“Kaye at the Met”
The Evening News – Apr. 25, 1975
They grew up on the same block in the East New York section of Brooklyn; he the son
of a garment worker, she the daughter of a dentist. Oddly, although they lived on
the same block, the pair never met. No matter. The two were to cross paths in 1939,
when Danny Kaye, a budding comedian and Sylvia Fine, an unknown songwriter, worked
together in an off-
The show was a turkey, but it unwittingly fostered a new success: Danny and Sylvia. Married in 1940, their’s is one of the most lasting and remarkable marriages in the annals of show business.
Just how remarkable will be in evidence when Kaye stars in and Sylvia Fine (as she
known professionally) serves as executive producer for “Danny Kaye’s Look-
Not many people are aware of how much of Kaye’s success is intertwined with Miss Fine’s ability to provide the words and music which have shown off his unique talent. Beginning with “Anatole of Paris,” the first tune she turned out for Kaye, Miss Fine has written the musical material for virtually all of Kaye’s movies, among them “Up in Arms” and “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” She also served as Kaye’s producer on many motion pictures, on radio and television.
Given such a bountiful bunch of credits, it’s strange to hear the diminutive Miss Fine claim “to be lazy” about work. “Lazy and scared,” she says. “I only work when I have to. And I’m always afraid the next thing won’t be good.”
When she does sit down at the piano, she works at it. Hard. “I have high standards which often makes other people uncomfortable. I’m not a perfectionist. I believe that’s a most objectionable, egocentric remark. I only try to do my best.”
Is Kaye tough to write for? Well, his wife says, “The most difficult part is to get Danny to look at the material. Usually his first remarks is that the song’s too long. Most great performers—and there are only a few—are at their best when working before an audience, be it two or 2,000. Then he can improvise, which is one of his great talents.”
Another Kaye talent is his prowess as a gourmet chef, notably Chinese cuisine. Miss Fine admits to not adding up to much around pots and pans; not since her marriage, anyway. “In 1940 we were working La Martinique, a basement club on 52nd street. Three shows a night, seven nights a week. And it went on that way. Who had time to cook?” Nowadays she’s “a taster” for chef Kaye. “He won’t even let me observe the cooking. I tend to think everything needs more garlic.”
The parents of a daughter, Dena, who is a journalist, Miss Fine claims Dena inherited her mother’s musical talent and her father’s culinary skills. In the latter department it was a rather early blossoming.
“In Hollywood, Danny and I were forced to go out quite a bit. Dena wasn’t so happy about that so she protested.”
How?
“She boiled my garters.”