“Danny Kaye Quits Golf For Hobby of Flying”
By: Joseph Finnigan
St. Petersburg Times – May 15, 1961
HOLLYWOOD (UPI) – Comedian Danny Kaye doesn’t claim to by any Alan Shepard, but the funny performer has gone in for flying in a big way.
In fact, the bushyhaired comedian has planked down more than $50,000 for his own twin engine airplane.
Kaye has been taking lessons for more than a year and has been given a private pilot’s
license which allows him to skipper twin-
“I’m no hero though,” said Danny, recalling a recent cross country flight he made. “We got into Montgomery, Ala., and the weather was bad. So, I said, ‘This little bird wants to stay on the ground.’
“We stayed there for a day and I took a commercial airliner out.”
It was a relaxed Danny, lounging around his beautiful mahogany decorated dressing room discussing flying like it was a routine golf game.
Danny says golf helped him become a flyer, if you can imagine anybody being inspired by a little round ball.
“I used to play golf,” he said between work sessions for “On the Double.” "But, I took a whole year off and knew I wanted to do something besides play golf. There was nothing stimulating about the game.
“I went to ground school for months and finally took a test for my license,” he explained. “However, I bought my airplane before I got the license and had about 150 hours flying time prior to getting the ticket. I think the minimum flying time before you take a test is 40 hours, but I waited until I was ready.”
Now that he’s a confirmed flyer, Danny spends more time in the air and less on putting greens.
“No more golf,” he said with a smile. “I got this to keep away from people. I don’t find myself talking about makeup and show business with those fellows. They speak to me like I work in a hangar.”