The
Danny Kaye Show, which premiered on 25 September 1963, was designed
as a showcase for the multi-talented entertainer who, before appearing
on television, was already a veteran of the vaudeville circuit,
the Broadway stage, film, radio, and nightclubs. The variety series
was not Kaye's first foray into television: a 1957 See It Now
program, entitled The Secret Life of Danny Kaye, documented
Kaye entertaining children around the world on behalf of UNICEF,
an organization for which he worked for many years. In 1960, Kaye
signed a $1.5 million contract for three annual special programs
that would set the pattern for his later series. Although these
specials were not critically successful, audience ratings (and two
Emmy nominations for his second special with Lucille Ball) were
sufficient for CBS to offer the entertainer his own weekly series.
That same season, veteran performers Jerry Lewis and Judy Garland
also premiered variety series, but faded quickly.
Unlike
comedians such as Red Skelton or Bob Hope, whose series highlighted
their monologues, Kaye's variety hour was similar in scope to Sid
Caesar's Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour. Kaye's
series was a mixture of sketches and special musical material that
showcased his inimitable talents. The series attracted prominent
guests who helped Kaye demonstrate his own versatility. He sang
scat with Louis Armstrong and calypso with Harry Belafonte, danced
with Gene Kelly, and performed in sketches with such stars as actor
José Ferrer and comedian Dick Van Dyke.
Kaye's
strength was his ability to work with a live studio audience. Most
episodes included a "quiet" segment highlighting Kaye's ability
to work one-on-one with his audience and provide a sense of intimacy.
In this portion, Kaye would sit on a chair at the edge of the stage.
At times, he would tell a story that would highlight his talent
for dialects or tongue-twisting dialogue. On other occasions he
would engage in conversation with a child (Victoria Meyerick or,
later, Laurie Ichino) or a group of children.
The
series was produced by Perry Lafferty, who had previously produced
variety series for Arthur Godfrey and Andy Williams. Writers for
the series included Larry Gelbart (who later created M*A*S*H)
and Mel Tolkin, both of whom had also written for Caesar's Hour.
Although Kaye's supporting cast did not appear on a weekly basis,
they included Harvey Korman, Gwen Verdon, Joyce Van Patten, the
Earl Brown Singers, the Clinger Sisters, and the Tony Charmoli Dancers.
In
its first season, The Danny Kaye Show garnered three Emmy
awards, including one for the show and one for its star. That same
season, the series also received a George Foster Peabody Award as
one of the best entertainment programs for the year. During the
series' four-year run, it accumulated a total of six Emmy nominations.
Despite
Kaye's enormous talents and popularity, the series failed to gain
a wide audience and never achieved critical success. Considering
Kaye's popularity among younger viewers, his late hour time slot
(10:00-11:00 P.M.) was a major factor in his mediocre ratings. A
lack of direction in the show's format and average material often
resulted in childlike antics that some critics felt were inappropriate.
In addition, competition from other network programs, such as NBC's
Wednesday Night at the Movies and I Spy, contributed
to the variety show's low ratings.
However,
Kaye remained popular with his audience and legions of fans. In
fact, the variety series was imported to the United Kingdom in 1964
for the premiere of the BBC-2 channel and ran there for three seasons.
After
his show's cancellation in 1967, Kaye returned to television in
a number of special programs, mostly aimed at younger viewers, including
Hallmark Hall of Fame's Peter Pan (NBC, 1976) and Pinocchio
(CBS, 1976). That same year, he hosted the Emmy award-winning Danny
Kaye's Look at the Metropolitan Opera (CBS, 1976).
His
last television appearances were in the Emmy-nominated Live from
Lincoln Center: An Evening with Danny Kaye and the New York
Philharmonic (PBS, 1981) and the CBS docudrama, Skokie (CBS,
1981). For both these performances, Kaye was presented with another
Peabody award "for virtuoso performances and versatility as a superb
clown and as a sensitive dramatic actor." Kaye died in 1987.
-Susan
Gibberman
Freedland, Michael. The Secret Life of Danny Kaye. New York:
St. Martin's, 1985.
Gottfried,
Martin. Nobody's Fool: The Lives of Danny Kaye. New York:
Simon and Schuster, 1994.
Gould,
Jack. "Danny Kaye Brightens Home Sets." New York Times, 26
September 1963.
Singer,
Kurt Deutsch. The Danny Kaye Story. New York: Thomas Nelson,
1958.
