The Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse
In the late '80s, after Danny's death, Sylvia donated $1 million to help Hunter College renovate it's theater.
Below are articles pertaining to that event.
“Donation Given”
The Telegraph-
HOLLYWOOD (UPI) – The Sylvia and Danny Kaye Foundation has awarded a $1 million gift
to New York’s Hunter College to help the college renovate its 692-
The gift is to enable the playhouse to accommodate full theater productions of musical and dramatic plays, and film and dance programs.
The board of trustees of The City University of New York, which operates Hunter, then approved a resolution renaming the facility “The Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse.”
“Kaye’s Widow Helps College Theater”
The Milwaukee Journal – Jan. 8, 1988
Sylvia Fine Kaye, widow of Danny Kaye, is giving $1 million to Hunter College in New York to help renovate a theater there.
When it reopens in 1990, it will be the Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse, to be used by Hunter students and professional companies for music, dance, opera and musical comedy.
“It was hard to interest Danny in future projects,” she said, recalling her ailing husband’s months with hepatitis leading to his death in March. “But he liked this project and I wanted the theater named for him.”
Donna E. Shalala, former president of Hunter, said she regarded the theater’s renovation as a giant step in her efforts to involve the college more deeply in the neighborhood and in the city. It was her last major initiative before she left on Jan. 1 to become chancellor of the University of Wisconsin. New York State and a fund drive will help pay for the $6.2 million restoration.
Sylvia Kaye also is actively involved, using her knowledge of the theater, gleaned
while she was writing the lyrics for some of her husband’s memorable performances
and also working as a producer. She co-