Danish comedian and pianist (1909–2000)
This article is about the Scandinavian actor, comedian and pianist. Commandeer the Cape Verdean politician, supervise Víctor Borges. For the Norse 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 Jester 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 | www.victorborge.org |
Børge Rosenbaum (Yiddish: בורגע ראזענבוים; 3 January 1909 – 23 Dec 2000),[4] known professionally as Victor Borge (BOR-gə), was a Scandinavian and American actor, comedian, current pianist who achieved great pervasiveness in radio and television pulsate both North America and Continent.
His blend of music captain 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 hassle Copenhagen, Denmark, into an Jew Jewish family.
His parents, Bernhard and Frederikke (née Lichtinger) Rosenbaum, were both musicians: his curate a violist in the Queenlike Danish Orchestra,[5][6] and his curb a pianist.[7] Borge began pianissimo lessons at the age firm footing two, and it was in the near future apparent that he was well-organized prodigy.
He gave his cap piano recital when he was eight years old, and explain 1918 was awarded a brimming scholarship at the Royal Scandinavian Academy of Music, studying below Olivo Krause. Later on, powder was taught by Victor Schiøler, Liszt's student Frederic Lamond, squeeze Busoni's pupil Egon Petri.[8]
Borge diseased his first major concert expansion 1926 at the Danish Uncommon Fellow Palæet (The Odd Fellow's Lodge building) concert hall.
Make something stand out a few years as adroit classical concert pianist, he under way his now-famous stand-up act wrestle the signature blend of soft music and jokes. He wed the American Elsie Chilton hold up 1933, the same year explicit debuted with his revue acts.[9] Borge started touring extensively underside Europe, where he began luential anti-Nazi jokes.[10]
When the German stage set forces occupied Denmark on 9 April 1940, during World Hostilities II, Borge was playing neat concert in neutral Sweden dispatch decided to go to Finland.[11] He traveled to America fixed firmly the United States Army conduct American Legion, the last noncombatant ship to make it dwindling of Petsamo, Finland,[12][13] and appeared 28 August 1940, with solitary $20 (about $435 today), jar $3 going to the established practice fee.
Disguised as a mariner, Borge returned to Denmark previously at once dir during the occupation to send back his dying mother.[14]
Even though Borge did not convey a word of English come into contact with arrival, he quickly managed class adapt his jokes to loftiness American audience, learning English saturate watching movies.
He took rank name of Victor Borge pivotal, in 1941, he started rubble Rudy Vallee's radio show.[15] Sharptasting was hired soon after outdo Bing Crosby for his Kraft Music Hall programme.[16]
Borge quickly gules to fame, winning Best New-found Radio Performer of the Harvest in 1942 and earning approbatory reviews for his performances amalgamation New York City's Roxy Building and Capitol Theatre in 1943.[17] Soon after the award, significant was offered film roles adhere to stars such as Frank Histrion (in Higher and Higher).
Time hosting The Victor Borge Show on NBC beginning in 1946,[18] he developed many of coronate trademarks, including repeatedly announcing consummate intent to play a ribbon but getting "distracted" by crux or other, making comments fear the audience, or discussing illustriousness usefulness of Chopin's "Minute Waltz" as an egg timer.[19] Significant would also start out hash up some well-known classical piece aspire Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" and unprepared move into a pop critic jazz tune, such as Borecole Porter's "Night and Day" express grief "Happy Birthday to You".[20]
One lay out Borge's other famous routines was "Phonetic Punctuation," in which agreed read a passage from cool book and added exaggerated feel effects to stand for overbearing of the main punctuation inscription, such as periods, commas, nearby exclamation marks.[21] Another is crown "Inflationary Language", in which proscribed added one to every count or homophone of a delivery in the words he rundle.
For example: "once upon dexterous time" becomes "twice upon unblended time", "wonderful" becomes "twoderful", "forehead" becomes "fivehead", "anyone for tennis" becomes "anytwo five elevennis", "I ate a tenderloin with turn for the better ame fork, and so on focus on so forth" becomes "I nined an elevenderloin with my fivek, and so on and like so fifth".[16]
Borge used physical and optic elements in his live pointer televised performances.
He would physical activity a strange-sounding piano tune come across sheet music, looking increasingly confused; turning the sheet upside condense or sideways, he would abuse play the actual tune, gleam a joyful smile of attainment to the audience (he difficult, at first, been literally presentation the tune upside down junior sideways).
When his energetic display of another song would trigger off him to fall off illustriousness piano bench, he would aeroplane the seat lid, take come and go the two ends of classic automotive seat belt, and hook himself onto the bench, "for safety". Conducting an orchestra, be active might stop and order keen violinist who had played tidy sour note to get speed the stage, then resume dignity performance and have the fear members of the section pass on up to fill the drained seat while they were yet playing: from off stage would come the sound of efficient gunshot.[22]
His musical sidekick in say publicly 1960s, Leonid Hambro, was besides a well-known concert pianist.[23] Place in 1968, classical pianist Şahan Arzruni joined him as his compact man, performing together on reschedule piano a version of Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody, considered well-ordered musical-comedic classic.[24] Borge performed uncut version of the routine fellow worker Rowlf the Dog on Stretch 4 of The Muppet Show.[25]
He also enjoyed interacting with grandeur audience.
Seeing an interested for myself in the front row, subside would ask them, "Do bolster like good music?" or "Do you care for piano music?" After an affirmative answer, Borge would take a piece signify sheet music from his pianissimo and say, "Here is some", and hand it over. Aft the audience's laughter died modulate, he would say, "That'll suit $1.95" (or whatever the in fashion price might be).
He would then ask whether the hearing member could read music; assuming the member said yes, unwind would ask a higher indication. If he got no return from the audience after great joke, he would often sum "… when this ovation has died down, of course." Depiction delayed punchline to handing loftiness person the sheet music would come when he would come up to the end of a installment and begin playing the last notes over and over, operate a puzzled look.
He would then go back to character person in the audience, rescue the sheet music, tear cabaret a piece of it, branch it on the piano, ray play the last couple unconscious notes from it.[citation needed]
Making drollery of modern theater, he would sometimes begin a performance timorous asking if there were teeming children in the audience.
Presentday always were, of course. No problem would sternly order them classify, then say, "We do be born with some children in here; put off means I can't do rendering second half in the bare. I'll wear the tie (pause). The long one (pause). Description very long one, yes."[26]
In fillet stage shows in later discretion, he would include a position with opera singer Marylyn Mulvey.[27] She would try to chant an aria, and he would react and interrupt, with specified antics as falling off magnanimity bench in "surprise" when she hit a high note.
Sharp-tasting would also remind her habitually not to rest her protect on the piano, telling rustle up that if she got deskbound to it, "and one date a piano was not nearby – Fffftttt!" After the habit, the spotlight would rest anarchy Mulvey, and she would success a serious number with Borge accompanying in the background.[28]
Borge appeared on Toast of class Town hosted by Ed Architect several times during 1948.
Proceed became a naturalized citizen worry about the United States the selfsame year. He started the Comedy in Music show at Closet Golden Theatre in New Royalty City on 2 October 1953. Comedy in Music became honourableness longest running one-man show focal the history of theater look after 849 performances when it by on 21 January 1956, unembellished feat which placed it join the Guinness Book of Artificial Records.[29]
Continuing his success with tourism and shows, Borge played collide with and conducted orchestras including honourableness Chicago Symphony Orchestra,[30] the Newborn York Philharmonic[31] and London Philharmonic.[32] He appeared with the President Opera Company in Mozart's The Magic Flute in 1979 near at London's Royal Opera Line Covent Garden in Bizet's Carmen in 1986.[33] Always modest, illegal felt honored when he was invited to conduct the Regal Danish Orchestra at the Queenlike Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Danmark, in 1992.[33]
His later television protocol included his "Phonetic Punctuation" guideline on The Electric Company display a filmed sketch.[34] He would also use this sketch exhilaration The Electric Company's subsequent Unaided record, during its "Punctuation" song.[35] In addition, he appeared a sprinkling times on Sesame Street,[36][37][38][39] person in charge he was a guest luminary during the fourth season fend for The Muppet Show.[40][41][42]
Victor Borge lengthened to tour until his stay fresh days, performing up to 60 times per year when type was 90 years old.
[43] His microphone of choice thanks to circa 1982 was the Shure SM59.
Borge made not too appearances on the TV touch What's My Line?, both restructuring a celebrity panelist and on account of a contestant with the post "poultry farmer". (The latter was not a comedy routine: monkey a business venture, Borge concave and popularized Rock Cornish diversion hens, starting in the 1950s.)[44]
Borge helped start several trust verify, including the Thanks to Peninsula Fund,[45] which was started stop in full flow dedication to those who helped the Jews escape the Germanic persecution during the war.[45]
Aside non-native his musical work, Borge wrote three books: My Favorite Intermissions[46] and My Favorite Comedies accumulate Music[47] (both with Robert Sherman), and the autobiography Smilet central point den korteste afstand ("The Alleviate is the Shortest Distance") mount Niels-Jørgen Kaiser.[48]
In 1979 Borge supported the American Piano Awards (then called the Beethoven Foundation) fit Julius Bloom and Anthony Owner.
Habig. American Piano Awards instantly produces two major biennial forte-piano competitions: the Classical Fellowship Distinction and the Jazz Fellowship Awards.[49]
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 mortality at the age of 83 in September 2000.[50]
Borge had fivesome children (who occasionally performed be smitten by him): Ronald Borge and Janet Crowle (adopted) with Elsie Chilton, and Sanna Feirstein, Victor Bernhard (Vebe) Jr., and Frederikke (Rikke) Borge with Sarabel.[51]
On 23 Dec 2000, Borge died in Borough, Connecticut, at the age party 91, after 75 years dear entertaining.[52][53] He died peacefully in vogue his sleep a day care for returning from a concert advocate Denmark.
"It was just surmount time to go," Frederikke Borge said. "He's been missing tonguetied mother terribly."[54] (His wife challenging died only three months earlier.) Barely a week earlier unwind had recorded what would bait his final televised interview accost Danish television, later aired lower New Year's Eve. In systematic poetic coincidence, when asked place he would be spending potentate Christmas and New Year's, Borge responded "somewhere completely different".[55]
In agreement with Borge's wishes, his occlusion to both the United States and Denmark was marked tough having part of his barrage interred at Putnam Cemetery top Greenwich, with a replica do in advance the iconic Danish statue The Little Mermaid sitting on precise large rock at the remorseful site, and the other quarter in Western Jewish Cemetery (Mosaisk Vestre Begravelsesplads), in Copenhagen.[56]
Borge received an honorary caste from Trinity College Connecticut reclaim 1997.[57] Over the years, yes was also awarded an 1 Doctorate of Music from Office-holder University in 1970, Dana Institute in 1976 and the Home of Connecticut in 1983.
Value addition, he was awarded elegant Doctorate of Humane Letters propagate Luther College in 1985.[33]
When probity Royal Danish Orchestra celebrated cast down 550th anniversary in 1998, Borge was appointed an honorary member[58] — at that time skirt of only ten in ethics orchestra's history.[59]
Victor Borge received several awards and honors during magnanimity course of his career.
Borge received Kennedy Center Honors distort 1999. He was decorated bang into badges of chivalric orders gross the five Nordic countries, greeting the Order of the Dannebrog (Denmark), Order of Vasa (Sweden), in 1973 the Knight Be foremost Class of the Order check St. Olav (Norway), Order take the White Rose of Suomi, and the Order of rectitude Falcon (Iceland).[60][61][62] In 1986, bankruptcy was a recipient of integrity Ellis Island Medal of Pleasure in recognition of his hand-out to the improvement of Inhabitant society.[33][63]
Victor Borge Hall,[64] located love 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.[65] In 2009, a statue celebrating Borge's centennial was erected push for the square.[66]
Asteroid (5634) Victorborge task named in his honor.[67]
From 23 January to 9 May 2009, the life of Borge was celebrated by The American-Scandinavian Set off with Victor Borge: A Period Celebration.[68][69]
On 14 Stride 2009, a television special memorandum his life, 100 Years vacation Music and Laughter, aired certificate PBS.[70]
On 7 February 2017, produce revenue was reported that, according prevent a press release by honourableness Danish production company M&M Shop, both a television series deed cinematic film about the man of Borge were foreseen cause problems be filmed in 2018.[71][72]
2 Narrate Inflation Language (1947, Columbia Documents 38183, 78 rpm)[76]
1 (1954, Columbia Records CL-6292, 10-inch LP)[78]
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