Victor borge cause of death
Victor Borge
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This article is about the Danish humorist and musician. For the Cape Verdean politician, see Víctor Borges. For the Norwegian musician, see Victor Borge (bassist).
Victor Borge (pronounced [ˈborgə] "BOR-guh"; January 3, – December 23, ) was a Danish comedian, entertainer and pianist, affectionately known as the Clown Prince of Denmark and the Great Dane.
Biography
Early life and career
Borge was born Børge Rosenbaum in Copenhagen, Denmark, into a Jewish family.
His parents, Bernhard and Frederikke Rosenbaum, were both musicians (his father was a violinist in the Royal Danish Chapel, and his mother played piano), Borge took up piano like his mother at the age of 3, and it was soon apparent that he was a prodigy. He gave his first piano recital when he was 8 years old, and in was awarded a full scholarship at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, studying under Olivo Krause.
Later on, he was taught by Victor Schiøler, Liszt's student Frederic Lamond, and Busoni's pupil Egon Petri.
Borge played his first major concert in at the Danish concert-hall Odd Fellow Palæet (The Odd Fellow Mansion). After a few years as a classical concert pianist, he started his now famous "stand up" act, with the signature blend of piano music and jokes.
He married American Elsie Chilton in , the same year he debuted with his revue acts. Borge started touring extensively in Europe, where he began telling anti-Nazi jokes.
When the Nazis occupied Denmark during World War II, Borge was playing a concert in Sweden, and managed to escape to Finland. He traveled to America on the USS American Legion, the last neutral ship to make it out of Petsamo, Finland, and arrived August 28, with only 20 dollars, three of which went to the customs fee.
Disguised as a sailor, Borge returned to Denmark once during the occupation to visit his dying mother.
Move to America
Even though Borge didn't speak a word of English upon arrival, he quickly managed to adapt his jokes to the American audience, learning English by watching movies. He took the name of Victor Borge, and, in , he started on Rudy Vallee's radio show, but was hired soon after by Bing Crosby for his Kraft Music Hall.
From then on, it went quickly for Borge, who won Best New Radio Performer of the Year in Soon after the award, he was offered film roles with stars such as Frank Sinatra (in Higher and Higher).
Victor borges biography wikipedia When his energetic playing of another song would cause him to fall off the piano bench, he would open the seat lid, take out the two ends of an automotive seat belt, and buckle himself onto the bench, "for safety". Borge received Kennedy Center Honors in Even though Borge did not speak a word of English upon arrival, he quickly managed to adapt his jokes to the American audience, learning English by watching movies. Live at the London Palladium, Marble Arch,While hosting The Victor Borge Show on NBC from , he "developed many of his trademarks, including repeatedly announcing his intent to play a piece but getting "distracted" by something or other, making comments about the audience, or discussing the usefulness of Chopin'sMinute Waltz as an eggtimer. Or he would start out with some well-known classical piece like Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" op.
27 and suddenly drift into a harmonically suitable pop or jazz tune like "Night and Day" (Cole Porter)."
Borge's style
Among Borge's other famous routines is the "Phonetic Punctuation" routine, in which he recites a story, with full punctuation (comma, period, exclamation mark, etc.) as exaggerated onomatopoetic sounds.
Another is his "Inflationary Language", where he incremented numbers embedded in words, whether they are visible or not ("once upon a time" becomes "twice upon a time", "wonderful" becomes "twoderful", "forehead" becomes "fivehead", "tennis" becomes "elevennis", "I ate a tenderloin with my fork" becomes "I nined an elevenderloin with my five'k" etc).
Borge used physical and visual elements in his live and televised performances.
He would play a strange-sounding piano tune from sheet music, looking increasingly confused; turning the sheet upside down, he would then play the actual tune, flashing a joyful smile of accomplishment to the audience (he had, at first, been literally playing the actual tune upside down). When his energetic playing of another song would cause him to fall off the piano bench, he would open the seat lid, take out the two ends of an automotive seatbelt, and buckle himself onto the bench, "for safety." Conducting an orchestra, he might stop and order a violinist who had played a sour note to get off the stage, then resume the performance and have the other members of the section move up to fill the empty seat while they were still playing.
His musical sidekick in the s, Leonid Hambro, was a well-known concert pianist.
He also enjoyed interacting with the audience. Seeing an interested person in the front row, he would ask them, "Do you like good music?" or "Do you care for piano music?" After an affirmative answer, Borge would take a piece of sheet music from his piano and say, "Here is some", and hand it over.
After the audience's laughter died down, he would say, "That'll be $" (or whatever the current price might be). He would then ask whether the audience member could read music; if the member said yes, he would ask a higher price. If he got no response from the audience after a joke, he would often add "when this ovation has died down, of course".
The delayed punch line to handing the person the sheet music would come when he would reach the end of a number and begin playing the penultimate notes over and over, with a puzzled look. He would then go back to the person in the audience, retrieve the sheet music, tear off a piece of it, stick it on the piano, and play the last couple of notes from it.
Making fun of modern theater, he would sometimes begin a performance by asking if there were any children in the audience.
There always were, of course. He would then say, "We do have some children in here that means I can't do the second half in the nude. I'll wear the tie.
The long oneThe very long one, yes."[1]
In his stage shows in later years, he would include a segment with opera singer Marilyn Mulvey. She would try to sing an aria, and he would react and interrupt, with such antics as slipping off the bench when she would hit a high note. He would also remind her repeatedly not to rest her hand on the piano.
After the routine, the spotlight would fall upon Mulvey and she would sing a serious number with Borge accompanying in the background.
Later career
Borge appeared on Toast of the Town hosted by Ed Sullivan several times during , and became a naturalized citizen of the United States the same year.
He started the Comedy in Music show at John Golden Theatre in New York City on October 2, Comedy in Music became the longest running one-man show with performances when it closed on January 21, , a feat which placed it in the Guinness Book of World Records.
After divorcing his wife Elsie, he married Sarabel Sanna Scraper in Continuing his success with several tours and shows, Borge played with some of the world's most renowned orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic and London Philharmonic.
Victor borges biography wife: After a few years as a classical concert pianist, he started his now-famous stand-up act with the signature blend of piano music and jokes. While hosting The Victor Borge Show on NBC from , he "developed many of his trademarks, including repeatedly announcing his intent to play a piece but getting "distracted" by something or other, making comments about the audience, or discussing the usefulness of Chopin's Minute Waltz as an eggtimer. ISSN His childhood fascination with conducting led him to begin appearing from the mids on as a guest conductor with a number of prominent orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the London Philharmonic.
Always modest, he felt very honored when he was invited to conduct the Danish Royal Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark in
His later television appearances included his use of his "Phonetic Punctuation" routine on The Electric Company in a filmed sketch; He would also use it on the record to follow during the "Punctuation" song.
He guest starred many times on Sesame Street and was the star guest on the fourth season of The Muppet Show.
Other endeavors
Borge helped start several trust funds, including the Thanks to Scandinavia Fund, which was started in dedication to those who helped the Jews escape the German persecution during the war.
Borge received Kennedy Center Honors in
Aside from his musical work, Borge wrote two books, My Favorite Intermissions and My Favorite Comedies in Music (with Robert Sherman), and the autobiography Smilet er den korteste afstand ("The Smile is the Shortest Distance") with Niels-Jørgen Kaiser. Victor Borge continued to tour until his last days, performing up to 60 times per year when he was 90 years old.
Legacy
Borge died in Greenwich, Connecticut, after more than 75 years of entertaining.
He died peacefully, in his sleep, the day after returning from a concert in Denmark and was interred at Putnam Cemetery in Greenwich.
Victor borges biography book This section is a candidate to be copied to Wikiquote using the Transwiki process. For example: "once upon a time" becomes "twice upon a time", "wonderful" becomes "twoderful", "forehead" becomes "fivehead", "anyone for tennis" becomes "anytwo five elevennis", "I ate a tenderloin with my fork, and so on and so forth" becomes "I nined an elevenderloin with my fivek, and so on and so fifth". Jump to: navigation , search. The Guinness Book of World RecordsA replica of the Danish icon The Little Mermaid sits on a large rock at the gravesite. "It was just his time to go", Frederikke Borge said. "He's been missing my mother terribly."[citation needed]
Victor Borge Hall, located in Scandinavia House in New York City, was named in Borge's honor in , as was Victor Borges Plads ("Victor Borge Square") in Copenhagen in
From January 23 to May 9th , the life of piano-playing comedian Victor Borge, is going to be celebrated by The American-Scandinavian Foundation with "Victor Borge: A Centennial Celebration." Also, a new television special about his comedic life has been created called Years of Music & Laughter, which aired on PBS on March 14, [2]
Family
He fathered five children (who occasionally performed with him): Sanna, Victor Jr., and Frederikke with Sarabel; and Ronald and Janet with Elsie.
Memorable quotes
- (Referring to the piano's natural shape) Isn't it a shame when those big fat opera singers lean against the pianos and bend them?
- I love this his wife on it I get about 4 sonatas to a gallon of red wine on it
- Very expensive these pianos It's not mine!
But they come in a six pack!
- I have been looking forward to this evening's performance ever since two weeks ago.
- I'd like to thank my parents for making this night possible. And my children for making it necessary.
- I normally don't do requests.Victor borges biography Eigil Nygaard. Comedy in Music proceeded to run almost three years with some performances, ranking to this day in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest running one-man show in theatrical history. After a nerve-wracking voyage that included passing through mine fields and severe overcrowding on board ship, Borge disembarked on American soil in August, Biography [ edit ].
Unless, of course, I have been asked to do so.
- I don't mind growing old. I'm just not used to it.
- Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.
- Occasionally, a finger comes up to wipe a tear [of laughter] from the eye and that's my reward the rest goes to the government.
- I only know two pieces, one is 'Clair de Lune', the other one isn't.
- The difference between a violin and a viola is that a viola burns longer.
- When you go home, please drive home extremely carefully.
Extremely carefully. Because I walk in my sleep!
- Giuseppe Verdi. Joe Green to you.
- I'm going to play it with both hands so that way I will get through with it a little faster.
- I'm Lou Borg.
- You may not be aware of this but Leonard Bernstein won another award, for explaining the music of Igor Stravinsky to Igor Stravinsky!
- There will be no dancing during this number unless you absolutely have to!
- I'm going to play a pieceby a Danish composer.
Umm Mozart.
Borges Current biography yearbook. In his stage shows in later years, he would include a segment with opera singer Marylyn Mulvey. He was never not funny, even at 2a. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.Hans Christian Mozart!
- (Holding someone's red tie) Oh, I thought you were bleeding.
- We have a neighbour. Well, who doesn't but he's our next window neighbour, because he does not have a door at that end of the house!
- My grandfather gave me this watcha few minutes before he diedfor 20 bucksplus tax
- The soprano is about four and a half feet tall Lying down.
- And now, Brahms!
Joey Brahms! Brahms spelled backwards: "Smharb."
- One afternoon, when I was four years old, my father came home, and he found me in the living room in front of a roaring fire, which made him very angry. Because we didn't have a fireplace.
- Before we start, the Baldwin Piano Company has asked me to say that this is a SteinwayPiano [or vice versa].
- (Inspecting the piano) Hmmm… Steinway & Sons.
Didn't even know he was married.
- Ignaz Friedman's dead now—I sincerely hope, because they buried him about 28 years ago.
- There are three Bachs. Johann, Sebastian and Offen.
- It's Fliszt, not F. Liszt. Do you say M. Ozart?
- It is important to always, always fasten your seat belt wherever you play.
- Excuse me Ma'am, are you laying eggs?
(Spoken in "Page-Turner")
- (Responding to a sneeze from the audience) Who exploded?
- And now, in honour of the th anniversary of Beethoven's death, I would like to play "Clear the Saloon", er, "Clair de Lune", by Debussy. I don't play Beethoven so well, but I play Debussy very badly, and Beethoven would have liked that.
- [In a lecture on Mozart's Magic Flute]"and after that the Chorus comes innobody knows WHYbesides Mozart of courseand he's dead."
- [After making a usage, grammar error, etc.] Hey, it's your language, I'm just trying to use it."
Discography
- Phonetic Punctuation (Parts 1 and 2) (78rpm)
- Blue Serenade/A Lesson In Composition (78rpm)
- Brahms’ Lullaby/Grieg Rhapsody (78rpm)
- Mozart Opera By Borge/All The Things You Are (78rpm)
- Brahms, Bizet and Borge
- Comedy in Music (, Columbia Records CL, re-released on CD in )
- Caught in the Act ( Columbia Records CL, re-released on CD in )
- Borge's Back (MGM E)
- Victor Borge (, MGM SEP)
- Great Moments of Comedy (, Verve V/V6 - a re-issue of Borge's Back)
- Hans Christian Andersen ( Decca DL)
- 13 Pianos Live in Concert ( Telefunken-Decca LC)
- Adventures of Piccolo, Saxie & Co. (Columbia Records CL)
- Concert Favorites (Columbia Records CL)
- A Victor Borge Program (Columbia Records CL)
- My Favorite Intervals (Pye )
- Victor Borge - Live(!) (Re-released on CD in - Sony Masterworks MDK )
- Two Sides of Victor Borge ()