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Allmusic	[1]

An Evening with Belafonte is a studio album by Harry Belafonte, released by RCA Victor in 1957.

Track listing[link]

1. "Merci Bon Dieu" (Franz Casseus) – 2:54
2. "Once Was" (Kennedy, Lorin) – 4:44
3. "Hava Nageela" (Traditional) – 3:14
4. "Danny Boy" (Frederick Weatherly) – 5:48
5. "The Drummer and the Cook" (Paul Campbell) – 3:55
6. "Come O My Love" (Traditional) – 4:23
7. "Shenandoah" (Traditional) – 3:45
8. "Mary's Boy Child" (Jester Hairston) – 4:19
9. "Cu Cu Ru Cu Cu Paloma" (Tomás Méndez) – 5:28
10. "Eden Was Just Like This" (Kennedy, Lord Burgess) – 2:58
11. "When the Saints Go Marching In" (Traditional) – 3:39

Personnel[link]

• Harry Belafonte – vocals
• Millard Thomas – guitar
• Frantz Casseus – guitar
• Harry Sweets Edison – trumpet
• Si Zentner – trombone
• Will Lorin and His Orchestra

Production notes:

• Henri René – producer
• Dennis Farnon – producer
• E. O. Welker – producer
• John S. Wilson – liner notes

References[link]

External links[link]

• Harry Belafonte and Friends web site.
• Belafonte Tracks discography site.

This 1950s pop music album-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Manos Hatzidakis (Greek: Μάνος Χατζιδάκις) (October 23, 1925 – June 15, 1994) was a Greek composer and theorist of the Greek music. He was also one of the main prime movers of the "Éntekhno" song (along with Mikis Theodorakis). In 1960 he received an Academy Award for Best Original Song for his Song Never on Sunday from the self-titled movie.

Biography[link]

His very first work was the tune for the song "Paper Moon" ("Χάρτινο το Φεγγαράκι"), from Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire staged by Karolos Koun's Art Theatre of Athens, a collaboration which continued for 15 years. His first piano piece, "For a Small White Seashell" ("Για μια Μικρή Λευκή Αχιβάδα"), came out in 1947 and in 1948 he shook the musical establishment by delivering his legendary lecture on rembetika, the urban folk songs that flourished in Greek cities, mainly Piraeus, after the Asia Minor refugee influx in 1922 and until then had heavy underworld and cannabis use connections and were consequently looked down upon.^{[citation needed]} Hatzidakis focused on the economy of expression, the deep traditional roots and the genuineness of emotion displayed in rembetika, and exalted the likes of composers like Markos Vamvakaris and Vassilis Tsitsanis. Putting theory to practice, he adapted classic rembetika in his 1951 piano work, Six Folk Paintings (Έξι Λαϊκές Ζωγραφιές), which was later also presented as a folk ballet. In 1949 he co-founded the Greek Dance Theatre Company with the choreographer Rallou Manou.^[1]

At this point he began writing immensely popular "pop" songs and movie soundtracks alongside more serious works, such as 1954's The C.N.S. Cycle (O Kyklos tou C.N.S.), a song cycle for piano and voice recalling the German lied in its form, if not in style. In 1955 he wrote the score for Michael Cacoyannis' film Stella, with actress Melina Mercouri, singing the movie's trademark song "Love that became a double-edged knife" ("Αγάπη που 'γινες δίκοπο μαχαίρι"). Hatzidakis always maintained that he wrote his serious pieces for himself and his less serious ones to make a living.^{[citation needed]}

In 1959, Hatzidakis met Nana Mouskouri, his first "ideal interpreter", a skilled vocalist who shaped the sounds of his music.^{[citation needed]} It was 1960 that brought him international success, as his song "Never on Sunday" ("Τα παιδιά του Πειραιά"), from Jules Dassin's film Never on Sunday (Ποτέ την Κυριακή), won him an Academy Award and became a worldwide hit.

In 1962, he produced the musical Dream Street (Οδός Ονείρων)^[2] and completed his score for Aristophanes' Birds (Όρνιθες), another Art Theater production which caused an uproar over Karolos Koun's revolutionary direction. The score was also used later by Maurice Béjart's 20th Century Ballets. He also wrote the music for a song which Arthur Altman added English lyrics to and gave to Brenda Lee. The song was "All Alone Am I". In 1964 he released the album 15 Vespers (Δεκαπέντε Εσπερινοί) with the famous song "Mr Antonis ("Ο Κυρ Αντώνης").^[3]

In 1965, his LP Gioconda's Smile (Το Χαμόγελο της Τζιοκόντας)^[4] was released on Minos-EMI. In 2004, it was re-released, digitally remastered as an audiophile LP and a CD in the EMI Classics collection. In 1966 he travelled to New York City for the premiere of Illya Darling, a Broadway musical based on Never on Sunday, which starred Mercouri. He did not return to Greece until 1972 due to his opposition to Greece's military dictatorship.

In exile[link]

While in the United States he completed several more major compositions, including Rhythmology (Rythmologia) for solo piano, his compilation, Gioconda's Smile (produced by Quincy Jones), and the song cycle, Magnus Eroticus (Megalos Erotikos), in which he used ancient (Sappho, Euripides), medieval (stanzas from folk songs and George Hortatzis' romance Erophile) and modern (Dionysios Solomos, Constantine Cavafy, Odysseus Elytis, Nikos Gkatsos) Greek poems, as well as an excerpt from the Old Testament book "Wisdom of Solomon". His LP Reflections with the New York Rock & Roll Ensemble contained several of his most beautiful songs, either in orchestral form or with English lyrics written by the band - a record that preceded fusion trends by several decades.^{[citation needed]}

Later years[link]

Hatzidakis returned to Greece in 1972 and recorded Magnus Eroticus with singer Fleury Dantonaki, an opera-trained alto and singer Dimitris Psarianos. Following the junta's overthrow, he became active in public life and assumed a number of positions in the Athens State Orchestra (KOA), the National Opera (ELS), and the National Radio (ERT). In 1985 he launched his own record company "Seirios" (Sirius). In 1988 he helped Foivos Delivorias get started in his singing career. In 1989 he founded and directed the Orchestra of Colours (Orhistra ton Chromaton), a small symphonic orchestra.^{[citation needed]} He assumed the role of score composer for his friend Federico Fellini's films, following Nino Rota's death, but the collaboration never materialized because of Hatzidakis's mounting health problems.^{[citation needed]}

Death[link]

He died on June 15, 1994 in Athens, aged 68, from heart disease and diabetes. His estate and archives were bequeathed to his adopted son, George Theophanopoulos-Hatzidakis.^{[citation needed]} In 1999 the City of Athens dedicated Technopolis in his memory.

Musical scores[link]

• Adoulotoi Sklavoi - Unsubdued Slaves - US title (1946)
• Kokkinos Vrahos (1949)
• Dyo Kosmi - 'The Two Worlds (1949)
• Nekri Politeia - Dead City - US title (1951)
• O Grousouzis - The Grouch - US title (1952)
• Agni Tou Limaniou - Lily of the Harbour - US title (1952)
• The Counterfeit Coin - Η κάλπικη λύρα (1955)
• Never on Sunday (Ποτέ Την Κυριακή) (1960)
• America America (1963)
• Topkapi (1964)
• Gioconda's Smile (Το Χαμόγελο Της Τζοκόντας) (1965)
• Illya Darling (1967) Broadway musical
• Reflections (1969) - Performed by the New York Rock & Roll Ensemble
• Sweet Movie (1974)
• Memed My Hawk (1984)
• Reflections (2005) - Performed by Raining Pleasure. Special appearance by Meriam performing the song "Kemal"
• Amorgos (2006)

References[link]

1. ^ Hatzidakis's biodata
2. ^ Οδός Ονείρων/Dream Street (music/video)
3. ^ Ο Κυρ Αντώνης/Mr Antonis (music/video)
4. ^ Το Χαμόγελο της Τζιοκόντας/Gioconda's Smile (music/video)

Nana Mouskouri
Nana Mouskouri in 2006
Background information
Birth name	Ιωάννα Μούσχουρη (Ioánna Moúschouri)
Born	(1934-10-13) October 13, 1934 (age 77)
Origin	Chania, Crete, Greece
Genres	Jazz, Pop, Folk, Greek folk, World music, Classical
Occupations	Singer
Years active	1958–2008, 2011–present
Labels	Fontana, Polydor, Mercury, Verve, Philips, PolyGram, Universal Music France
Website	Universal Music France

Nana Mouskouri (Greek: Nάνα Μούσχουρη, pronounced [ˈnana ˈmusxuɾi]), born Iōánna Moúschouri (Greek: Ιωάννα Μούσχουρη, [ioˈana ˈmusxuɾi] on October 13, 1934, in Chania, Crete, Greece) is a Greek singer who has sold 300 million records worldwide in a career spanning over five decades^[1][2], which makes her one of the top-selling female singers of all time. Known as "Nána" to her friends and family as a child (note that in Greek her surname is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable - MOOS-hoo-ree - rather than the second), she has recorded songs in many languages, including Greek, French, English, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Hebrew, Welsh, Mandarin Chinese, Maori and Turkish.

The early years[link]

Nana Mouskouri's family lived in Chania, Crete, where her father, Constantine, worked as a film projectionist in a local cinema. Her mother, Alice, also worked in the same local cinema as an usherette. When Mouskouri was three, her family moved to Athens.

Mouskouri's family sent her and her elder sister, Eugenía or "Jenny", to the Athens Conservatoire. Mouskouri had displayed exceptional musical talent from the age of six. Jenny initially appeared to be the more gifted of the two sisters. Financially unable to support both girls' studies, the parents asked their tutor which one should continue. The tutor conceded that Jenny had the better voice, but Nana was the one with the true inner need to sing. Mouskouri has said that a medical examination revealed a difference in her two vocal cords and this could well account for her remarkable singing voice (in her younger years ranging from a husky, dark alto, which she later dropped, to a ringing coloratura mezzo), as opposed to her breathy, raspy speaking voice.^[3]

Mouskouri's childhood was marked by the German Nazi occupation of Greece. Her father became part of the anti-Nazi resistance movement in Athens. Mouskouri began singing lessons at age 12. As a child, she listened to radio broadcasts of singers such as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Édith Piaf.

In 1950, she was accepted at the Conservatoire. She studied classical music with an emphasis on singing opera. After eight years at the Conservatoire, Mouskouri was encouraged by her friends to experiment with jazz music. She began singing with her friends' jazz group at night. However, when Mouskouri's Conservatory professor found out about Mouskouri's involvement with a genre of music that was not in keeping with her classical studies, he prevented her from sitting for her end-of-year exams.^{[citation needed]} During an episode of "Joanna Lumley's Greek Odyssey", shown on the UK ITV channel in the autumn of 2011, Mouskouri told the actress Joanna Lumley of how she had been scheduled to sing at the amphitheatre at Epidauros with other students of the Conservatoire, when upon arrival at the amphitheatre word came through from the Conservatoire in Athens that she had just been barred from participating in the performance there due to her involvement in light music. Mouskouri subsequently left the Conservatoire and began performing at the Zaki club in Athens.

She began singing jazz in nightclubs with a bias towards Ella Fitzgerald repertoire. In 1957, she recorded her first song, Fascination, in both Greek and English for Odeon/EMI Greece. By 1958 while still performing at the Zaki, she met Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis. Hadjidakis was impressed by Nana’s voice and offered to write songs for her. In 1959 Mouskouri performed Hadjidakis' Kapou Iparchi I Agapi Mou (co-written with poet Nikos Gatsos) at the inaugural Greek Song Festival. The song won first prize, and Mouskouri began to be noticed.

At the 1960 Greek Song Festival, she performed two more Hadjidakis compositions, Timōría ("Punishment") and Kyparissáki ("Little cypress"). Both these songs tied for first prize. Mouskouri performed Kostas Yannidis' composition, Xypna Agapi Mou ("Wake up, my love"), at the Mediterranean Song Festival, held in Barcelona that year. The song won first prize, and she went on to sign a recording contract with Paris-based Philips-Fontana.

In 1961, Mouskouri performed the soundtrack of a German documentary about Greece. This resulted in the German-language single Weiße Rosen aus Athen ("White Roses from Athens"). The song was originally adapted from a folk melody by Hadjidakis. It became a success, selling over a million copies in Germany. The song was later translated into several languages and it went on to become one of Mouskouri's signature tunes.

Family life[link]

Mouskouri has been married twice: firstly at 25, to Yorgos (George) Petsilas^[4], a guitarist in her backing band (the trio "The Athenians") and the first man she'd kissed. They had two children (Nicolas Petsilas in 1968 and Hélène (Lénou) Petsilas (singer) in 1970) but divorced when Mouskouri was 39.^[5] Not long after that, she met her second husband, André Chapelle, then her sound technician, but they did not marry then because she 'didn't want to bring another father into the family' and divorce was against her traditional Greek upbringing.^[5] They eventually married on 13 January 2003, and live primarily in Switzerland.

Life outside Greece[link]

In 1962, she met Quincy Jones, who persuaded her to travel to New York City to record an album of American jazz titled The Girl from Greece Sings. Following that she scored another hit in the United Kingdom with My Colouring Book.

In 1963 she left Greece to live in Paris, where she formed close frienships with the singer-songwriter Barbara and other leaders of French chanson.^[6] Mouskouri performed Luxembourg's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1963 that year, À Force de Prier. The song achieved success, and helped win her the prestigious Grand Prix du Disque in France. Mouskouri soon attracted the attention of French composer Michel Legrand, who composed for her two major French hits Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (1964) and an arrangement of Katherine K. Davis' Carol of the Drum, L'Enfant au Tambour (1965).

In 1965 she recorded her second English-language album to be released in the United States, entitled Nana Sings. American calypso musician Harry Belafonte heard and liked the album. Belafonte brought Mouskouri on tour with him through 1966. They teamed for a live duo album entitled An Evening With Belafonte/Mouskouri. During this tour, Belafonte suggested that Mouskouri remove her signature black-rimmed glasses when on stage. She was so unhappy with the request that she wanted to quit the show after only two days. Finally, Belafonte relented and respected her wishes to perform while wearing glasses.^[7]

Mouskouri's 1967 French album Le Jour Où la Colombe raised her to super-stardom in France. This album featured many of her French songs, Au Cœur de Septembre, Adieu Angélina, Robe Bleue, Robe Blanche and the French pop classic Le Temps des Cerises. Mouskouri made her first appearance at Paris' legendary Olympia concert theatre the same year, singing French pop, Greek folk, and Hadjidakis numbers.

In 1968, Mouskouri was invited to host a BBC TV series called Presenting Nana Mouskouri. The next year she released a full-length British LP, Over and Over. The LP spent almost two years in the UK charts. She expanded her concert tour to Australia (where she met Frank Hardy, who followed her to the south of France in 1976), New Zealand and Japan. She recorded several Japanese songs for the Japanese market.

In France, she released a series of top-selling albums that included Comme un Soleil, Une Voix Qui Vient du Cœur, Vieilles Chansons de France, and Quand Tu Chantes!.

Middle years[link]

In 1979, Mouskouri released another English-language album named Roses and Sunshine. This album consisting largely of folk and country material, and included work from sources as Neil Young, Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan and John Denver. It was well received in Canada, and one of the album's tracks, "Even Now" (not the same song as the 1978 Barry Manilow hit), became a staple on beautiful music radio stations in the United States. She scored a worldwide hit in 1981 with Je Chante Avec Toi, Liberté, which was translated into several languages after its success in France. The momentum from this album also helped boost her following German album, Meine Lieder sind mein Leben. In 1984, Mouskouri returned to Greece for her first live performance in her homeland since 1962.

In 1985, Mouskouri recorded Only Love, the theme song to the BBC TV series Mistral's Daughter — based upon the novel by Judith Krantz — that reached #2 in the UK charts. The song was also a hit in its foreign language versions: L'Amour en Héritage (French), Come un'eredità (Italian), La dicha del amor (Spanish), and Aber die Liebe bleibt (German). The German version was also recorded with an alternate set of lyrics under the title Der wilde Wein but was withdrawn in favour of Aber die Liebe bleibt.

That same year, Mouskouri made a play for the Spanish-language market with the hit single Con Todo el Alma. The song was a major success in Spain, Argentina and Chile.

She released five albums in different languages in 1987, and the following year returned to her classical conservatory roots with the double LP The Classical Nana (aka Nana Classique), which featured adaptations of classical songs and excerpts from opera. By the end of 1987, she had performed a series of concerts in Asia, including South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand.

Autobiography[link]

A French language autobiography appeared in 1989 titled "Chanter ma vie" (Singing my life), which is also the title of her French version of ABBA's "I Have a Dream".

In 2006, Greek publisher A.A. Livanis published a biography in Greek titled "To onoma mou ine Nana" (My name is Nana). In autumn 2007, the French and English versions of this biography appeared under the titles "Nana Mouskouri — Memoires — La fille de la Chauve-souris" (XO publishers) and "Nana Mouskouri — Memoirs" (Orion Publishing Group).^[8]

The later years[link]

Mouskouri's 1991 English album, Only Love: The Best of Nana Mouskouri became her best-selling release in the United States. She spent much of the 1990s touring the globe. Among her early 1990s albums were spiritual music, Gospel (1990), the Spanish-language Nuestras Canciones, the multilingual, Mediterranean-themed Côté Sud, Côté Coeur (1992), Dix Mille Ans Encore, Falling in Love Again: Great Songs From the Movies. Falling in Love featured two duets with Harry Belafonte.

In 1993, Mouskouri recorded the album, Hollywood. Produced by Michel Legrand it was a collection of famous songs from films, and served not only as a tribute to the world of cinema, but also as a personal reference to childhood memories of sitting with her father in his projection room in Crete.^{[citation needed]}

She recorded several more albums over 1996 and 1997, including the Spanish Nana Latina (which featured duets with Julio Iglesias and Mercedes Sosa), the English-language Return to Love, and the French pop classics, Hommages. In 1997, she staged a high-profile Concert for Peace at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. This concert was later released as an album, and aired as a TV special on PBS in the U.S.

UNICEF/Politics[link]

Mouskouri was appointed as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1993

Mouskouri was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in October 1993.^[9] She took over from the previous ambassador, the recently deceased actress Audrey Hepburn. Mouskouri's first U.N. mission took her to Bosnia to draw attention to the plight of children affected by Bosnian war. She went on to give a series of fund-raising concerts in Sweden and Belgium.

She was elected a Member of the European Parliament from 1994 until 1999, when she resigned from her position as an MEP. Several reasons have been given for this, one being her pacifism, and another being that she felt ill-equipped for the day-to-day work of a politician.^[10]

21st century and retirement[link]

Mouskouri lives in Switzerland with Chapelle, and, until her final performance in 2008, performed hundreds of concerts every year throughout her career. In 2004, her French record company released a 34-CD box set of more than 600 of Mouskouri's mostly-French songs. In 2006 she made a guest appearance at that year's Eurovision Song Contest which was held, for the first time ever, in her native Greece.

The ancient Herodes Atticus Theatre, in Athens, Greece.

In the same year, she announced her plans to retire. From 2005 until 2008, she conducted a farewell concert tour of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, South America, the United States, and Canada. On July 23 and 24, 2008, Mouskouri gave her two final 'Farewell Concert' performances at the ancient Herodes Atticus Theatre, in Athens, Greece, before a packed stadium, including Greece's Prime Minister and Athens mayor, plus the mayors of Berlin, Paris and Luxembourg, along with fans from around the world and thousands of her Athenian admirers.^[1]

In 2010, in response to the financial situation in Greece caused by excessive deficit,^[11] Mouskouri announced that she would forgo her pension to contribute to the country's recovery. She commented: "Everywhere I see stories about my country going bankrupt. And people are aggressive about it. It's frightening. And it's painful for me. Nobody wants their country to be treated badly. It's frustrating and very sad."^[5]

In late 2011 Mouskouri released two newly-recorded CDs, the first featuring songs of the Greek Islands, recorded with other Greek singers, and the second featuring duets with French contemporaries. In late November 2011 Mouskouri sang again at single one-off concert, with guests, in Berlin, commemorating the 50th anniversary of her hit single "The White Rose of Athens".^[12] Dates of a multi-city tour of Germany in early 2012 have also been announced.

Record sales[link]

Universal Music Group, which has over the decades come to acquire virtually all the labels under which Mouskouri recorded, claims that Nana Mouskouri has sold nearly 400 million discs worldwide,^[1][13] recording about 1,500 songs in 15 languages on 450 albums. She has more than 230 gold and platinum albums worldwide, making her a candidate for the best-selling female recording artist of all time.^[2]

Impersonators[link]

The British comedian Benny Hill impersonated Mouskouri on The Benny Hill Show. He wore long dresses and long black hair, that he stroked back, and talked and sang with a slow and quiet voice. He described the songs with long and verbose introductions before singing them.^[14]

Partial discography[link]

Autobiographies[link]

• Chanter ma vie, by Nana Mouskouri, Grasset ed., 1989. ISBN 2-246-39211-X and ISBN 978-2-246-39211-8. (French)
• Το όνομά μου είναι Νάνα (To onoma mou einai Nana) (My Name Is Nana), by Nana Mouskouri, Livani Publishing, 2006. ISBN 960-14-1341-3, ISBN-13 978-960-14-1341-9. (Greek)
• Memoirs, by Nana Mouskouri, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, ISBN 0-297-84469-5 and ISBN 978-0-297-84469-3. (English)
• Mémoires: La fille de la chauve-souris, by Nana Mouskouri, XO Éditions, ISBN 2-84563-311-4 and ISBN 978-2-84563-311-7. (French)
• Stimme der Sehnsucht: Meine Erinnerungen by Nana Mouskouri, translated by Ulrike Lelickens, Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf. ISBN 3-89602-848-0 and ISBN 978-3-89602-848-8. (German)

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	Music portal
	Greece portal
	Eurovision portal

• Best selling music artists
• List of Cretans
• Music of France

References[link]

• (French)(English)(Spanish)

This article incorporates information from the German Wikipedia. Site québécois de Nana Mouskouri Biography, discography by language, list of 1 800 recordings, covers magazines, TV in Quebec, drawings, memories et topicalities.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nana Mouskouri

Official

• Nana Mouskouri's profile at UNICEF
• Official website – (English) (German)
• Nana Mouskouri at Universal Music France

Biographies

• Nana Mouskouri at Allmusic

Discography

• Nana Mouskouri discography at MusicBrainz

Filmography

• Nana Mouskouri at AllRovi

Harry Belafonte
Belafonte at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival Vanity Fair party
Background information
Birth name	Harold George Bellanfanti, Jr.
Born	(1927 -03-01) March 1, 1927 (age 85) Harlem, New York, U.S.
Genres	Calypso, vocal, folk
Occupations	Actor, activist, singer
Years active	1949–2003
Labels	RCA Victor CBS EMI Island

Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. (born March 1, 1927) is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s. Belafonte is perhaps best known for singing "The Banana Boat Song", with its signature lyric "Day-O". Throughout his career he has been an advocate for civil rights and humanitarian causes and was a vocal critic of the policies of the George W. Bush Administration.

Early life[link]

Born Harold George Bellanfanti, Jr.,^[1] at Lying-in Hospital, Harlem, New York, Belafonte was the son of Melvine (née Love) – a housekeeper of Jamaican descent – and Harold George Bellanfanti, Sr., a Martiniquan who worked as a chef in the National Guard.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} From 1932 to 1940, he lived with his grandmother in her native country of Jamaica. When he returned to New York City, he attended George Washington High School^[8] after which he joined the Navy and served during World War II.^[5] In the 1940s, he was working as a janitor's assistant in NYC when a tenant gave him, as a gratuity, two tickets to see the American Negro Theater. He fell in love with the art form and also met Sidney Poitier. The financially struggling pair regularly purchased a single seat to local plays, trading places in between acts, after informing the other about the progression of the play.^[9] At the end of the 1940s, he took classes in acting at the Dramatic Workshop of The New School in New York with the influential German director Erwin Piscator alongside Marlon Brando, Tony Curtis, Walter Matthau, Bea Arthur and Sidney Poitier, while performing with the American Negro Theatre. He subsequently received a Tony Award for his participation in the Broadway revue John Murray Anderson's Almanac.

Music career[link]

Belafonte in John Murray Anderson's Almanac on Broadway, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1954

Belafonte started his career in music as a club singer in New York to pay for his acting classes. The first time he appeared in front of an audience, he was backed by the Charlie Parker band, which included Charlie Parker himself, Max Roach and Miles Davis, among others. At first he was a pop singer, launching his recording career on the Roost label in 1949, but later he developed a keen interest in folk music, learning material through the Library of Congress' American folk songs archives. With guitarist and friend Millard Thomas, Belafonte soon made his debut at the legendary jazz club The Village Vanguard. In 1952 he received a contract with RCA Victor.

[edit] Calypso

His first widely-released single, which went on to become his "signature" song with audience participation in virtually all his live performances, was "Matilda", recorded April 27, 1956. His breakthrough album Calypso (1956) became the first LP to sell over 1 million copies.^{[citation needed]} The album is number four on Billboard's "Top 100 Album" list for having spent 31 weeks at number 1, 58 weeks in the top ten, and 99 weeks on the U.S. charts. The album introduced American audiences to Calypso music (which had originated in Trinidad and Tobago in the early 20th century), and Belafonte was dubbed the "King of Calypso", a title he wore with reservations, since he had no claims to any Calypso Monarch titles.

One of the songs included in the album is the now famous "Banana Boat Song" (listed as "Day O" on the original release), which reached number five on the pop charts, and featured its signature lyric "Day-O."^[10] Belafonte based his version on a 1954 recording by Jamaican folk singer Louise Bennett.^[11] His other smash hit was "Jump in the Line."

Many of the compositions recorded for Calypso, including "Banana Boat Song" and "Jamaica Farewell", gave songwriting credit to Irving Burgie, Belafonte and his team, but were really previously recorded Jamaican mento songs sold as calypso. The original Jamaican versions can now be heard on the "Jamaica—Mento1951–1958"^[12] CD released in 2010.

Middle career[link]

While primarily known for Calypso, Belafonte has recorded in many genres, including blues, folk, gospel, show tunes, and American standards. His second-most popular hit, which came immediately after "The Banana Boat Song", was the novelty tune "Mama Look at Bubu", also known as "Mama Look a Boo-Boo" (originally recorded by Lord Melody in 1956), in which he sings humorously about misbehaving and disrespectful children. It reached number eleven on the pop chart.

In 1959 he starred in Tonight With Belafonte, a nationally televised special that featured Odetta, who sang "Water Boy" and who performed a duet with Belafonte of '"There's a Hole in My Bucket" that hit the national charts in 1961.^[13] Belafonte continued to record for RCA through the 1950s to the 1970s. Two live albums, both recorded at Carnegie Hall in 1959 and 1960, enjoyed critical and commercial success. From his 1959 album, Hava Nagila became part of his regular routine and one of his signature songs.^[14] He was one of many entertainers recruited by Frank Sinatra to perform at the inaugural gala of President John F. Kennedy in 1961. That same year he released his second calypso album, Jump Up Calypso, which went on to become another million seller. During the 1960s he introduced several artists to American audiences, most notably South African singer Miriam Makeba and Greek singer Nana Mouskouri. His album Midnight Special (1962) featured the first-ever record appearance by a then young harmonica player named Bob Dylan.

As The Beatles and other stars from Britain began to dominate the U.S. pop charts, Belafonte's commercial success diminished; 1964's Belafonte at The Greek Theatre was his last album to appear in Billboard's Top 40. His last hit single, "A Strange Song", was released in 1967 and peaked at number 5 on the Adult contemporary music charts. Belafonte has received Grammy Awards for the albums Swing Dat Hammer (1960) and An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba (1965). The latter album dealt with the political plight of black South Africans under Apartheid. He earned six Gold Records.^[15]

Later recordings and other activities[link]

Belafonte's recording activity slowed after leaving RCA in the 1970s. From the mid-1970s to early 1980s he spent the greater part of his time touring Japan, Europe, Cuba and elsewhere. His involvement in USA for Africa during the mid-1980s resulted in renewed interest in his music, culminating in a record deal with EMI. He subsequently released his first album of original material in over a decade, Paradise in Gazankulu, in 1988. The album contains ten protest songs against the South African former Apartheid policy and as of 2011 was his last studio album. In the same year Belafonte, as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, attended a symposium in Harare, Zimbabwe to focus attention on child survival and development in Southern African countries. As part of the symposium, he performed a concert for UNICEF. A Kodak video crew filmed the concert, which was released as a 60-minute concert video entitled "Global Carnival." It features many of the songs from the album Paradise in Gazankulu and some of his classic hits. Also in 1988, Tim Burton used "The Banana Boat Song" and "Jump in the Line" in his movie Beetlejuice.

Following a lengthy recording hiatus, An Evening with Harry Belafonte and Friends, a soundtrack and video of a televised concert were released in 1997 by Island Records. The Long Road to Freedom, An Anthology of Black Music, a huge multi-artist project recorded during the 1960s and 1970s with RCA, was finally released by the label in 2001. The album was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Awards for Best Boxed Recording Package, for Best Album Notes and for Best Historical Album.^{[citation needed]}

Belafonte was the first African American to win an Emmy, with his first solo TV special Tonight with Belafonte (1959).^{[citation needed]} During the 1960s he appeared on TV specials alongside such artists as Julie Andrews, Petula Clark, Lena Horne and Nana Mouskouri. He was also a guest star on a memorable episode of The Muppet Show in 1978, in which he performed his signature song "Day-O" on television for the first time. The episode is best known for Belafonte's rendition of the spiritual song, "Turn the World Around", which he performed with Muppets that resembled African tribal masks. It became one of the series' most famous performances. It was reportedly Jim Henson's favorite episode, and Belafonte reprised the song at Henson's memorial in 1990. "Turn the World Around" was also included in the 2005 official hymnal supplement of the Unitarian Universalist Association, "Singing the Journey."^[16]

Belafonte received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1989. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1994 and he won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. He performed sold-out concerts globally through the 1950s to the 2000s. Due to illness he was forced to cancel a reunion tour with Nana Mouskouri planned for the spring and summer of 2003 following a tour in Europe. His last concert was a benefit concert for the Atlanta Opera on October 25, 2003.^[17] In a 2007 interview he stated that he had since retired from performing.^[18]

Film career[link]

Belafonte at the 2011 Berlin Film Festival

Belafonte has starred in several films. His first film role was in Bright Road (1953), in which he appeared alongside Dorothy Dandridge. The two subsequently starred in Otto Preminger's hit musical Carmen Jones (1954). Ironically, Belafonte's singing in the film was dubbed by an opera singer, as Belafonte's own singing voice was seen as unsuitable for the role. Using his star clout, Belafonte was subsequently able to realize several then-controversial film roles. In 1957's Island in the Sun, there are hints of an affair between Belafonte's character and the character played by Joan Fontaine. The film also starred James Mason, Dandridge, Joan Collins, Michael Rennie and John Justin. In 1959, he starred in and produced Robert Wise's Odds Against Tomorrow, in which he plays a bank robber uncomfortably teamed with a racist partner (Robert Ryan). He also co-starred with Inger Stevens in The World, the Flesh and the Devil. Belafonte was offered the role of Porgy in Preminger's Porgy and Bess, where he would have once again starred opposite Dandridge, but he refused the role because he objected to its racial stereotyping.

Dissatisfied with the film roles available to him, he returned to music during the 1960s. In the early 1970s Belafonte appeared in more films among which are two with Poitier: Buck and the Preacher (1972) and Uptown Saturday Night (1974). In 1984 Belafonte produced and scored the musical film Beat Street, dealing with the rise of hip-hop culture. Together with Arthur Baker, he produced the gold-certified soundtrack of the same name. Belafonte next starred in a major film again in the mid-1990s, appearing with John Travolta in the race-reverse drama White Man's Burden (1995); and in Robert Altman's jazz age drama Kansas City (1996), the latter of which garnered him the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also starred as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in the TV drama Swing Vote (1999). In late 2006, Belafonte appeared in the role of Nelson, a friend of an employee of the Ambassador Hotel played by Anthony Hopkins, in Bobby, Emilio Estevez's ensemble drama about the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.

Personal life[link]

Belafonte and Marguerite Byrd were married from 1948 to 1957. They have two daughters: Adrienne and Shari. Shari Belafonte, married to Sam Behrens, is a photographer, model, singer and actress. In 1997 Adrienne Biesemeyer and her daughter Rachel Blue founded the Anir Foundation/Experience.^[19] Anir focuses on humanitarian work in southern Africa.

On March 8, 1957, Belafonte married second wife Julie Robinson (former dancer with the Katherine Dunham Company). They had two children, David and Gina Belafonte. David Belafonte (a former model and actor) is an Emmy-winning producer and the executive director of the family-held company Belafonte Enterprises Inc. A music producer, he has been involved in most of Belafonte's albums and tours. David married Danish model, singer and TV personality Malena Belafonte, born Mathiesen, who won silver in Dancing with the Stars in Denmark in 2009. Malena Belafonte founded Speyer Legacy School, an award-winning private elementary school for gifted and talented children. David and Malena's daughter Sarafina attended this school. Gina Belafonte is a TV and film actress and worked with her father as coach and producer on more than six films. Gina helped found The Gathering For Justice, an intergenerational, intercultural non-profit organization working to reintroduce nonviolence to stop child incarceration. She is married to actor Scott McCray.

In April 2008, Belafonte married photographer Pamela Frank.^[20] Belafonte lived in a 21-room apartment at 300 West End Avenue (corner of 74th Street) in New York City for 50 years. In 2007 he sold his fifth-floor apartment to Abigail Disney for 10.8 million dollars. In October 1998 Belafonte contributed a letter to Liv Ullmann's book Letter to My Grandchild.^[21]

Political and humanitarian activism[link]

Belafonte's political beliefs were greatly inspired by the singer, actor and activist Paul Robeson, who mentored him. Robeson opposed not only racial prejudice in the United States, but also western colonialism in Africa. Belafonte's success did not protect him from racial discrimination, particularly in the American South. He refused to perform there from 1954 until 1961. In 1960 he appeared in a campaign commercial for Democratic Presidential candidate John F. Kennedy.^[22] Kennedy later named Belafonte cultural advisor to the Peace Corps.

Belafonte gave the keynote address at the ACLU of Northern California's annual Bill of Rights Day Celebration In December 2007 and was awarded the Chief Justice Earl Warren Civil Liberties Award. The 2011 Sundance Film Festival featured the documentary film Sing Your Song, a biographical film focusing on Belafonte's contribution to and his leadership in the civil rights movement in America and his endeavours to promote social justice globally.^[23] In 2011 Belafonte also presented his memoir My Song.

Civil-rights activist[link]

Belafonte supported the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and was one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s confidants. He provided for King's family, since King made only $8,000 a year as a preacher. Like many other civil rights activists, Belafonte was blacklisted during the McCarthy era. He bailed King out of Birmingham City Jail and raised thousands of dollars to release other civil rights protesters. He financed the Freedom Rides, supported voter registration drives, and helped to organize the March on Washington in 1963.

Belafonte (center) at the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C with Sidney Poitier (left) and Charlton Heston.

During "Freedom Summer" in 1964 Belafonte bankrolled the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, flying to Mississippi that August with Sidney Poitier and $60,000 in cash and entertaining crowds in Greenwood. In 1968 Belafonte appeared on a Petula Clark primetime television special on NBC. In the middle of a song, Clark smiled and briefly touched Belafonte's arm, which made the show's sponsor, Plymouth Motors, nervous. Plymouth wanted to cut the segment, but Clark, who had ownership of the special, told NBC that the performance would be shown intact or she would not allow the special to be aired at all. Newspapers reported the controversy, and when the special aired it attracted high ratings.

Belafonte appeared on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and performed a controversial "Mardi Gras" number intercut with footage from the 1968 Democratic National Convention riots. CBS censors deleted the segment.

Humanitarian activist[link]

In 1985, he helped organize the Grammy Award-winning song "We Are the World", a multi-artist effort to raise funds for Africa. He performed in the Live Aid concert that same year. In 1987 he received an appointment to UNICEF as a goodwill ambassador. Following his appointment Belafonte traveled to Dakar, Senegal, where he served as chairman of the International Symposium of Artists and Intellectuals for African Children. He also helped to raise funds—alongside more than 20 other artists—in the largest concert ever held in sub-Saharan Africa. In 1994 he went on a mission to Rwanda and launched a media campaign to raise awareness of the needs of Rwandan children.

In 2001 he went to South Africa to support the campaign against HIV/AIDS. In 2002 Africare awarded him the Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award for his efforts to assist Africa. In 2004 Belafonte went to Kenya to stress the importance of educating children in the region.

Belafonte has been involved in prostate cancer advocacy since 1996, when he was diagnosed and successfully treated for the disease.^[24]

On June 27, 2006, Belafonte was the recipient of the BET Humanitarian Award at the 2006 BET Awards. He was named one of nine 2006 Impact Award recipients by AARP The Magazine.^[25]

On October 19, 2007, Belafonte represented UNICEF on Norwegian television to support the annual telethon (TV Aksjonen) in support of that charity and helped raise a world record of $10 per inhabitant of Norway. Belafonte was also an ambassador for the Bahamas.^{[citation needed]} He is on the board of directors of the Advancement Project.^[26]

Political activist[link]

Belafonte has been a longtime critic of U.S. foreign policy. He began making controversial political statements on this subject in the early 1980s. He has at various times made statements opposing the U.S. embargo on Cuba; praising Soviet peace initiatives; attacking the U.S. invasion of Grenada; praising the Abraham Lincoln Brigade; honoring Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and praising Fidel Castro.^[27] Belafonte is additionally known for his visit to Cuba which helped ensure hip-hop’s place in Cuban society. According to Geoffrey Baker’s article “Hip hop, Revolucion! Nationalizing Rap in Cuba”, in 1999 Belafonte met with representatives of the rap community immediately before meeting with Fidel Castro. This meeting resulted in Castro’s personal approval of, and hence the government’s involvement in, the incorporation of rap into his country’s culture.^[28] In a 2003 interview Belafonte reflected upon this meeting’s influence:

Belafonte speaking at the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C

“When I went back to Havana a couple years later, the people in the hip-hop community came to see me and we hung out for a bit. They thanked me profusely and I said, 'Why?' and they said, 'Because your little conversation with Fidel and the Minister of Culture on hip-hop led to there being a special division within the ministry and we've got our own studio'."^[29]

Belafonte was active in the anti-apartheid movement. He was the Master of Ceremonies at a reception honoring African National Congress President Oliver Tambo at Roosevelt House, Hunter College, in New York City. The reception was held by the American Committee on Africa (ACOA) and The Africa Fund.^[30] He is a current board member of the TransAfrica Forum and the Institute for Policy Studies.^[31]

In 2004 he was awarded the Domestic Human Rights Award by Global Exchange, in San Francisco.

In December 2007 he endorsed John Edwards for the 2008 Presidential Election.

Opposition to the George W. Bush administration[link]

Belafonte achieved widespread attention for his political views in 2002 when he began making a series of comments about President George W. Bush, his administration and the Iraq War. During an interview with Ted Leitner for San Diego's 760 KFMB, in October 2002, Belafonte referred to a quote made by Malcolm X.^[32] Belafonte said:

Belafonte used the quote to characterize former United States Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, both African Americans. Powell and Rice both responded, with Powell calling the remarks "unfortunate"^[33] and Rice saying: "I don't need Harry Belafonte to tell me what it means to be black."^[34]

Harry Belafonte at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival in February 2011

The comment was brought up again in an interview with Amy Goodman for Democracy Now! in 2006.^[35] In January 2006, Belafonte led a delegation of activists including actor Danny Glover and activist/professor Cornel West to meet with President of Venezuela Hugo Chávez. In 2005 Chávez, an outspoken Bush critic, initiated a program to provide cheaper heating oil for poor people in several areas of the United States. Belafonte supported this initiative.^[36] He was quoted as saying, during the meeting with Chávez, "No matter what the greatest tyrant in the world, the greatest terrorist in the world, George W. Bush says, we're here to tell you: Not hundreds, not thousands, but millions of the American people support your revolution."^[37] Belafonte and Glover met again with Chávez in 2006.^[38] The comment ignited a great deal of controversy. Hillary Clinton refused to acknowledge Belafonte's presence at an awards ceremony that featured both of them.^[39] AARP, which had just named him one of its 10 Impact Award honorees 2006, released this statement following the remarks: "AARP does not condone the manner and tone which he has chosen and finds his comments completely unacceptable."^[40] During a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day speech at Duke University in 2006 Belafonte compared the American government to the 9/11 hijackers, saying, "What is the difference between that terrorist and other terrorists?" ^[41] In response to criticism about his remarks Belafonte asked, "What do you call Bush when the war he put us in to date has killed almost as many Americans as died on 9/11 and the number of Americans wounded in war is almost triple? [...] By most definitions Bush can be considered a terrorist." When he was asked about his expectation of criticism for his remarks on the war in Iraq, Belafonte responded: "Bring it on. Dissent is central to any democracy."^[42][43]

In another interview Belafonte remarked that while his comments may have been "hasty", nevertheless he felt the Bush administration suffered from "arrogance wedded to ignorance" and its policies around the world were "morally bankrupt."^[44] In January 2006, in a speech to the annual meeting of the Arts Presenters Members Conference, Belafonte referred to "the new Gestapo of Homeland Security" saying, "You can be arrested and have no right to counsel!"^[45] During the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day speech at Duke University in January 2006 Belafonte said that if he could choose his epitaph it would be, "Harry Belafonte, Patriot."^[46]

Discography[link]

Filmography[link]

Belafonte with wife Pamela in April 2011

• Bright Road (1953)
• Carmen Jones (1954)
• Island in the Sun (1957)
• The Heart of Show Business (1957) (short subject)
• The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959)
• Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)
• King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970) (documentary) (narrator)
• The Angel Levine (1970)
• Buck and the Preacher (1972)
• Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
• Fundi: The Story of Ella Baker (1981) (documentary)
• A veces miro mi vida (1982)
• Drei Lieder (1983) (short subject)
• Sag nein (1983) (documentary)
• Der Schönste Traum (1984) (documentary)
• We Shall Overcome (1989) (documentary) (narrator)
• The Player (1992) (Cameo)
• Ready to Wear (1994) (Cameo)
• Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream (1995)
• White Man's Burden (1995)
• Jazz '34 (1996)
• Kansas City (1996)
• Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist (1998) (documentary)
• Fidel (2001) (documentary)
• XXI Century (2003) (documentary)
• Conakry Kas (2003) (documentary)
• Ladders (2004) (documentary) (narrator)
• Mo & Me (2006) (documentary)
• Bobby (2006)
• Motherland (2009) (documentary)
• Sing Your Song (2011) (documentary)

Television work[link]

• Sugar Hill Times (1949–1950)
• Tonight With Belafonte (1959)
• Petula (1968)
• A World in Music (1969)
• Harry & Lena, For The Love Of Life (1969)
• A World in Love (1970)
• Free to Be… You and Me (1974)
• The Muppet Show (1978)
• Grambling's White Tiger (1981)
• Don't Stop The Carnival (1985)
• An Evening With Harry Belafonte And Friends (1997)
• Swing Vote (1999)
• Tanner on Tanner (2004)
• That's What I'm Talking About (2006) (miniseries)
• When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006) (miniseries)

Concert videos[link]

• Don't Stop The Carnival (1985)
• Global Carnival (1988)
• An Evening With Harry Belafonte And Friends (1997)

Stage work[link]

• John Murray Anderson's Almanac (December 10, 1953 – June 26, 1954)
• 3 for Tonight (April 6 – June 18, 1955)
• Moonbirds (October 9–10, 1959) (producer)
• Belafonte at the Palace (December 15, 1959 – closing date unknown)
• Asinamali! (April 23 – May 17, 1987) (producer)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Harry Belafonte

• Harry Belafonte at the Internet Movie Database
• Harry Belafonte at the Internet Broadway Database
• Harry Belafonte at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Harry Belafonte discography
• [4] English version of the text found at the bottom of the page.
• 2004 Global Exchange Human Rights Award – Belafonte's acceptance speech in San Francisco
• Ubben Lecture at DePauw University
• Democracy Now! transcript/MP3/video of interview by Amy Goodman, January 30, 2006
• The Bigotry of Belafonte – by Andrew Sullivan, Salon.com, Oct. 25, 2002
• "The Man Behind Belafonte's Music – Irving Burgie" – by Ronald David Jackson, with video
• Discography at SonyBMG Masterworks
• The HistoryMakers Biography and video clips
• Harry Belafonte: Belafonte At Carnegie Hall
• Belafonte and Nat King Cole sing "Mama Look at Bubu"
• Belafonte: "Iraq & Afghanistan Wars Are Immoral" – video report by Democracy Now!

Danny Kaye
Born	David Daniel Kaminski (1913-01-18)January 18, 1913 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died	March 3, 1987(1987-03-03) (aged 74) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, singer, comedian
Years active	1935–1986
Spouse	Sylvia Fine (1940-1987) (his death) 1 child

Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminski; January 18, 1913 – March 3, 1987)^[1] was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian. His best known performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire nonsense songs.

Kaye starred in 17 movies, notably The Kid from Brooklyn (1946), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), The Inspector General (1949), Hans Christian Andersen (1952), and — perhaps his most accomplished performance — The Court Jester (1956). His films were extremely popular, especially his bravura performances of patter songs and children's favorites such as The Inch Worm and The Ugly Duckling. He was the first ambassador-at-large of UNICEF in 1954 and received the French Legion of Honor in 1986 for his many years of work with the organization.^[2]

Early years[link]

David Daniel Kaminski was born to Ukrainian Jewish immigrants in Brooklyn. Jacob and Clara Nemerovsky Kaminski and their two sons, Larry and Mac, left Ekaterinoslav two years before his birth; he was the only one of their sons born in the United States.^[3] He spent his early youth attending Public School 149 in East New York, Brooklyn, where he began entertaining his young classmates with songs and jokes,^[4] before moving to Thomas Jefferson High School, but he never graduated.^[5] His mother died when he was in his early teens. Clara enjoyed the impressions and humor of her youngest son and always had words of encouragement for them; her death was a great loss for young Danny.

Not long after his mother's death, Danny and his best friend ran away to Florida. Danny sang while his friend Louis played the guitar; the pair eked out a living like this for a while. When Danny did return to New York, his father did not pressure him to return to school or to get a job, giving his son the chance to mature and discover his own abilities.^[6] Danny said he had wanted to become a surgeon as a young boy, but there was no chance of the family being able to afford a medical school education for him.^[3][7] He held a succession of jobs after leaving school: a soda jerk, insurance investigator, office clerk. Most of them ended with him being fired. He lost the insurance job when he made an error that cost the insurance company $40,000. The dentist who had hired him to look after his office during his lunch hour did the same when he found Danny using his drill to create designs in the office woodwork.^[3][8] He learned his trade in his teenage years in the Catskills as a tummler in the Borscht Belt.^[4]

Kaminski's first break came in 1933 when he was asked to become one of the "Three Terpsichoreans", a vaudeville dance act. He opened with them in Utica, New York using the name Danny Kaye for the first time.^[4] The act toured the United States, then signed on to perform in the Orient with the show La Vie Paree.^[9] The troupe left for six months in the Far East on February 8, 1934. While the group was in Osaka, Japan, a typhoon hit the city. The hotel Kaye and his colleagues stayed in suffered heavy damage; a piece of the hotel's cornice was hurled into Kaye's room by the strong wind, nearly killing him. By performance time that evening, the city was still in the grip of the storm. There was no power and the audience had become understandably restless and nervous. To keep everyone calm, Kaye went on stage, his face lit by a flashlight, and sang every song he could recall as loudly as he was able.^[3] The experience of trying to entertain audiences who did not speak English is what brought him to the pantomimes, gestures, songs and facial expressions which eventually made him famous.^[4][8] Sometimes it was necessary just to try to get a meal. Kaye's daughter, Dena, tells a story her father related about being at a restaurant in China and trying to order chicken. Kaye flapped his arms and clucked, giving the waiter his best imitation of a chicken. The waiter nodded his understanding, bringing Kaye two eggs. His interest in cooking began on the tour.^[4][9]

When he returned to the United States, jobs were in short supply; Kaye struggled for bookings. One of the jobs was working in a burlesque revue with fan dancer Sally Rand. After the dancer dropped one of her fans while trying to chase away a fly, Kaye was hired to be in charge of the fans so they were always held in front of her.^[4][8]

Career[link]

Promotional flyer for The Straw Hat Revue, 1939. Kaye met his wife, Sylvia Fine, while working in it.

Danny Kaye made his film debut in a 1935 comedy short "Moon Over Manhattan". In 1937 he signed with New York–based Educational Pictures for a series of two-reel comedies. Kaye usually played a manic, dark-haired, fast-talking Russian in these low-budget shorts, opposite young hopefuls June Allyson or Imogene Coca. The Kaye series ended abruptly when the studio shut down permanently in 1938. He was still working in the Catskills at times in 1937, using the name Danny Kolbin.^[10][11] Kaye's next venture was a short-lived Broadway show, where Sylvia Fine was the pianist, lyricist and composer. The Straw Hat Revue opened on September 29, 1939 and closed after ten weeks, but it was long enough for critics to take notice of Danny Kaye's work in it.^[3][12] The glowing reviews brought an offer for both Kaye and his new bride, Sylvia, to work at La Martinique, an upscale New York City nightclub. Kaye performed with Sylvia as his accompanist. At La Martinique, playwright Moss Hart saw Danny perform, which led to Hart casting him in Hart's hit Broadway comedy Lady in the Dark.^[3][8]

Kaye scored a personal triumph in 1941 in Lady in the Dark. His show-stopping number was "Tchaikovsky", by Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin, in which he sang the names of a whole string of Russian composers at breakneck speed, seemingly without taking a breath.^[13][14] By the next Broadway season, he was the star of his own show about a young man who is drafted called Let's Face It!.^[15]

His feature film debut was in producer Samuel Goldwyn's Technicolor 1944 comedy Up in Arms,^[16] a remake of Goldwyn's Eddie Cantor comedy Whoopee! (1930).^[17] Kaye's rubber face and fast patter were an instant hit,^{[citation needed]} and rival producer Robert M. Savini cashed in almost immediately by compiling three of Kaye's old Educational Pictures shorts into a makeshift feature, The Birth of a Star (1945).^[18]

Kaye starred in a radio program of his own, The Danny Kaye Show, on CBS in 1945–1946.^[19] Its cast included Eve Arden, Lionel Stander, and Big Band leader Harry James, and it was scripted by radio notable Goodman Ace and respected playwright-director Abe Burrows.

The radio program's popularity rose quickly. Before Kaye had been on the air a year, he tied with Jimmy Durante for fifth place in the Radio Daily popularity poll.^[8] Kaye was asked to participate in a USO tour following the end of World War II. It meant he would be absent from his radio show for close to two months at the beginning of the season. Kaye's friends filled in for him, with a different guest host each week.^[20] Kaye was the first American actor to visit postwar Tokyo; it was his first time there after touring there some ten years before with the vaudeville troupe.^[21][22] When Kaye asked to be released from his radio contract in mid 1946, he agreed not to accept another regular radio show for one year and also to limit his guest appearances on the radio programs of others.^[20][23] Many of the show's episodes survive today, and are notable for Kaye's opening "signature" patter.^[8]

"Git gat gittle, giddle-di-ap, giddle-de-tommy, riddle de biddle de roop, da-reep, fa-san, skeedle de woo-da, fiddle de wada, reep!"

Danny Kaye on USO tour at Sasebo, Japan, October 25, 1945. Kaye and his friend, Dodgers manager Leo Durocher, made the trip.^[21]

Kaye was sufficiently popular that he inspired imitations:

• The 1946 Warner Bros. cartoon Book Revue had a lengthy sequence with Daffy Duck impersonating Kaye singing "Carolina in the Morning" with the Russian accent that Kaye would affect from time to time.
• Satirical songwriter Tom Lehrer's 1953 song "Lobachevsky" was based on a number that Kaye had done, about the Russian director Constantin Stanislavski, again with the affected Russian accent. Lehrer mentioned Kaye in the opening monologue, citing him as an "idol since childbirth."
• Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster also fashioned a short-lived superhero title, Funnyman, taking inspiration from Kaye's public persona.

Kaye starred in several movies with actress Virginia Mayo in the 1940s, and is well known for his roles in films such as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), The Inspector General (1949), On the Riviera (1951) co-starring Gene Tierney, Knock on Wood (1954), White Christmas (1954, in a role originally intended for Fred Astaire, then Donald O'Connor),The Court Jester (1956), and Merry Andrew (1958). Kaye starred in two pictures based on biographies, Hans Christian Andersen (1952) about the Danish story-teller, and The Five Pennies (1959) about jazz pioneer Red Nichols. His wife, writer/lyricist Sylvia Fine, wrote many of the witty, tongue-twisting songs Danny Kaye became famous for.^[7][24] She was also an associate producer.^[25] Some of Kaye's films included the theme of doubles, two people who look identical (both played by Danny Kaye) being mistaken for each other, to comic effect.

White Christmas trailer

Kaye teamed with the very popular Andrews Sisters (Patty, Maxene, and LaVerne) on Decca Records in 1947, producing the number-three Billboard smash hit "Civilization (Bongo, Bongo, Bongo)". The success of the pairing prompted both acts to record repeatedly through 1950, producing such rhythmically comical fare as "The Woody Woodpecker Song" (based on the frisky bird from the Walter Lantz cartoons, and another Billboard hit for the quartet), "Put 'em in a Box, Tie 'em with a Ribbon (And Throw 'em in the Deep Blue Sea)," "The Big Brass Band from Brazil," "It's a Quiet Town (In Crossbone County)," "Amelia Cordelia McHugh (Mc Who?)," "Ching-a-ra-sa-sa", and a duet by Danny and Patty of "Orange Colored Sky". The acts also teamed for two yuletide favorites: a frantic, melodious, harmonic rendition of "A Merry Christmas at Grandmother's House (Over the River and Through the Woods)", and another duet by Danny & Patty, "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth."^[26]

While his wife wrote Kaye's material, there was much of it that was unwritten, springing from the mind of Danny Kaye, often while he was performing. Kaye had one character he never shared with the public; Kaplan, the owner of an Akron, Ohio rubber company, came to life only for family and friends. His wife, Sylvia, described the Kaplan character:^[27]

He doesn't have any first name. Even his wife calls him just Kaplan. He's an illiterate pompous character who advertises his philanthropies. Jack Benny or Dore Schary might say, "Kaplan, why do you hate unions so?" If Danny feels like doing Kaplan that night, he might be off on Kaplan for two hours.

When he appeared at the London Palladium music hall in 1948, he "roused the Royal family to shrieks of laughter and was the first of many performers who have turned English variety into an American preserve." Life magazine described his reception as "worshipful hysteria" and noted that the royal family, for the first time in history, left the royal box to see the show from the front row of the orchestra.^[28][29][30] He later related that he had no idea of the familial connections when the Marquess of Milford Haven introduced himself after one of the shows and said he would like his cousins to see Kaye perform.^[14] Kaye also later stated that he never returned to the venue because there was no way to re-create the magic of that time.^[31] Kaye had an invitation to return to London for a Royal Variety Performance in November of the same year.^[32] When the invitation arrived, Kaye was busy at work on The Inspector General (which had a working title of Happy Times for a while). Warners stopped work on the film to allow their star to attend.^[33] When his Decca co-workers The Andrews Sisters began their engagement at the London Palladium directly on the heels of Kaye's incredibly successful 1948 appearance there, the trio was so well received that David Lewin of the Daily Express declared, "The audience gave The Andrews Sisters the Danny Kaye roar!"^[34]

He hosted the 24th Academy Awards in 1952. The program was broadcast only on radio. Telecasts of the Oscar ceremony would come later. During the 1950s, Kaye visited Australia, where he played "Buttons" in a production of Cinderella in Sydney. In 1953, Kaye started his own production company, Dena Pictures, named for his daughter. Knock on Wood was the first film produced by his firm. The firm expanded into television in 1960 under the name Belmont Television.^[35][36]

Kaye in 1955

Kaye entered the world of television in 1956 through the CBS show See It Now with Edward R. Murrow.^[37] The Secret Life of Danny Kaye combined his 50,000 mile, ten country tour as UNICEF ambassador with music and humor.^[38][39] His first solo effort was in 1960 with an hour-long special produced by Sylvia and sponsored by General Motors; there were similar specials in 1961 and 1962.^[3] He hosted his own variety hour on CBS television, The Danny Kaye Show, from 1963 to 1967, which won four Emmy awards and a Peabody award.^[40][41] During this period, beginning in 1964, he acted as television host to the annual CBS telecasts of MGM's The Wizard of Oz. Kaye also did a stint as one of the What's My Line? Mystery Guests on the popular Sunday night CBS-TV quiz program. Kaye later served as a guest panelist on that show. He also appeared on the NBC interview program Here's Hollywood.

In the 1970s Kaye tore a ligament in his leg during the run of the Richard Rodgers musical Two by Two, but went on with the show, appearing with his leg in a cast and cavorting on stage from a wheelchair.^[40][42] He had done much the same on his television show in 1964 when his right leg and foot were seriously burned from an at-home cooking accident. The camera shots were planned so television viewers did not see Kaye in his wheelchair.^[43] In 1971, he was the voice of Seymour S. Sassafrass in the memorable Rankin/Bass production Here Comes Peter Cottontail. The year later he was the character Marmaduke in another Rankin/Bass movie titled The enchanted waorld of Danny Kaye: The Emporer's New Clothes. In 1976, he played the role of Mister Geppetto in a television musical adaptation of Pinocchio with Sandy Duncan in the title role. Kaye also portrayed Captain Hook opposite Mia Farrow in a musical version of Peter Pan featuring songs written by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse. It was shown on NBC-TV in December 1976 as part of The Hallmark Hall Of Fame series. He guest-starred much later in his career in episodes of The Muppet Show, The Cosby Show^[44] and in the 1980s revival of The Twilight Zone.

In many of his movies, as well as on stage, Kaye proved to be a very able actor, singer, dancer and comedian. He showed quite a different and serious side as Ambassador for UNICEF and in his dramatic role in the memorable TV movie Skokie, in which he played a Holocaust survivor.^[40] Before his death in 1987, Kaye demonstrated his ability to conduct an orchestra during a comical, but technically sound, series of concerts organized for UNICEF fundraising. Kaye received two Academy Awards: an Academy Honorary Award in 1955 and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1982.^[13] Also that year he received the Screen Actors Guild Annual Award.^[13]

Kaye was enamored of music. While he often claimed an inability to read music, he was quite the conductor and was said to have perfect pitch. Kaye's ability with an orchestra was brought up by Dimitri Mitropoulos, who was then the conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. After Kaye's guest appearance, Mitropoulos remarked, "Here is a man who is not musically trained, who cannot even read music, and he gets more out of my orchestra than I ever have."^[5] Kaye was often invited to conduct symphonies as charity fundraisers^[7][13] and was the conductor of the all-city marching band at the season opener of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1984. Over the course of his career he raised over US$5,000,000 in support of musicians pension funds.^[45]

In 1980, Kaye hosted and sang in the 25th Anniversary of Disneyland celebration, and hosted the opening celebration for Epcot in 1982 (EPCOT Center at the time), both of which were aired on prime-time American television.

Other projects[link]

Cooking[link]

In his later years he took to entertaining at home as chef – he had a special stove installed in his patio – and specialized in Chinese and Italian cooking.^[13] The specialized stove Kaye used for his Chinese dishes was fitted with special metal rings for the burners to allow the heat from them to be highly concentrated. Kaye needed to install a trough with circulating ice water so he could use the burners.^[46] Kaye also taught Chinese cooking classes at a San Francisco Chinese restaurant in the 1970s.^[47] The theater and demonstration kitchen underneath the library at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York is named for him.^[48]

Danny referred to his kitchen as "Ying's Thing". While filming The Madwoman of Chaillot in France, he phoned home to ask his family if they would like to eat at "Ying's Thing" that evening; Kaye then flew home for dinner.^[9] Not all of his efforts in the kitchen turned out well. After flying to San Francisco for a recipe for sourdough bread, he came home and spent hours preparing loaves. When his daughter asked about the bread, Kaye tried showing her by hitting the bread on the kitchen table. His bread was hard enough to chip it.^[9] Kaye approached his kitchen work with enthusiasm, making his own sausages and other items needed for his cuisine.^[46][49] His work as a chef earned him the "Les Meilleurs Ouvriers de France" cuilinary award; Kaye was the only non-professional to achieve this honor.^[5]

Flying[link]

Like many in the film business, Danny was an aviation enthusiast. He became seriously interested in learning how to fly in 1959. An enthusiastic and accomplished golfer, Kaye gave up golf in favor of flying.^[50] When Kaye went for his first written pilot's exam, he brought a liverwurst sandwich in case he was there for hours. The first plane Kaye owned was a Piper Aztec.^[51][52] Kaye got his first license as a private pilot of multi-engine aircraft, not getting certified for operating a single engine plane until six years later.^[51] He was an accomplished pilot, rated for airplanes ranging from single engine light aircraft to multi-engine jets.^[13] Kaye held a commercial pilot's license and had flown every type of aircraft except military planes.^[5][51][53] A vice-president of Learjet, Kaye owned and operated a Learjet 24.^[51] He supported many flying projects. In 1968, he was Honorary Chairman of the Las Vegas International Exposition of Flight, a major show that utilized most facets of the city’s entertainment industry while presenting a major air show. The operational show chairman was well-known aviation figure, Lynn Garrison. Kaye flew his own plane to 65 cities in five days on a mission designed to help UNICEF.^[5]

Danny Kaye was very fond of the legendary arranger Vic Schoen. Schoen had arranged for him on White Christmas, The Court Jester, and albums and concerts with the Andrews Sisters. In the 1960s Vic Schoen was working on a show in Las Vegas with Shirley Temple. He was injured in a car accident. When Danny Kaye heard about the accident, he immediately flew his own plane to McCarran Airport to pick up Schoen and bring him back to Los Angeles to guarantee the best medical attention.

Baseball[link]

Kaye was part-owner of baseball's Seattle Mariners along with his partner Lester Smith from 1977 to 1981.^[13][54] Prior to that, the lifelong fan of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers recorded a song called "The D-O-D-G-E-R-S Song (Oh really? No, O'Malley!)", describing a fictitious encounter with the San Francisco Giants, which was a hit during the real-life pennant chase of 1962. That song is included on Baseball's Greatest Hits compact discs. A good friend of Leo Durocher, he would often travel with the team.^[8] In addition to being an owner, Kaye had an encyclopedic knowledge of the game.^[13]

Medicine[link]

He also had a longstanding interest in medicine and was permitted to perform surgery on several occasions.^[8][55] He was an honorary member of the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Pediatrics.^[13]

Charity[link]

Danny Kaye on a promotion tour for UNICEF in the Netherlands, 1955

Throughout his life, Kaye donated to various charities. Working alongside UNICEF's Halloween fundraiser founder, Ward Simon Kimball Jr., the actor educated the public on impoverished children in deplorable living conditions overseas and assisted in the distribution of donated goods and funds. His involvement with UNICEF came about in a very unusual way. Kaye was flying home from an appearance in London in 1949 when one of the plane's four engines lost its propeller and caught fire. The problem was initially thought to be serious enough that it might need to make an ocean landing; life jackets and life rafts were made ready. The plane was able to head back over 500 miles to make a landing in Shannon, Ireland. On the way back to Shannon, the head of the Children's Fund, Maurice Pate, had the seat next to Danny Kaye and spoke at length to him about the need for recognition for the Fund. Their discussion continued on the flight from Shannon to New York; it was the beginning of the actor's long association with UNICEF.^[56][57]

Death[link]

Kaye died of a heart attack in March 1987, following a bout of hepatitis. Kaye had quadruple bypass heart surgery in February 1983; he contracted hepatitis from a blood transfusion he received at that time.^[13][44] He left a widow, Sylvia Fine, and a daughter, Dena.^[58] He is interred in the Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York. His grave is adorned with a bench that contains friezes of a baseball and bat, an aircraft, a piano, a flower pot, musical notes, and a glove. Kaye's name, birth and death dates are inscribed on the glove.^[59] The United Nations held a memorial tribute to him at their New York headquarters.^[60][61]

Personal life[link]

Kaye in 1986, by Allan Warren.

Kaye and his wife, Sylvia, both grew up in Brooklyn, living only a few blocks apart, but they did not meet until they were both working on an off-Broadway show in 1939.^[62] Sylvia was an audition pianist at the time.^[7][24][63] Danny and Sylvia discovered that the dentist whose office he had been hired to watch was Sylvia's father, Samuel Fine.^[8] They were married on January 3, 1940.^[58][64] Kaye, working in Florida at the time, proposed on the telephone; the couple were married in Fort Lauderdale.^[65] Their daughter, Dena, was born on December 17, 1946.^[12][66]

Both Kaye and his wife raised their daughter without any parental hopes or aspirations for her future. Kaye said in a 1954 interview, "Whatever she wants to be she will be without interference from her mother nor from me."^[6][49] When she was very young, Dena did not like seeing her father perform because she did not understand that people were supposed to laugh at what he did.^[67]

During World War II, the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated rumors that Kaye dodged the draft by manufacturing a medical condition to gain 4-F status and exemption from military service. FBI files show he was also under investigation for supposed links with Communist groups. The allegations were never substantiated, and he was never charged with any associated crime.^[68]

After Kaye and his wife became estranged,^[12][69][70] he was allegedly involved with a succession of women, though he and Fine never divorced.^[71][72] The best-known of these women was actress Eve Arden.^[55][73]

There are persistent rumors that Kaye was either homosexual or bisexual, and some sources claim that Kaye and Laurence Olivier had a ten-year relationship in the 1950s while Olivier was still married to Vivien Leigh.^[74] A biography of Leigh states that the alleged relationship caused her to have a breakdown.^[75] The alleged relationship has been denied by Olivier's official biographer, Terry Coleman.^[76] Joan Plowright, Olivier's widow, has dealt with the matter in different ways on different occasions: she deflected the question (but alluded to Olivier's "demons") in a BBC interview.^[77] However, in her memoirs Plowright denies that there had been an affair between the two men.^[78] Producer Perry Lafferty reported: "People would ask me, 'Is he gay? Is he gay?' I never saw anything to substantiate that in all the time I was with him.”^[55] Kaye’s final girlfriend, Marlene Sorosky, reported that he told her, "I've never had a homosexual experience in my life. I've never had any kind of gay relationship. I've had opportunities, but I never did anything about them."^[55]

Honors, awards, tributes[link]

• Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (1981)
• Asteroid 6546 Kaye
• Danny Kaye has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in music, radio, and films.^[79]
• Danny Kaye was knighted by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark in 1983 for his 1952 portrayal of Hans Christian Andersen in the film of the same name.^[58]
• Kennedy Center Honor (1984)
• Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade (1984)
• French Legion of Honor (Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur) on February 24, 1986 for his UNICEF work.^[2]
• The song I Wish I Was Danny Kaye on Miracle Legion's 1996 album Portrait of a Damaged Family
• On June 23, 1987, Kaye was posthumously presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan. The award was received by his daughter Dena.^[80][81]
• UNICEF's New York Visitor's Centre is named to honor Danny Kaye.^[82]
• In December 1996, the PBS series, American Masters, aired a special on the life of Danny Kaye.^[31]

Filmography[link]

Film[link]

Television[link]

• Autumn Laughter (1938) (experimental telecast)
• The Secret Life of Danny Kaye (1956) (See It Now special)
• An Hour With Danny Kaye (1960 and 1961) (specials)
• The Danny Kaye Show with Lucille Ball (1962) (special)
• The Danny Kaye Show (1963–1967) (series)
• The Lucy Show: "Lucy Meets Danny Kaye" (1964) (guest appearance)
• Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1971) (voice)
• The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes (1972) (special)
• An Evening with John Denver (1975) (special)
• Pinocchio (1976 TV-musical) (1976) (special), live television musical adaptation starring Sandy Duncan and Danny Kaye
• Peter Pan (1976) (special)
• The Muppet Show (1978) (guest appearance)
• Disneyland's 25th Anniversary (1980) (special guest appearance)
• An Evening with Danny Kaye (1981) (special)
• Skokie (1981)
• The New Twilight Zone: "Paladin of the Lost Hour" (1985) (guest appearance)
• The Cosby Show: "The Dentist" (1986) (guest appearance)

Discography[link]

Studio Albums[link]

• The Five Pennies with Louis Armstrong (1959)

Soundtracks[link]

• Hans Christian Andersen (1980)

Story Albums[link]

• Danny Kaye tells 6 stories from faraway lands (1960)

Compilations[link]

• Selections From Irving Berlin's White Christmas (1954)

References[link]