Danny made his Broadway debut in "The Straw Hat Revue" with Imogene Coca In 1939. His light-hearted, manic approach was pure delight. As Shelley Berman recalled, Danny arrived "just before World War II when we were just desperate and nothing made sense."
"Lady in the Dark" , by Moss Hart, was another smash hit for Danny, his mix of whimsy and sophistication earned lavish praises. Hart wrote Danny into the play with an 11 minute part of a temperamental photographer who's mastered the art of tongue twisters. This was made evident by the now famous song "Tchaikovsky", in which Danny sings the names of 54 Russian composers in 38 seconds. His part debuted on January 21, 1940 in the Alvin theater, and it brought the second act to a standstill.

Danny's head writer finally got a promotion. Many of the novelty numbers were written by Sylvia Fine and after things took a romantic turn, he married her in 1940 during a civil ceremony in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The January 3, 1940 marriage made Sylvia's parents furious. To satisfy her parents they had a Jewish wedding on Feb. 22, 1940. In January they barely had $100 between them but, by February he was working at the night club Matinique. His salary started at $250 a week and was soon doubled and then tripled.
This marked another turning point in his career, because Sylvia would become not only his manager and the author of some of his best gags and routines, but also as his lyricist. It was she who wrote the tongue-twisting songs and monologues with which Danny had captured Moss Hart's attention. She needed a medium and he needed material. She used her talents and gifts to create Danny Kaye.
Abandoning her ambitions to become a star on her own, Sylvia Fine devoted all of her energies to her husband. She became his coach, publicity agent, manager, and even surrogate spokesperson when Danny didn't feel like answering inane questions from interviewers. One of the early numbers that she wrote for him was Anatole of Paris, in which Danny sang in the voice of a fey designer of women's hats. He added the song to his nightclub act and eventually, Sylvia worked it into the score to his 1947 motion picture hit, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

After playing a return engagement at La Martinique, and a five-week stint at the Paramount Theatre, Danny appeared again on Broadway, starring in the Cole Porter musical "Let's Face It," which opened in October 1941. Porter allowed Sylvia Fine and Max Liebman to interpolate some special material for Danny, which included a jabberwocky of song, dance, illustration and double-talk called Melody In 4F. Danny had to leave the show early in 1942, suffering from nervous exhaustion, but having recovered, he toured on behalf of the war effort and is said 10 have sold a million dollars' worth of government bonds in six months. Rejected by the US Army because of a back ailment, he entertained troops with his two-hour shows in many theatres of operations including the South Pacific.

In 1943, he was signed by movie producer Samuel Goldwyn (after much work by Sylvia). The following year, he starred in "Up in Arms," the first of a highly successful string of lavish technicolor Goldwyn comedies that were tailor-made as showcases for the display of Danny's versatile talents.
At first the Broadway star had trouble making the transition to film. Movie boss Sam Goldwyn, told him "Do something about your nose," complaining that Danny looked "too Jewish." Over and over Goldwyn complained, but Danny (and Sylvia) refused to be brainwashed. So Goldwyn settled for a hair wash and dye job. Danny was turned into a blonde and remained unnaturally light through much of his film career before returning to its reddish-brown roots.
Movies became the perfect medium For Danny's performance technique. His best loved comic devices were his whimsical facial expressions (he could go instantly from tragic tears to gleeful hysteria) and his dazzling, tongue-twisting novelty songs. He would make many albums of nonsense songs that managed to delight children as well as their more demanding parents.

Alhough Kaye had appeared in his first film in 1937, it wasn't until almost ten years later that his film career hit its stride. In 1945 Danny appeared in his second feature film, "Wonder Man." He exhibited his natural dance abilities while performing Sylvia's number, "Bali Boogie." Also this year, The Danny Kaye Show, a CBS radio program subtitled "Pabst Blue Ribbon Time," aired.
Easygoing and personable, Kaye enjoyed enormous popularity in the late 40's, thanks to his sunny personality, broad pantomime, clever impersonations, and vocal virtuosity. He combined these talents most admirably in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" in 1947, a film that gave him the opportunity to caricature several different personalities.

In December the year before, Dena Kaye was born. She was to be their only child. Dena was to grow up surrounded by the elite of Hollywood during the most spectacular decades for the growing movie business. Her father (and mother) would be considers two of the most powerful teams in the industry.

Danny's popularity was even greater in Britain, where he enjoyed huge success with record-breaking engagements at the Palladium in 1948 and 1949 and made personal appearances at the royal palace with Winston Churchill, Laurence Olivier and the Royal Family in the audience. The English always loved his blend of silliness and sophistication, and with his songs, anecdotes and patter, he became one of the last of "The Entertainers," a dying breed of singing, dancing, joking stars exemplified by Eddie Cantor and Sophie Tucker. His instant success in Britain was described by Life magazine as "worshipful hysteria." The Royal Family not only went to see him, but for the first time in history left the royal box and sat in the first row of the orchestra. This was to be the first "non-command performance" attended by a reigning English monarch.
During one performance at the Palladium, when a member of the audience enquired about the state of Danny's ribs following a car accident, he ordered the lights to be lowered while he displayed the actual X-ray plates!

MORE----->