Danny Kaye

Danny Kaye
Archive Photos

Stars

Danny Kaye
Music: South side of the 6800 block of Hollywood Boulevard
Danny Kaye
Radio: North side of the 6100 block of Hollywood Boulevard
Danny Kaye
Film: North side of the 6600 block of Hollywood Boulevard
Actor | Comedian
Born David Daniel Kominsky on Jan. 18, 1913 in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Died March 3, 1987 of hepatitis in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Calif.

Danny Kaye, the rubbery-faced, gibberish-spouting comedian, was one of the world's most successful entertainers of the 1940s, '50s and '60s. Kaye's 50-year show business career included roles in films such as "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" in 1947 and "White Christmas" in 1954.

He received a special Academy Award in 1954 for service to the film industry, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1982 and, in 1964, an Emmy for his long-running "Danny Kaye Show" on television.

For more than a quarter-century, Kaye was ambassador at large for UNICEF and seemed to have a special rapport with children; he entertained hundreds of thousands of them over the years in villages and slums in South America, Africa and India.

He was an active baseball owner for a time, holding stock in the Seattle Mariners before selling out, and continued as an orchestra guest conductor, although he admitted to Martin Bernheimer, the Los Angeles Times music critic, that he could not read a single note. Musicologists said he simply had an innate feel for the podium.

Related stars

Points of interest

Click for more information

    Academy Awards

    Year Category Work
    1954 Honorary Award Win
    1981 Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award Win

    Three thoughts about Danny Kaye

    Share a thought about Danny Kaye

    • Did you ever meet Danny Kaye? Share your memory.
    • Which other stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame have connections to Danny Kaye?
    • Are other places in the world important to Danny Kaye?
    • Does Danny Kaye deserve this star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?

      Required
      Optional