“Film Lyricist Sylvia Fine Top Hand With A Rhyme”
The Montreal Gazette – Feb. 16, 1960
By Joe Hyams
Hollywood, Feb. 15—(HTNS)—People I know claim that Sylvia Fine is the cleverest lyric and music writer in Hollywood.
Her husband, Danny Kaye, even boasts, “give Sylvia any subject at all and she’ll give you a rhyme.”
Such a challenge is not easily ignored so I arranged to visit Mrs. Kaye at her home the other day, ostensibly to talk about the excellent job she did writing the songs and scores of her last movie, The Five Pennies for which she has already received several awards. I mentioned the compliment her husband paid her one day while attending a karate (judo) lesson with me. Mrs. Kaye got us off to a great start, she said:
“You and my husband are mad for karate,
“Myself, I’m more dotty for stuff by Menotti.”
“I’d like to talk about The Five Pennies,” I said to which Mrs. Kaye answered:
“My work is not exactly like Omar Khayyam’s
“But I find rhymes for names like Hyams.”
“Do you think you’d stand a chance of getting an Academy Award nomination for The Five Pennies?”
“Anyone who is an Academy Award contender
“Becomes of his own work a telephone bender.
“But I want you to know that many and many’s
“The call I have not made anent The Five Pennies.”
“This constant talk of Academy Award nominations is a bore,” I agreed. Mrs. Kaye smiled at me, puckered her brows for a moment, stared off into space, and said:
“We’re sure the world is troubled by mistles
“And other little thorny thistles
“Like machine guns going off in Syria
“And uprisings going on in Algeria.
“Okay, so somebody’s rocking the boat
“But to us in Hollywood, it’s very remote.
“Let them beat their heads in London and Mosca,
“What we want to know is who’s getting the Osca.”
“Your lyrics are superb,” I said. Mrs. Kaye seemed pleased but noted:
“I enjoy panegyrics about my lyrics
“Which I happily listen through.
“And I pointedly say, ‘hey, by the way,
“‘I write the music, too.’”
“Since you’re going great guns, in the making of puns,
“What do you think of words and music written by other ones?” I asked shamefacedly.
Mrs. Kaye smiled sympathetically and noted:
“Verse that is sprinkled by consonant reiterates,
“Is usually the work of gifted illiterates.”
Obviously Mrs. Kaye was superb on show business subjects, but feelings he might have been prepared for our interview, I threw her a verbal curve and asked her what she thinks of politics. She said:
“Republicans are fixin’ to nominate Nixon.”
“How about one on Kennedy?” I asked. With scarcely a beat, Mrs. Kaye answered:
“Home from grade school came little John Kennedy.
“His father said, ‘pow! What, again a D?”
At this point Mr. Kaye came rushing into the room to say he had just made a successful solo flight from Palm Springs. Mrs. Kaye looked at him admiringly and said to me:
“Something is new under the sun.
“My husband is the Wright Brothers rolled into one.”
At this point I thought it best to leave, I thanked Mrs. Kaye but as I went out the door she had the last word.
“You unscan me and I’ll karate you.”