Danny kaye wife sylvia fine biography
| Danny Kaye and his private life were almost the topic of at least three biographies by his wife, Sylvia Fine. |
Sylvia’s first attempt at a Danny Kaye book started in March 1946. She thought it would be great for prestige and publicity, but her schedule was packed writing songs for Danny’s weekly radio show and for his upcoming movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. More pressing, she had just discovered she was with child and would experience a difficult pregnancy.
So, Sylvia hired a ghost writer, the well known New York literary agent Ethel Paige. Paige had edited and authored several books. Her most recent was Private Lives of Movie Stars: Hedy Lamarr, James Cagney, Barbara Stanwyck, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball—a book that may have sounded juicy, but was really just press agent puffery. Just what Sylvia was looking for.
By October 1946, Sylvia was less than two months away from her due date and news was beginning to leak of her rocky relationship with Danny. Fan magazines had begun hinting at his carrying on with Eve Arden. This was not the time for a writer to be digging into their personal life. Sylvia demanded the project be scrapped and that Paige “cease her activites on behalf of Danny in the writing of a book.”
By March 1947, Sylvia was ready to take another crack at it, this time by her own hand. She would have to be in complete control of the story. Doubleday & Co., at the time the world’s largest book publisher, paid her a hefty advance, hoping for a whimsical look at the entertainer’s life. Instead, Sylvia spent the next two
Sylvia Fine
American lyricist and songwriter (1913–1991)
For the character from the TV series The Nanny, see Sylvia Fine (The Nanny).
Sylvia Fine | |
|---|---|
Fine in 1945 | |
| Born | (1913-08-29)August 29, 1913 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | October 28, 1991(1991-10-28) (aged 78) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 1934–1991 |
| Spouse | Danny Kaye (m. 1940; died 1987) |
| Children | 1 |
Sylvia Fine Kaye (August 29, 1913 – October 28, 1991) was an American lyricist, composer, and producer. Many of her compositions and productions were performed by her husband, comedian Danny Kaye. Fine was a Peabody Award-winner and was nominated for two Academy Awards and two Emmys during her career. She won an Emmy award in 1976 for a children's special.
Early life
Sylvia Fine was born in Brooklyn, New York, the youngest of three children of a Jewish dentist, and raised in East New York. She attended Thomas Jefferson High School and studied music at Brooklyn College, where she wrote the music for the school's alma mater, with lyrics from the poet Robert Friend.
Career and Danny Kaye
She was working as an audition pianist when she met Danny Kaye; both were working on a short-lived Broadway show, The Straw Hat Revue. Fine wrote the lyrics and music for the show. Although the pair had never met before, they discovered some things in common. They were both born in Brooklyn, and Kaye had once worked for Fine's father, watching his office while the dentist went to lunch. Dr. Fine had fired his future son-in-law for doing woodworking with his dental drills.
He proposed on the telephone while working in Florida; Fine was in New York. She made the trip to Fort Lauderdale where they were married on January 3, Sylvia Fine Kaye If you're new to the world of Danny Kaye, you'll find that the name Sylvia Fine often comes up. A lyricist and composer, Danny's wife, Sylvia, was responsible for writing much of his material and was also one of the main people responsible for helping Danny reach the fame that he did. "Anatole of Paris," "Melody in 4F," and "Pavlova," are just a few of the songs that she wrote for him. Born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York on August 29, 1913, Sylvia was the daughter of Dr. Samuel and Bessie Fine. Whereas Danny was born to Russian-Jewish immigrants, Sylvia was born into a well-to-do family, her father being a college graduate and an established dentist. She had a brother named Robert and a sister named Rhoda. According to one website, Sylvia is listed as being the youngest (Jewish Women's Archive), and in Martin Gottfried's book he mentions Rhoda as being the younger sister and not Sylvia. Sylvia started playing the piano around the age of 3. As a student, she was intelligent and determined, graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School by fifteen, after which she majored in music at Brooklyn College. After graduating college, she had various occupations such as working for a music publishing house, teaching piano lessons, working as a counselor at summer camps, and selling soup. She had also been writing some songs, which were never published. (The Danny Kaye Story pg 67) She met up with Danny in 1939 during the production of "Sunday Night Revue," which closed after one night. The two were brought together again, by Max Liebman, for "Straw Hat Revue," a show that started at Camp Tamiment in Pennsylvania, then in the fall it moved to Broadway for a ten-week engagement. (The Danny Kaye Story pg 66-71) The revue didn't do so hot, and Danny and Sylvia went their separate ways afterwards. However, fate was not to be stopped, and the two were married on Ja Ironically Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine grew up in the same Brooklyn neighborhood, but didn't realize it until years later. According to Sylvia: “We had gone to the same high school and lived diagonally across the street from each other but never met during those years." (November 6, 1945) Though the two had never officially met during their teenage years, Sylvia had obviously seen the young Danny. During Danny's teenage years, he had a variety of odd jobs, none of which ever seemed to work out. One of those jobs was working for a dentist named Dr. Samuel Fine, whom he later discovered was Sylvia's father. In a December 3, 1967article, Sylvia explained, “The first time I brought Danny home, my father yelled, ‘Hey, aren’t you the kid who used my drilling machine all over our woodwork?’ He was. My father always hired a kid in the neighborhood to answer the phone when everybody was out, and Danny has an inquisitive nature." Once Danny's actions had been discovered, he was fired on the spot. But Sylvia recalled: “I first saw Danny when he was fourteen, working in my father’s dental office in Brooklyn. I remember how he used to sprint through the office and never noticed me. I had a crush on him, but he never knew it. I thought he was hilarious the first time I ever saw him, and I haven’t changed my opinion yet.” (The Danny Kaye Story pg 68) It wasn't until the spring of 1939 that the two officially met. At this point, Danny was desperately looking for any work he could find. He met up with Nat Lichtman, whom he knew from working in the "borscht circuit." Lichtman said he was on the way to see Max Liebman, who was casting for a new show, "Sunday Night Revue", and invited Danny along. It was there that Danny saw Sylvia seated at the piano. She looked familiar but Danny couldn't place her. Sylvia said, "I know you, but I bet you don't remember me." (The Danny Kaye Story pg 66-67) Sylvia explained it lik
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