Transcript:
Review by Flo Sanders
October 28, 1949
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Hello there everyone. Just a week ago today we presented Danny Kaye on this program. Last night this great performer played his last show here in town, and this morning left for New York for a brief stopover on route to California.
Danny Kaye has left his mark on Pittsburgh, on the thousands who crowded into the
Stanley Theater to watch his incredible performances, and on the few dozen people
who were fortunate enough to get to know him personally. Danny broke the all-
The four times I went to see him pale in comparison with the records others established around here. Mr. M. A. Silver, who is zone manager for Warner Bros. Theaters in this area, admitted last night that in all his 35 years of dealing with show people he has never found a match for Danny Kaye. Mr. Silver practically lived at the Stanley this week. He watched 17 different shows. Now normally a man of Mr. Silver’s position would be satisfied to check box office receipts. But while he kept one eye on the box office all right, the other was on Danny. Last night as we watched Danny do his last show, Mr. Silver kept saying to me, “What a man. I love that boy.” And all of us who were there for that last brilliant show felt the same way.
You see, Danny Kaye is something more than a great artist; he’s a greater human being. If you saw him at the Stanley, you must recall the tender moments when Danny, standing on stage, leans on a cane given him by Sir Harry Lauder, whom he met while he was in Scotland last June; and as he spoke with great humility of meeting Sir Harry Lauder, he said something about how thrilling it had been to be with Lauder because he was as magnificent a human being as he was an artist. Well, the same goes for Danny. He is all of that.
Last night as the curtain came down on Danny’s last show here in town, the audience rose to its feet and sang “Auld Lang Syne.’ Now that doesn’t happen very often. In fact, Danny said later that the only other time he’d been given such a tribute was in London on closing night when the audience stayed in the theater past the hour when transportation was available, shouted to him that they would gladly walk home if he’d continue his performance. And he did until near midnight when the Britishers rose, and clasping hands each with his neighbor sang “Auld Lang Syne.” Danny tells about that in a way to make your heart skip a beat.
Well, just to show you the sort of grand fellow he is, last night, after receiving a similar ovation here in Pittsburgh, the curtains closed and a group of us standing backstage saw Danny stand quietly for a moment. And then what do you think he did? He didn’t come to us to gather more applause and praise. He turned to Max Adkins and his orchestra and told them how swell they’d been to work with in the sweet, gentle manner that is Danny Kaye. On that score by the way, musicians who work shows of this kind are accustomed to laughing on cue, doing as directed. But let me tell you, with unpredictable Danny Kaye, the boys at the Stanley Theater, the musicians, had no idea what was going to happen next. Their laughter was legitimate. Their love for the man was something beautiful to behold.
Well, the contrast between the man and the artist is rather astonishing. On stage Danny Kaye is a whirling dervish of energy. Off stage he’s quiet, relaxed, and kind of sweet. The sort of a guy men, as well as women, want to hug. Mr. Silver and his wife hosted a party in their home for Danny after the show last night. And when Moe Silver hugged and kissed Danny, as he introduced him to friends gathered there, didn’t seem at all unusual. You have only to see the adoration his personal manager and accompanist have for him to realize what a personality he is. Those two men who travel with him day in and day out are crazy for him. And though they’ve seen him work for years, Eddie and Sammy still fall apart when they see Danny go into a routine, even if it’s for an informal gathering like last night’s.
Once this week I asked Danny how it felt to realize in your own lifetime that someday your name would be recorded among the greats of the entertainment world. And Danny said very quietly and sincerely, “It terrorizes me, Florence. I almost think it was better in the days when I was struggling to get somewhere than it is now when I worry about being worthy of the name I’ve made.” Most performers worry about staying on top, but Danny didn’t mean that. With him, the worry comes from being a little of frightened of the adoration heaped upon him. It’s like a trust given him that he wants to hold tightly to his heart and nurture. Well, he needn’t fear for anything because from the devotion I saw lavished on him during this past week in Pittsburgh, Danny Kaye just can’t miss. He’ll always have fans and friends, and the two are interchangeable because with Danny Kaye every fan feels a friendly warmth for him and every friend is an adoring fan.