Editing Danny Kaye (section)

==Career==
In 1937, Kaye's film debut came from a contract with New York-based [[Educational Pictures]] for a series of two-reel comedies. He usually played a manic, dark-haired, fast-talking Russian in these low-budget shorts, opposite young hopefuls [[June Allyson]] and [[Imogene Coca]].<ref>{{cite web| title= Danny Kaye's "First Film" a Fraud| quote=Many sources assert that Kaye's debut was in a 1935 comedy short ''Moon Over Manhattan'', but he does not appear in the film| url=http://thedannykayeshow.blogspot.com/2013/02/danny-kayes-first-film-fraud.html| website=The Danny Kaye Show| date=February 27, 2013}}</ref> The Kaye series ended abruptly when the studio shut down in 1938. He was working in the Catskills in 1937 under the name Danny Kolbin.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/bobhope/images/vc53ap1.jpg |title="Highlights and Shadows"-front of program |date=July 4, 1937 |website=The President Players |access-date=February 25, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/bobhope/images/vc53ap2.jpg |title="Highlights and Shadows" – inside of program |date=July 4, 1937 |website=The President Players |access-date=February 25, 2011}}</ref>

His next venture was a short-lived [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] show with Sylvia Fine as the pianist, lyricist, and composer. ''[[The Straw Hat Revue]]'' opened on September 29, 1939, and closed after 10 weeks, but critics noticed Kaye's work.<ref name=Clowns/><ref name=TV>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=T9paAAAAIBAJ&pg=5291,8225005 |title=Who Is Sylvia? |date=October 30, 1960 |newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]] |access-date=January 18, 2011}}</ref> The reviews brought an offer for both Kaye and his bride Sylvia to work at [[La Martinique]], a New York City nightclub. Kaye performed with Sylvia as his accompanist. At La Martinique, playwright [[Moss Hart]] saw Danny perform, and that led to Hart's casting him in his hit Broadway comedy ''[[Lady in the Dark]]''.<ref name=Clowns/><ref name=Time/>

In 1941, aged 30, Kaye scored a triumph playing Russell Paxton in ''Lady in the Dark'', starring [[Gertrude Lawrence]]. His show-stopping number was "[[Tschaikowsky (and Other Russians)]]" by [[Kurt Weill]] and [[Ira Gershwin]] in which he sang the names of a string of Russian composers at breakneck speed, seemingly without taking a breath.<ref name="Star"/><ref name=King>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rkIqAAAAIBAJ&pg=3849,3453774| title=Danny Kaye: King of Comedy| last=Remington| first=Fred| date=January 12, 1964| newspaper=[[The Pittsburgh Press]]| access-date=March 10, 2011}}</ref> In the next Broadway season, he was the star of a show about a young man who is drafted called ''[[Let's Face It!]]''.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=X7EtAAAAIBAJ&pg=4949,1337710| title=Danny Kaye as Musical Draftee Brightens the Broadway Scene| last=Edel| first=Leon| date=November 8, 1941| newspaper=[[Montreal Gazette]]| access-date=October 17, 2023}}</ref>

His feature-film debut was in producer [[Samuel Goldwyn]]'s [[Technicolor]] 1944 comedy ''[[Up in Arms]]'', a remake of Goldwyn's [[Eddie Cantor]] comedy ''[[Whoopee! (film)|Whoopee!]]'' (1930).<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aX8uAAAAIBAJ&pg=5349,3577434|title=Danny Kaye Makes Successful Debut in 'Up in Arms'| date=May 20, 1944| last=Whittaker| first=Herbert| newspaper=Montreal Gazette| access-date=January 22, 2011}}</ref> Rival producer [[Robert M. Savini]] cashed in by compiling three of Kaye's Educational Pictures shorts into a patchwork feature entitled ''The Birth of a Star'' (1945). Studio mogul Goldwyn wanted Kaye's prominent nose fixed to look less Jewish;<ref name=Kanfer>{{cite book| last=Kanfer| first=Stefan| title=A Summer World: The Attempt to Build a Jewish Eden in the Catskills From the Days of the Ghetto to the Rise and Decline of the Borscht Belt| year=1989| publisher=Farrar, Straus & Giroux| location=New York| isbn=978-0-3742-7180-0| page=157| url=https://archive.org/details/summerworldattem0000kanf/page/156/mode/2up?q=kaye| edition=1st}}</ref><ref name="Kaye site"/> Kaye refused, but he did allow his red hair to be bleached blond, apparently because it looked better in Technicolor.<ref name="Kaye site">{{cite web| last=Nolan| first=J. Leigh| title=Danny! Danny Kate F.A.Q.s| url=http://www.dannykaye.net/dkfaq.htm#hair| access-date=January 8, 2013| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123173728/http://www.dannykaye.net/dkfaq.htm#hair| archive-date=January 23, 2013}}</ref>

[[File:Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye in White Christmas trailer.jpg|thumb|left|''[[White Christmas (film)|White Christmas]]'' trailer]]
Kaye starred in a radio program, ''[[The Danny Kaye Show (radio program)|The Danny Kaye Show]]'', on CBS from 1945 to 1946.<ref>{{cite news| title=Helen and Danny: O-Kaye! Crowd Howls| date=February 2, 1946| last=Foley| first=Roy L.| newspaper=[[The Milwaukee Sentinel]]}}</ref> The program's popularity rose quickly. Within a year, he tied with [[Jimmy Durante]] for fifth place in the ''Radio Daily'' popularity poll.<ref name=Time/> Kaye was asked to participate in a [[USO]] tour following the end of World War II. It meant that he would be absent from his radio show for nearly two months at the beginning of the season. Kaye's friends filled in with a different guest host each week.<ref name=Deli>{{cite web| url=http://www.digitaldeliftp.com/DigitalDeliToo/dd2jb-Danny-Kaye-Show.html| title=Danny Kaye| website=DigitalDeli| access-date=January 14, 2011| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106215433/http://digitaldeliftp.com/DigitalDeliToo/dd2jb-Danny-Kaye-Show.html| archive-date=January 6, 2012}}</ref> Kaye was the first American actor to visit postwar Tokyo. He had toured there some ten years before with the vaudeville troupe.<ref name=Airwaves>{{cite news| title=Riding the Airwaves| author=BCL| date=November 12, 1945| work=[[The Milwaukee Journal]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6C8rAAAAIBAJ&pg=2576,3628988| title=Lily Pons the Guest Star Tonight of Danny Kaye, Back from Tour| date=November 23, 1945| newspaper=Montreal Gazette| access-date=January 15, 2011}}</ref> When Kaye asked to be released from his radio contract in mid-1946, he agreed not to accept a regular radio show for one year and only limited guest appearances on other radio programs.<ref name="Deli"/><ref>{{cite news| first=Dorothy| last=Manners| title=Danny Kaye released from his radio contract| newspaper=[[The Milwaukee Sentinel]]| date=May 3, 1946}}</ref> Many of the show's episodes survive today, notable for Kaye's opening signature patter ("Git gat gittle, giddle-di-ap, giddle-de-tommy, riddle de biddle de roop, da-reep, fa-san, skeedle de woo-da, fiddle de wada, reep!").<ref name=Time/>

Kaye starred in several movies with actress [[Virginia Mayo]] in the 1940s, and is known for films such as ''[[The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947 film)|The Secret Life of Walter Mitty]]'' (1947), ''[[The Inspector General (1949 film)|The Inspector General]]'' (1949), ''[[On the Riviera]]'' (1951) co-starring [[Gene Tierney]], ''[[Knock on Wood (1954 film)|Knock on Wood]]'' (1954), ''[[White Christmas (film)|White Christmas]]'' (1954), ''[[The Court Jester]]'' (1956), ''[[Me and the Colonel]]'' (1958), and ''[[Merry Andrew (film)|Merry Andrew]]'' (1958). Kaye starred in two pictures based on biographies, ''[[Hans Christian Andersen (film)|Hans Christian Andersen]]'' (1952) the Danish storyteller and ''[[The Five Pennies]]'' (1959) about jazz pioneer [[Red Nichols]]. His wife, writer/lyricist Sylvia Fine, wrote many tongue-twisting songs for which Kaye became famous.<ref name=Wife/><ref name=Fine/> She was also an associate film producer.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AH4tAAAAIBAJ&pg=5142,2228369| title=Danny Kaye Film Set At Warner's| author=Brady, Thomas F.| date=November 13, 1947| newspaper=Montreal Gazette| access-date=January 18, 2011}}</ref> Some of Kaye's films included the theme of doubles, two people who look identical (both Danny Kaye) being mistaken for each other to comic effect.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://loc.gov/exhibits/danny-kaye-and-sylvia-fine/danny-kaye-in-film.html| title=Danny Kaye in Film – Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine: Two Kids from Brooklyn| date=February 14, 2013| website=Library of Congress| access-date=February 1, 2019}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}[[Image:Danny Kaye ww2 45.jpg|thumb|right|Danny Kaye on USO tour at Sasebo, Japan, October 25, 1945. Kaye and his friend, Dodgers manager Leo Durocher, made the trip.<ref name=Airwaves/>]] While his wife wrote most of Kaye's material, he created much of it himself, often while performing. Kaye had one character he never shared with the public; Kaplan, the owner of a rubber company, came to life only for family and friends. His wife, Sylvia, described the Kaplan character:<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4T01AAAAIBAJ&pg=7384,576802| title=It Happened Last Night| last=Wilson| first=Earl| date=July 4, 1959| newspaper=[[Sarasota Herald-Tribune]]| access-date=January 18, 2011}}</ref>{{blockquote|He doesn't have any first name. Even his wife calls him just Kaplan. He's an illiterate, pompous character who advertises his philanthropies. Jack Benny or Dore Schary might say, "Kaplan, why do you hate unions so?" If Danny feels like doing Kaplan that night, he might be off on Kaplan for two hours.}}

When he appeared at the [[London Palladium]] in 1948, he "roused the Royal family to laughter and was the first of many performers who have turned British variety into an American preserve." ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' described his reception as "worshipful hysteria" and noted that the royal family, for the first time, left the [[royal box]] to watch from the front row of the orchestra.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ci41AAAAIBAJ&pg=2305,591697| title=Kaye: everyone's favourite| author=Young, Andrew| date= March 4, 1987| newspaper=[[The Glasgow Herald]]| access-date=December 15, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TtQMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1357,1943058| title=Danny Kaye Won't Talk of Royalty| author=Januzzi, Gene| date=October 23, 1949| newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]| access-date=January 15, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=s-orAAAAIBAJ&pg=1385,2017653| title=Danny Kaye Is a Real Showoff| author=Handsaker, Gene| date=October 11, 1948| newspaper=[[Kentucky New Era]]| location=Hopkinsville| access-date=March 12, 2011}}</ref> He related that he had no idea of the familial connections when the [[David Mountbatten, 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven|Marquess of Milford Haven]] introduced himself after a show and said he would like his cousins to see Kaye perform.<ref name=King/> Kaye stated he never returned to the venue because no way existed to recreate the magic of that time.<ref name=London>{{cite news| url=https://www.nydailynews.com/1996/12/10/the-many-lives-of-danny-kaye/| title=The Many Lives of Danny Kaye| author=Bianculli, David| date=December 10, 1996| newspaper=[[New York Daily News]]| access-date=October 17, 2023| url-access=subscription}}</ref> Kaye had an invitation to return to London for a ''[[Royal Variety Performance]]'' in November of the same year.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.eabf.org.uk/royal-variety-performance/archive/1940s/1948| title=Royal Variety Performance| year=1948| website=Entertainment Artistes Benenevolent Fund| access-date=January 22, 2011| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209133256/http://www.eabf.org.uk/royal-variety-performance/archive/1940s/1948| archive-date=February 9, 2011}}</ref> When the invitation arrived, Kaye was busy with ''The Inspector General'' (which had a working title of ''Happy Times''). [[Warner Bros.]] stopped the film to allow their star to attend.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=824rAAAAIBAJ&pg=4316,3809280| title=Royal Invitation for Danny Kaye| date=October 20, 1948| newspaper=Montreal Gazette| access-date=January 22, 2011}}</ref> When his Decca labelmates [[The Andrews Sisters]] began their engagement at the London Palladium on the heels of Kaye's successful 1948 appearance there, the trio was well received and [[David Lewin]] of the ''Daily Express'' declared: "The audience gave the Andrews Sisters the Danny Kaye roar!"<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

He hosted the [[24th Academy Awards]] in 1952. The program was broadcast on radio; telecasts of the Oscar ceremony came later. During the 1950s, Kaye visited Australia, where he played [[Buttons (pantomime)|Buttons]] in a production of ''[[Cinderella]]'' in Sydney. In 1953, Kaye started a production company, Dena Pictures, named for his daughter. ''Knock on Wood'' was the first film produced by his firm. The firm expanded into television in 1960 under the name Belmont Television.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nAlBAAAAIBAJ&pg=3858,794217| title=Friday Film Notes-Danny--Producer| last=Goldie| first=Tom| date=July 10, 1953| newspaper=[[Glasgow Times|Evening Times]]| location=Glasgow| access-date=October 17, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GWscAAAAIBAJ&pg=2662,2550219| title=Danny Kaye Founds Film Firm| date=December 6, 1960| newspaper=[[The Pittsburgh Press]]| access-date=March 10, 2011}}</ref>

Kaye entered television in 1956, on the CBS show ''[[See It Now]]'' with [[Edward R. Murrow]].<ref>{{cite news| title=Found at Last: A Happy Comedian| author=McManus, Margaret| date=September 23, 1956| newspaper=[[The Milwaukee Journal]] }}</ref> ''The Secret Life of Danny Kaye'' combined his 50,000-mile, ten-country tour as UNICEF ambassador with music and humor.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://newspapers.com/article/the-miami-news-danny-kaye-gives-tv-its-f/133631683/| title=Danny Kaye Gives TV Its Finest 90 Minutes| last=Mercer| first=Charles| date=December 5, 1956| newspaper=[[The Miami News]]| access-date=October 17, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7_YvAAAAIBAJ&pg=7030,339720| title=Color Shows, Danny Kaye, Draw Attention| author=Pearson, Howard| date=December 3, 1956| newspaper=[[The Deseret News]]| location=Salt Lake City| access-date=January 19, 2011}}</ref> His first solo effort was in 1960 with a one-hour special produced by Sylvia and sponsored by [[General Motors]], with similar specials in 1961 and 1962.<ref name=Clowns/>

[[File:Danny Kaye portrait.jpg|thumb|left|Kaye at Schiphol on October 5, 1955]]
He hosted ''[[The Danny Kaye Show]]'' from 1963 to 1967; it won four [[Emmy awards]] and a [[Peabody award]].<ref name="Excelled">{{cite news| title=Danny Kaye always excelled as an entertainer and in life| last=Drew| first=Mike| date=March 4, 1987| newspaper=[[The Milwaukee Journal]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.mateas.com/DannyKaye/TV1963Season.htm| title=The Danny Kaye Episode Guide| website=Mateas Media Consulting| access-date=February 2, 2011| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029160104/http://www.mateas.com/DannyKaye/TV1963Season.htm| archive-date=October 29, 2009}}</ref> His last cinematic starring role came in 1963's ''[[The Man from the Diners' Club]]''.

Beginning in 1964, he acted as television host to the CBS telecasts of [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]]'s ''[[The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz]]''. Kaye did a stint as a ''[[What's My Line?]]'' mystery guest on the Sunday-night CBS-TV quiz program. Kaye was later a guest panelist on that show. He also appeared on the interview program ''[[Here's Hollywood]]''. In the 1970s, Kaye tore a ligament in his leg during the run of the [[Richard Rodgers]] musical ''[[Two by Two (musical)|Two by Two]]'', but went on with the show, appearing with his leg in a cast and cavorting on stage in a wheelchair.<ref name="Excelled"/><ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=u64tAAAAIBAJ&pg=2126,4385316| title=Real people go to matinees and Danny Kaye loves 'em| author-link=William A. Raidy| first=William A.| last=Raidy| date=February 17, 1971| newspaper=Montreal Gazette| access-date=January 19, 2011}}</ref> He had done much the same on his television show in 1964, when his right leg and foot were burned from a cooking accident. Camera shots were planned so television viewers did not see Kaye in his wheelchair.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sgBWAAAAIBAJ&pg=3155,3543465| title=Accident Confines Danny Kaye to Chair| last=Lowry| first=Cynthia| date=April 17, 1964| newspaper=[[Eugene Register-Guard]]| access-date=January 15, 2011}}</ref>

In 1976, he played [[Geppetto]] in a television musical adaptation of ''[[Pinocchio (1976 TV program)|Pinocchio]]'' with [[Sandy Duncan]] in the title role. Kaye portrayed Captain Hook opposite [[Mia Farrow]] in a [[Peter Pan (1976 musical)|musical version of ''Peter Pan'']] featuring songs by [[Anthony Newley]] and [[Leslie Bricusse]]. He later guest-starred in episodes of ''[[The Muppet Show]]'' and ''[[The Cosby Show]]'',<ref name="Gazette"/> and in the 1980s revival ''[[The Twilight Zone (1985 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]''.

In many films, as well as on stage, Kaye proved to be an able actor, singer, dancer, and comedian. He showed his serious side as ambassador for [[UNICEF]] and in his dramatic role in the memorable TV film ''[[Skokie (film)|Skokie]]'', when he played a [[Holocaust]] survivor.<ref name="Excelled"/> Before his death in 1987, Kaye conducted an orchestra during a comical series of concerts organized for UNICEF fundraising. Kaye received two [[Academy Awards]] - an [[Academy Honorary Award]] in 1955 and [[the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award]] in 1982. That year, he received the [[Screen Actors Guild]] annual award.<ref name="Star"/>

In 1980, Kaye hosted and sang in the 25th anniversary of [[Disneyland Park (Anaheim)|Disneyland]] celebration and hosted the opening celebration for [[Epcot]] in 1982 (EPCOT Center at the time). Both were aired on primetime television in the U.S.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dizavenue.com/2015/03/disney-documentary-hour-disneylands.html |title=Disney Avenue: Disney Documentary Hour: Disneyland's 25th Anniversary |website=Diz Avenue |access-date=July 7, 2018 |archive-date=July 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707172711/https://www.dizavenue.com/2015/03/disney-documentary-hour-disneylands.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thisdayindisneyhistory.com/EpcotGrandOpening.html |title=EPCOT Grand Opening |website=www.thisdayindisneyhistory.com |access-date=July 7, 2018}}</ref>

===Career in music===
[[File:Danny Kaye visit to Israel (997009327076905171).jpg|thumb|alt=Kaye during his visit to Israel, 1956, Boris Carmi, Meitar collection, National Library of Israel|Kaye during his visit to Israel, 1956, [[Boris Carmi]], Meitar collection, [[National Library of Israel]]]]
While Kaye claimed he could not read music, he was said to have [[perfect pitch]].<ref>{{cite web| title=Danny Kaye – Gentleman Icon| url=https://theperfectgentleman.tv/danny-kaye-gentleman-icon/| first=Zacchary| last=Falconer-Barfield| date=October 15, 2014| website=The Perfect Gentleman| access-date=October 17, 2023| archive-date=September 22, 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922123736/https://theperfectgentleman.tv/danny-kaye-gentleman-icon/| url-status=dead}}</ref> A flamboyant performer with his own distinctive style, "easily adapting from outrageous novelty songs to tender ballads" (according to critic Jason Ankeny), in 1945, Kaye began hosting his own CBS radio program, in which he performed a number of hit songs, including "[[Dinah (song)|Dinah]]" and "[[Minnie the Moocher]]".<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web| first=Jason| last=Ankeny| url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/danny-kaye-mn0000029750/biography| title=Danny Kaye biography at| website=[[AllMusic]]| access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref>

In 1947, Kaye teamed up with [[The Andrews Sisters]] (Patty, Maxene, and LaVerne) on Decca Records, producing the number-three ''Billboard'' hit "Civilization (Bongo, Bongo, Bongo)". The success of the pairing prompted both acts to record through 1950, producing such rhythmically comical fare as "[[The Woody Woodpecker Song]]" (based on the bird from the [[Walter Lantz]] cartoons and a ''Billboard'' hit for the quartet), "Put 'em in a Box, Tie 'em with a Ribbon (And Throw 'em in the Deep Blue Sea)", "The Big Brass Band from Brazil", "It's a Quiet Town (In Crossbone County)", "Amelia Cordelia McHugh (Mc Who?)", "Ching-a-ra-sa-sa", and a duet by Danny and Patty Andrews of "[[Orange Colored Sky]]". The acts teamed for two yuletide favorites - a frantic, harmonic rendition of "A Merry Christmas at Grandmother's House (Over the River and Through the Woods)" and a duet by Danny and Patty, "[[All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth]]".<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book| last=Sforza| first=John| title=Swing It! The Andrews Sisters Story| url=https://archive.org/details/swingitandrewssi00sfor/page/116/mode/2up?q=%22kaye+roar%22| publisher=University of Kentucky Press| year=2000| page=117| isbn=978-0-8131-2136-9}}</ref>

Kaye's debut album, ''Columbia Presents Danny Kaye'', had been released in 1942 by Columbia Records with songs performed to the accompaniment of [[Maurice Abravanel]] and [[Johnny Green]]. The album was reissued as a Columbia LP in 1949 and is described by the critic Bruce Eder as "a bit tamer than some of the stuff that Kaye hit with later in the '40s and in the '50s, and for reasons best understood by the public, doesn't attract nearly the interest of his kids' records and overt comedy routines".<ref name="allmusic_1949">{{cite web| first=Bruce| last=Eder| url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/danny-kaye-mw0001447249|title=Danny Kaye 1949 album review| website=AllMusic| access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref>

In 1950, a Decca single, "[[I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts]]", was released, and became another chart hit for him.<ref name="allmusic"/> His second Columbia LP album ''Danny Kaye Entertains'' (1953, Columbia) included five songs recorded in 1941 from his Broadway musical ''Lady in the Dark'', most notably "[[Tschaikowsky (and Other Russians)]]".<ref name="allmusic_195o">{{cite web| first=Bruce| last=Eder| url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/danny-kaye-entertains-mw0001452035| title=Danny Kaye Entertains record review| website=AllMusic| access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref>

Following the success of the film ''Hans Christian Andersen'' (1952), two of its songs written by [[Frank Loesser]] and sung by Kaye, "[[Thumbelina (Frank Loesser song)|Thumbelina]]" and "[[Wonderful Copenhagen]]", reached the charts; the former title became a minor US hit, and the latter reached number five on the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref name="allmusic"/><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{cite book| last=Whitburn| first=Joel| url=https://archive.org/details/joelwpopmemories00whit/page/248/mode/2up?q=thumbelina| title=Joel Whitburn's Pop memories, 1890-1954: the history of American popular music: compiled from America's popular music charts 1890-1954| year=1986| page=248| publisher=Record Research| isbn=978-0-8982-0083-6| location=Menomonee Falls, Wis.}}</ref> In 1953, Decca released ''Danny at the Palace'', a live recording made at the New York Palace Theater,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/Danny-Kaye-Danny-At-The-Palace/master/471611|title=Danny at the Palace|publisher=Discogs|access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref> followed by ''Knock On Wood'' (Decca, 1954) a set of songs from the movie of the same name sung by Kaye, accompanied by [[Victor Young]] and His Singing Strings.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.discogs.com/Danny-Kaye-Knock-On-Wood/release/5289812| title=Knock on Wood OST| website=Discogs| access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref>
[[File:Danny Kaye-Nancy Wilson - 1965.JPG|thumb|left|Singer [[Nancy Wilson (jazz singer)|Nancy Wilson]] appearing on his show in 1965]]
In 1956, Kaye signed a three-year recording contract with [[Capitol Records]], which released his single "Love Me Do" in December of that year.<ref>[http://www.45cat.com/record/cl14672 Love Me Do/Ciu Ciu Bella]. Record details @ 45cat</ref> The B-side, "Ciu Ciu Bella", with lyrics written by Sylvia Fine, was inspired by an episode in [[Rome]] when Kaye, on a mission for UNICEF, befriended a 7-year-old child with [[polio]] in a children's hospital, who sang this song for him in Italian.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=egoEAAAAMBAJ&q=danny%20kaye%20ciu%20ciu%20bella%20billboard&pg=PA30| title=Kaye Signs 3-Year Pact With Capitol| magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]| date=December 15, 1956| page=30| access-date=October 17, 2023}}</ref>

In 1958, [[Saul Chaplin]] and [[Johnny Mercer]] wrote songs for ''Merry Andrew'', a film starring Kaye as a British teacher attracted to the circus. The score added up to six numbers, all sung by Kaye; conductor [[Billy May]]'s 1950 composition "Bozo's Circus Band" (renamed "Music of the Big Top Circus Band") was deposited on the second side of the ''Merry Andrew'' soundtrack, released in 1958.<ref>{{cite web| first=William| last=Ruhlmann| url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/merry-andrew-original-soundtrack-mw0000417149| title=Merry Andrew soundtrack| website=AllMusic| access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref> A year later, another soundtrack came out, for ''The Five Pennies'' (in which Kaye starred as 1920s cornet player [[Red Nichols]]), featuring [[Louis Armstrong]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.discogs.com/Danny-Kaye-2-Louis-Armstrong-The-Five-Pennies/master/143201| title=The Five Pennies| website=[[Discogs]]| access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref>

In the 1960s and 1970s, Kaye regularly conducted world-famous orchestras, although he had to learn the scores by ear.<ref name="official">{{cite web| url=http://dannykaye.com/bio| title=Danny Kaye official biography| access-date=January 13, 2015| archive-date=August 28, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828102544/http://dannykaye.com/bio| url-status=usurped}}</ref> Kaye's style, even if accompanied by unpredictable antics (he once traded the baton for a flyswatter to conduct "The Flight of the Bumblebee")<ref name="official"/> was praised by the likes of [[Zubin Mehta]], who once stated that Kaye "has a very efficient conducting style".<ref name="KennedyCenter"/> His ability with an orchestra was mentioned by [[Dimitri Mitropoulos]], then conductor of the [[New York Philharmonic Orchestra]]. After Kaye's appearance, Mitropoulos remarked, "Here is a man who is not musically trained, who cannot even read music and he gets more out of my orchestra than I have."<ref name=Conversation>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LIUwAAAAIBAJ&pg=4058,2842167| title=A Conversation With Danny Kaye| last=Goodman| first=Mark| date=December 23, 1979| newspaper=[[Lakeland Ledger]]| access-date=March 10, 2011}}</ref> Kaye was invited to conduct symphonies as charity fundraisers<ref name=Wife/><ref name="Star"/> and was the conductor of the all-city marching band at the season opener of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1984. Over his career, he raised over US$5 million in support of musician pension funds.<ref name="KennedyCenter">{{cite web| title=Biography of Danny Kaye| website=[[John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts|The Kennedy Center]]| url=http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&entitY_id=3748&source_type=A| access-date=March 28, 2015| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100226141257/http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&entitY_id=3748&source_type=A| archive-date=February 26, 2010 }}</ref>

===Imitations===
Kaye was sufficiently popular to inspire imitations:
* The 1946 [[Warner Bros.]] cartoon ''[[Book Revue (film)|Book Revue]]'' had a sequence with [[Daffy Duck]] wearing a blond wig and impersonating Kaye.<ref>{{cite book| last=Barrier| first=Michael| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zDJXnzMh7bkC&pg=PA463| title=Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age| year=2003| page=463| orig-year=1999| publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]| via=[[Google Books]]| isbn=978-0-1951-6729-0| access-date=September 13, 2016}}</ref>
* Satirical songwriter [[Tom Lehrer]]'s 1953 song "[[Lobachevsky (song)|Lobachevsky]]" was based on a number that Kaye had done, about the Russian director [[Constantin Stanislavski]], with the affected Russian accent. Lehrer mentioned Kaye in an opening monologue, citing him as an "idol since childbirth".<ref>{{cite web| last=Lehrer| first=Tom| title=Lobachevsky Lyrics| website=[[Metrolyrics]]| url=http://www.metrolyrics.com/lobachevsky-lyrics-tom-lehrer.html| access-date=March 17, 2018| archive-date=March 18, 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318120423/http://www.metrolyrics.com/lobachevsky-lyrics-tom-lehrer.html| url-status=unfit}}</ref>
* [[Superman]] creators [[Jerry Siegel]] and [[Joe Shuster]] fashioned a short-lived superhero title, ''[[Funnyman (comics)|Funnyman]]'', taking inspiration from Kaye's persona.