Danny Kaye as the Swedish Chef's uncle, preparing a turkey
Danny Kaye (1911-1987) was an American actor, singer, and humanitarian who guest starred in episode 316 of The Muppet Show. Several of Kaye's recordings were employed on Sam and Friends, including tracks from his films Hans Christian Andersen (1952), The Court Jester (1955), and other singles.
Kaye was known for his rapid fire delivery of nonsense scatting and tongue twisting dialogue, displayed in clubs and revues (with material written by his wife Sylvia Fine). Broadway musicals and then Hollywood films followed, beginning with 1944's Up in Arms (with Dinah Shore) and including White Christmas (with Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney). As the title character in Hans Christian Andersen, Kaye sang "The Inch Worm," which he reprised during his The Muppet Show appearance.
His long career encompassed a 1940s radio show, a 1960s TV series (with Harvey Korman), the later Broadway musical Two by Two, and 1970s TV versions of Peter Pan (as Captain Hook) and Pinocchio (Geppetto). He made guest appearances on The Jack Benny Program, The Lucy Show, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, the 1980s version of The Twilight Zone, and The Cosby Show.
Songs used on Sam and Friends
entries marked with an asterisk are the transcription date
- *June 30, 1955: "Tongue Twisters" (1951)[1]
- *August 19, 1955: "It's a Quiet Town" (1948) performed with The Andrews Sisters[2]
- *September 15, 1955: "The Ugly Duckling" from Hans Christian Anderson (1959)[3]
- *September 15, 1955: "The Inch Worm" from Hans Christian Anderson (1959)[4]
- *September 22, 1955: "The Handout Song (There's a Handout on Panhandle Hill)" (1950)[5]
- *November 14, 1955: "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" from Danny Kaye album (1949)[6]
- *December 13, 1955: "Santa Claus Looks Like My Daddy" (1951)[7]
- *December 23, 1955: "The Little Fiddle (Symphony for Unstrung Tongue)" from Danny Kaye album (1949)[8]
- *December 23, 1955: "The King's New Clothes" from Hans Christian Anderson (1959)[9]
- *January 16, 1956: "Outfox the Fox" from The Court Jester (1956)[10]
- *February 7, 1957: "The Maladjusted Jester" from The Court Jester (1956)[11]
- May 27 1957: "The Maladjusted Jester"[12]
- August 19, 1957: "The Maladjusted Jester"[13]
- *September 18, 1958: "The Peony Bush" from Danny at the Palace (1953)[14]
- *September 18, 1958: "Dinah" from Pure Delight (1957)[15]
- *September 3, (year unknown): "Good Old 149" from Danny at the Palace[16]
- *September 3, (year unknown): "Tschaikowsky (and Other Russians)" from Danny at the Palace[17]
- November 27, 1958: "The Inch Worm"[18]
- December 10, 1958: "The Peony Bush"[19]
- December 24, 1958 "Tschaikowsky (and Other Russians)" (sped-up version)[20]
- January 14, 1959: "Yon-u-ary" (1955)[21]
- February 20, 1959: "Good Old 149"[22]
- March 10, 1959: "The Ugly Duckling"[23]
- March 12, 1959: "Dinah"[24]
- March 27, 1959: "I'm Five"[25]
- April 7, 19S9: "The Maladjusted Jester"[26]
- May 1, 1959: "It's a Quiet Town" performed with The Andrews Sisters[27]
- May 4, 1959: "The King's New Clothes"[28]
- May 8, 1959: "When the Saints Go Marching In" performed with Louis Armstrong from The Five Pennies (1959)[29]
- May 25, 1959: "The Inch Worm"[30]
- August 6, 1959: "The Peony Bush"[31]
- November 16, 1959: "When the Saints Go Marching In" performed with Louis Armstrong[32]
- November 26, 1959: "The Inch Worm"[33]
- December 15, 1959: "Tschaikowsky (and Other Russians)" (sped-up version)[34]
- January 6, 1960: "My Name Is John Wellington Wells" from Gilbert & Sullivan and Danny Kaye (1949)[35]
- January 18, 1960: "I'm Five"[36]
- January 28, 1960: "Yon-u-ary"[37]
- March 10, 1960: "It's a Quiet Town" performed with The Andrews Sisters[38]
- April 28, 1960" "Dinah"[39]
- May 16, 1960: "The King's New Clothes"[40]
- Use unconfirmed: "Bathtub Admiral" from Mommy, Gimme a Drinka Water! (1958)[41]
- Use unconfirmed: "Don't Tickle Me"[42]
Sources
- ↑ Shemin, Craig. Sam and Friends: The Story of Jim Henson's First Television Show, p. 241
- ↑ ibid. p. 251
- ↑ ibid. p. 256
- ↑ ibid. p. 256
- ↑ ibid. p. 257
- ↑ ibid. p. 263
- ↑ ibid. p. 264
- ↑ ibid. p. 265
- ↑ ibid. p. 267
- ↑ ibid. p. 269
- ↑ ibid. p. 279
- ↑ ibid. p. 283
- ↑ ibid. p. 286
- ↑ ibid. p. 295
- ↑ ibid. p. 295
- ↑ ibid. p. 300
- ↑ ibid. p. 300
- ↑ ibid. p. 307
- ↑ ibid. p. 313
- ↑ ibid. p. 319
- ↑ ibid. p. 328
- ↑ ibid. p. 343
- ↑ ibid. p. 315
- ↑ ibid. p. 350
- ↑ ibid. p. 357
- ↑ ibid. p. 360
- ↑ ibid. p. 368
- ↑ ibid. p. 368
- ↑ ibid. p. 371
- ↑ ibid. p. 377
- ↑ ibid. p. 380
- ↑ ibid. p. 407
- ↑ ibid. p. 410
- ↑ ibid. p. 415
- ↑ ibid. p. 420
- ↑ ibid. p. 424
- ↑ ibid. p. 427
- ↑ ibid. p. 440
- ↑ ibid. p. 453
- ↑ ibid. p. 457
- ↑ ibid. p. 529
- ↑ ibid. p. 530