Daniel Kaminsky) and Beverly Sills (Belle Miriam Silverman) were two of the greatest entertainers of their time. Danny Kaye as the great comedian and actor in many films, and Beverly Sills as a great opera star.

Kaye was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, on January 18, 1911 to Ukrainian Jewish immigrants Jacob and Clara Nemerovsky Kaminsky. He was the youngest of three sons. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire novelty songs.

His films were popular, especially his performances of patter songs and favorites such as "Inchworm" and "The Ugly Duckling." He was the first ambassador-at-large of UNICEF in 1954 and received the French Legion of Honour in 1986 for his years of work with the organization.

Sills' parents were Jewish immigrants from Odessa, Ukraine (then part of Russia) and Bucharest, Romania. She was raised in Brooklyn, where she was known, among friends, as "Bubbles" Silverman. As a child, she spoke Yiddish, Russian, Romanian, French and English. 

Although she sang a repertoire from Handel and Mozart to Puccini, Massenet and Verdi, she was known for her performances in coloratura soprano roles in live opera and recordings. 

Kaye and Sills never hid their origins and were proud of where they came from. In this duet, they identify themselves as two kids from Brooklyn who could speak Brooklynese. 

This video shows them at their funniest in a hilarious opera parody.

Enjoy!

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#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Musical Nostalgia: Danny Kaye and Harry Belafonte Sing Hava Nagila

Our collection of renditions of Hava Nagila keeps growing and growing. Since we started Jewish Humor Central in October 2009, we've posted 63 different versions from around the world.

Even today the song continues to appear in countries without a Jewish presence. But let's get a little nostalgic and revisit one of the segments from the four seasons of The Danny Kaye Show

In this episode, Harry Belafonte and Danny sang Hava Nagila on September 15, 1965. The full episode is available on The Best of the Danny Kaye Show 2-DVD collection. 

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Danny Kaye in a Scene from "Up In Arms"

Actor and comedian Danny Kaye made his first movie in 1944 during World War II. Yes, that was 72 years ago. It was called Up in Arms. Danny played a hypochondriac who gets drafted into the army and makes life miserable for his fellow GIs.

There's a funny scene in the film where Danny goes to see a movie with his friends and while waiting in the lobby, acts out a typical movie musical including the opening titles and credits.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)

The Great Jewish Comedians: Danny Kaye Plays Two Roles in William Tell Overture

Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; 1911-1987) was an American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire novelty songs.

Kaye was born to Ukrainian Jewish immigrants in Brooklyn, the youngest of three boys for Jacob and Clara Nemerovsky Kaminsky. He was the only son born in the United States.

Kaye starred in 17 movies, notably Wonder Man (1945), The Kid from Brooklyn (1946), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), The Inspector General (1949), Hans Christian Andersen (1952), White Christmas (1954), and The Court Jester (1956). His films were popular, especially his bravura performances of patter songs and favorites such as "Inchworm" and "The Ugly Duckling". He was the first ambassador-at-large of UNICEF in 1954 and received the French Legion of Honor in 1986 for his years of work with the organization.

One of the best examples of Kaye's patter songs is his rendition of the finale of Rossini's William Tell Overture. Kaye performed it on his Danny Kaye Show, which aired on CBS from 1963 to 1967.

The show premiered in black-and-white, but later switched to color broadcasts. At the time, Kaye was at the height of his popularity, having starred in a string of successful films in the 1940s and '50's, made successful personal appearances at such venues as the London Palladium, and appeared many times on television. 

His most recent films had been considered disappointing, but the television specials he starred in were triumphant, leading to this series. Prior to his television and film career, Kaye had made a name for himself with his own radio show, and numerous other guest appearances on other shows.

Today's video clip is remarkable, considering the state of technology in the 1960s. We had to watch it a few times, wondering who was playing William Tell's dad, before we realized that Kaye was playing both roles with a bit of camera trickery.

If you'd like to hear the piece played by a full orchestra, we're including a second video of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra performing it.

Enjoy, and Hi Yo Silver, Awayyyyyy!

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Comedy Film Classic: Danny Kaye in The Court Jester (The Vessel with the Pestle......)

This is the centennial year of Danny Kaye's birth to Jewish Ukrainian immigrants as David Daniel Kaminsky.

Kaye (1913-1987), a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian, was best known for his physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire nonsense songs. He started his career at the age of 13, performing in the Catskill Mountains of New York.

One of the best tongue twister routines in film comedy came at a crucial point in The Court Jester (1955), considered the best of Kaye's films. The plot is too convoluted to explain here, but you can get a synopsis from the Wikipedia entry for it.

There are many funny parts to the movie, but the most memorable and most often quoted is the rhyme that Kaye, as the jester made a knight, has to repeat to himself before a joust in order to avoid drinking a poisonous beverage.

The classic line, a great tongue twister, is "the pellet with the poison is in the vessel with the pestle. The chalice from the palace has the brew that is true." Just after Kaye memorizes the rhyme, he is told that there's been a change, because they broke the chalice from the palace. Now, "the pellet with the poison is in the flagon with the dragon and the vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true."

And as a special bonus for Danny Kaye fans, we add a video clip of him singing Anywhere I Wander from his portrayal of Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen in the 1952 film.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)