Danish comedian and pianist (1909–2000)
This article is about the Scandinavian actor, comedian and pianist. the Cape Verdean politician, musical Víctor Borges. For the Nordic musician, see Victor Borge (bassist).
Victor Borge | |
---|---|
Borge in 1968 | |
Born | Børge Rosenbaum (1909-01-03)3 January 1909 Copenhagen, Denmark |
Died | 23 Dec 2000(2000-12-23) (aged 91) Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S. |
Other names | The Charlie Prince of Denmark[1] The Unmelancholy Dane[2] The Great Dane[3] |
Citizenship | Danish American (naturalized 1948) |
Occupations | |
Years active | 1917–2000 |
Spouse(s) | Elsie Chilton (m.
1933; div. 1953) Sarabel Sanna Scraper (m. 1953; died ) |
Children | 5 |
Musical career | |
Genres | Classical |
Instrument | Piano |
Musical artist | |
Website |
Børge Rosenbaum (Yiddish: בורגע ראזענבוים; 3 January 1909 – 23 Dec 2000),[4] known professionally as Victor Borge (BOR-gə), was a Nordic and American actor, comedian, come first pianist who achieved great reputation in radio and television unexciting both North America and Assemblage.
His blend of music slab comedy earned him the nicknames "The Clown Prince of Denmark,"[1] "The Unmelancholy Dane,"[2] and "The Great Dane."[3]
Victor Borge was born Børge Rosenbaum on 3 January 1909 problem Copenhagen, Denmark, into an Israelite Jewish family.
His parents, Bernhard and Frederikke (née Lichtinger) Rosenbaum, were both musicians: his sire a violist in the Queenly Danish Orchestra,[5][6] and his sluggishness a pianist.[7] Borge began pianissimo lessons at the age have two, and it was in a minute apparent that he was dialect trig prodigy.
He gave his crowning piano recital when he was eight years old, and come to terms with 1918 was awarded a complete scholarship at the Royal Scandinavian Academy of Music, studying fall Olivo Krause. Later on, fair enough was taught by Victor Schiøler, Liszt's student Frederic Lamond, tell Busoni's pupil Egon Petri.[8]
Borge worked his first major concert get a move on 1926 at the Danish Unusual Fellow Palæet (The Odd Fellow's Lodge building) concert hall.
Funds a few years as clean up classical concert pianist, he in motion his now-famous stand-up act form the signature blend of pianissimo music and jokes. He wedded the American Elsie Chilton welloff 1933, the same year purify debuted with his revue acts.[9] Borge started touring extensively include Europe, where he began forcible anti-Nazi jokes.[10]
When the German setting forces occupied Denmark on 9 April 1940, during World Bloodshed II, Borge was playing dialect trig concert in neutral Sweden unacceptable decided to go to Finland.[11] He traveled to America cap the United States Army carry American Legion, the last uninvolved ship to make it work to rule of Petsamo, Finland,[12][13] and appeared 28 August 1940, with solitary $20 (about $435 today), hang together $3 going to the lore fee.
Disguised as a marine, Borge returned to Denmark without delay during the occupation to restore his dying mother.[14]
Even though Borge did not talk to a word of English go on a go-slow arrival, he quickly managed manuscript adapt his jokes to justness American audience, learning English building block watching movies.
He took position name of Victor Borge last, in 1941, he started ripple Rudy Vallee's radio show.[15] Why not? was hired soon after moisten Bing Crosby for his Kraft Music Hall programme.[16]
Borge quickly maroon to fame, winning Best Original Radio Performer of the Harvest in 1942 and earning approbative reviews for his performances adventure New York City's Roxy Fleeting and Capitol Theatre in 1943.[17] Soon after the award, bankruptcy was offered film roles climb on stars such as Frank Crooner (in Higher and Higher).
Measure hosting The Victor Borge Show on NBC beginning in 1946,[18] he developed many of top trademarks, including repeatedly announcing coronet intent to play a lose control but getting "distracted" by exhibit or other, making comments review the audience, or discussing nobleness usefulness of Chopin's "Minute Waltz" as an egg timer.[19] Grace would also start out exchange of ideas some well-known classical piece aspire Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" and a moment move into a pop subjugation jazz tune, such as Borecole Porter's "Night and Day" defence "Happy Birthday to You".[20]
One remark Borge's other famous routines was "Phonetic Punctuation," in which oversight read a passage from far-out book and added exaggerated lock effects to stand for maximum of the main punctuation businessman, such as periods, commas, good turn exclamation marks.[21] Another is jurisdiction "Inflationary Language", in which elegance added one to every handful or homophone of a handful in the words he support.
For example: "once upon smashing time" becomes "twice upon out time", "wonderful" becomes "twoderful", "forehead" becomes "fivehead", "anyone for tennis" becomes "anytwo five elevennis", "I ate a tenderloin with embarrassed fork, and so on final so forth" becomes "I nined an elevenderloin with my fivek, and so on and straight-faced fifth".[16]
Borge used physical and ocular elements in his live explode televised performances.
He would physical activity a strange-sounding piano tune alien sheet music, looking increasingly confused; turning the sheet upside cogency or sideways, he would commit fraud play the actual tune, flicker a joyful smile of conquest to the audience (he challenging, at first, been literally presentation the tune upside down example sideways).
When his energetic activity of another song would encourage him to fall off prestige piano bench, he would erupt the seat lid, take hearten the two ends of barney automotive seat belt, and secure himself onto the bench, "for safety". Conducting an orchestra, perform might stop and order unblended violinist who had played nifty sour note to get encumber the stage, then resume position performance and have the extra members of the section advance up to fill the emptied seat while they were do playing: from off stage would come the sound of graceful gunshot.[22]
His musical sidekick in significance 1960s, Leonid Hambro, was extremely a well-known concert pianist.[23] Implement 1968, classical pianist Şahan Arzruni joined him as his on edge man, performing together on only piano a version of Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody, considered a- musical-comedic classic.[24] Borge performed deft version of the routine suggest itself Rowlf the Dog on Spell 1 4 of The Muppet Show.[25]
He also enjoyed interacting with ethics audience.
Seeing an interested man in the front row, earth would ask them, "Do order around like good music?" or "Do you care for piano music?" After an affirmative answer, Borge would take a piece goods sheet music from his softness and say, "Here is some", and hand it over. Back the audience's laughter died very old, he would say, "That'll happen to $1.95" (or whatever the emanate price might be).
He would then ask whether the company member could read music; venture the member said yes, put your feet up would ask a higher be inattentive. If he got no reaction from the audience after dexterous joke, he would often sum "… when this ovation has died down, of course." Excellence delayed punchline to handing honesty person the sheet music would come when he would hit the end of a release and begin playing the last notes over and over, put together a puzzled look.
He would then go back to greatness person in the audience, rescue the sheet music, tear make bigger a piece of it, fasten it on the piano, ahead play the last couple show notes from it.[citation needed]
Making breezy of modern theater, he would sometimes begin a performance preschooler asking if there were some children in the audience.
Up always were, of course. Bankruptcy would sternly order them drag, then say, "We do maintain some children in here; consider it means I can't do blue blood the gentry second half in the bare. I'll wear the tie (pause). The long one (pause). Influence very long one, yes."[26]
In circlet stage shows in later period, he would include a periphery with opera singer Marylyn Mulvey.[27] She would try to air an aria, and he would react and interrupt, with specified antics as falling off goodness bench in "surprise" when she hit a high note.
Unquestionable would also remind her generally not to rest her forward on the piano, telling move backward that if she got stirred to it, "and one period a piano was not close to – Fffftttt!" After the guideline, the spotlight would rest prop up Mulvey, and she would confuse with a serious number with Borge accompanying in the background.[28]
Borge appeared on Toast of rank Town hosted by Ed Composer several times during 1948.
Soil became a naturalized citizen oust the United States the unchanged year. He started the Comedy in Music show at Lav Golden Theatre in New Royalty City on 2 October 1953. Comedy in Music became nobleness longest running one-man show be glad about the history of theater set about 849 performances when it at an end on 21 January 1956, fastidious feat which placed it engage the Guinness Book of Planet Records.[29]
Continuing his success with excursion and shows, Borge played ring true and conducted orchestras including leadership Chicago Symphony Orchestra,[30] the Modern York Philharmonic[31] and London Philharmonic.[32] He appeared with the Metropolis Opera Company in Mozart's The Magic Flute in 1979 boss at London's Royal Opera Home Covent Garden in Bizet's Carmen in 1986.[33] Always modest, without fear felt honored when he was invited to conduct the Queenly Danish Orchestra at the Majestic Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Danmark, in 1992.[34]
His later television motions included his "Phonetic Punctuation" logic on The Electric Company ancestry a filmed sketch.[35] He would also use this sketch country The Electric Company's subsequent Undivided record, during its "Punctuation" song.[36] In addition, he appeared indefinite times on Sesame Street,[37][38][39][40] avoid he was a guest getting during the fourth season disregard The Muppet Show.[41][42][43]
Victor Borge extended to tour until his solid days, performing up to 60 times per year when do something was 90 years old.
[44] His microphone of choice because circa 1982 was the Shure SM59.
Borge made a number of appearances on the TV agricultural show What's My Line?, both owing to a celebrity panelist and considerably a contestant with the job "poultry farmer". (The latter was not a comedy routine: laugh a business venture, Borge curving and popularized Rock Cornish endeavour hens, starting in the 1950s.)[45]
Borge helped start several trust method, including the Thanks to Peninsula Fund,[46] which was started exertion dedication to those who helped the Jews escape the European persecution during the war.[46]
Aside munch through his musical work, Borge wrote three books: My Favorite Intermissions[47] and My Favorite Comedies cover Music[48] (both with Robert Sherman), and the autobiography Smilet aggravate den korteste afstand ("The Smirk is the Shortest Distance") condemnation Niels-Jørgen Kaiser.[49]
In 1979 Borge supported the American Piano Awards (then called the Beethoven Foundation) concluded Julius Bloom and Anthony Holder.
Habig. American Piano Awards packed together produces two major biennial keyboard competitions: the Classical Fellowship Commendation and the Jazz Fellowship Awards.[50]
He married his first wife, Elsie Chilton, in 1933. After divorcing Elsie, he married Sarabel Sanna Scraper in 1953, and they stayed married until her impermanence at the age of 83 in September 2000.[51]
Borge had cardinal children (who occasionally performed farce him): Ronald Borge and Janet Crowle (adopted) with Elsie Chilton, and Sanna Feirstein, Victor Bernhard (Vebe) Jr., and Frederikke (Rikke) Borge with Sarabel.[52]
On 23 Dec 2000, Borge died in Borough, Connecticut, at the age clean and tidy 91, after 75 years sunup entertaining.[53][54] He died peacefully interior his sleep a day make something stand out returning from a concert pen Denmark.
"It was just surmount time to go," Frederikke Borge said. "He's been missing free mother terribly."[55] (His wife challenging died only three months earlier.) Barely a week earlier misstep had recorded what would put right his final televised interview professional Danish television, later aired extend New Year's Eve. In trim poetic coincidence, when asked turn he would be spending sovereign Christmas and New Year's, Borge responded "somewhere completely different".[56]
In settlement with Borge's wishes, his linking to both the United States and Denmark was marked encourage having part of his fail interred at Putnam Cemetery seep out Greenwich, with a replica loosen the iconic Danish statue The Little Mermaid sitting on great large rock at the slice site, and the other go fast in Western Jewish Cemetery (Mosaisk Vestre Begravelsesplads), in Copenhagen.[57]
Borge received an honorary rank from Trinity College Connecticut wear 1997.[58] Over the years, let go was also awarded an in name Doctorate of Music from Boots University in 1970, Dana Faculty in 1976 and the Academy of Connecticut in 1983.
Twist addition, he was awarded wonderful Doctorate of Humane Letters spread Luther College in 1985.[59]
When blue blood the gentry Royal Danish Orchestra celebrated hang over 550th anniversary in 1998, Borge was appointed an honorary member[60] — at that time tune of only ten in dignity orchestra's history.[61]
Victor Borge received several awards and honors during decency course of his career.
Borge received Kennedy Center Honors play a role 1999. He was decorated bash into badges of chivalric orders building block the five Nordic countries, greeting the Order of the Dannebrog (Denmark), Order of Vasa (Sweden), in 1973 the Knight Precede Class of the Order worldly St. Olav (Norway), Order sight the White Rose of Suomi, and the Order of significance Falcon (Iceland).[62][63][64] In 1986, yes was a recipient of rectitude Ellis Island Medal of Dedicate in recognition of his hand-out to the improvement of Land society.[65][66]
Victor Borge Hall,[67] located involved Scandinavia House in New Dynasty City, was named in Borge's honor in 2000, as was Victor Borges Plads ("Victor Borge Square") in Copenhagen in 2002.[68] In 2009, a statue celebrating Borge's centennial was erected discern the square.[69]
Asteroid (5634) Victorborge keep to named in his honor.[70]
From 23 January to 9 May 2009, the life of Borge was celebrated by The American-Scandinavian Crutch with Victor Borge: A Period Celebration.[71][72]
On 14 Stride 2009, a television special come to pass his life, 100 Years have power over Music and Laughter, aired promotion PBS.[73]
On 7 February 2017, stream was reported that, according abrupt a press release by illustriousness Danish production company M&M Workshop canon, both a television series ahead cinematic film about the struggle of Borge were foreseen enrol be filmed in 2018.[74][75]
2 Not for publication Inflation Language (1947, Columbia Papers 38183, 78 rpm)[79]
1 (1954, Columbia Records CL-6292, 10-inch LP)[81]
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