“Kaye has come a long way”

The Free Lance-Star – Nov. 17, 1981

By: Earle Copp (TV Editor)

New York City to Skokie, Ill., is a shorter distance in miles than the route Danny Kaye has traveled to get from one to the other.

On the way the veteran comedian has taken the road from the Big Apple to Hollywood many times, but his stop in Skokie marks a milestone in his career.

Kaye reached the big time in 1940 on the stage in “Lady in the Dark” when he was able to pronounce the names of 50 Russian composers in a record 38 seconds. After another stage hit he went on to the movies where he scored in “Up in Arms” in 1944 and then added an impressive list of motion pictures.

Kaye has been in many other roles—he has conducted the New York Philharmonic and has been a goodwill ambassador—but not a dramatic one until tonight when he portrays Max Feldman in Skokie on CBS (Channels 6 and 9) at 8 p.m.

It’s Danny Kaye’s first dramatic stint [Not sure why this journalist lists Skokie as his 'first dramatic stint.' Danny had other dramatic roles before Skokie. - J.N. webmistress] and he already is earning critical acclaim for his performance in this story of an attempted American Nazi Party march through the predominantly Jewish Skokie, Ill.

“Why did I take the role in Skokie?” Kaye asks. “It was the right script at the right time. It’s a stimulating story about a provocative subject. And for me, personally, there’s even a sense of danger. Will viewers accept me in this kind of a role?”

CBS originally scheduled Skokie in mid-October, but then noted that the baseball playoffs would be in full swing and wisely decided to hold off for a month.

The 2½-hour film depicts how the citizens of Skokie became embroiled in a bitter controversy over the Nazis’ announced intention of demonstrating in the Chicago suburb. Max Feldman is a survivor, among a large number in Skokie, of the Holocaust horror perpetrated by Germany.

Danny Kaye says he couldn’t be more pleased by the challenge of playing Feldman. “I’m at the point in my life where I do things I want to do because they’re interesting or they’re challenging or they excite me.”

Skokie was filmed in the Illinois community, and Kaye says, “I work totally without makeup in this show. When we had our makeup tests, we talked about my wearing a moustache or special glasses. I vetoed all that. In the end, what counts is what you feel when you say the lines.”

The drama deals with the reaction to the Nazis “Invasion” of Skokie and Kaye says, “When you tell the story of what happened in Skokie, Ill., no matter how fairly you present both sides, you will still have disagreement. Skokie is a film with no resolution.”

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