Danny Kaye: King of Jesters Now in Paperback, Ebook

I am thrilled to share that my book Danny Kaye: King of Jesters has just been released in paperback and in Kindle-format ebook.

Based on 30 years of research and interviews with scores of Kaye intimates, the book takes the first-ever behind-the-scenes look at the making of Danny's movies, television series and specials, radio series, stage work, and audio recordings. It also features nearly 50 rare photos -- many of them never before published and new to the paperback/ebook edition.

The text has also been updated, along with vibrant new cover art by the amazing artist Kevin Jakubowski (www.kevinjakubowski.com).

You can get your copy from Amazon in paperback or Kindle, or direct from Bonaventure Press.

The original hardcover edition -- now out of print -- was published in 2012.

The Danny Kaye Holiday Gift Guide

Looking for something special this Christmas for the Danny Kaye fan in your life? You can’t go wrong with any of these 10 great suggestions:

The Court Jester: Original Soundtrack
In teaming with her most accomplished collaborator, Sammy Cahn, Sylvia Fine (Danny’s wife and songwriter) created what to me is her greatest movie work. And the original sountrack contains several songs—“I Live to Love,” “Pass the Basket,” the gorgeous “Where Walks My True Love”—that ended up being cut from the picture. Through its print-on-order system, Amazon has begun reissuing the soundtrack on a 12-track CD. Get it?




Danny Kaye: King of Jesters
This is part biography, but primarily a behind-the-scenes look at Danny at work, filled with stories of making all his wonderful movies, TV and radio shows, audio recordings, and stage performances.
It’s based on 30 years of research and interviews with 50 of Kaye’s closest co-workers and friends, and clears up a lot of the nonsense written in prior books and online.

White Christmas Gift Set  Nine years ago, Turner Classic Movies teamed up with Starbucks to put out a “gift set” combining the White Christmas DVD with a soundtrack CD. Four years later, Paramount Home Entertainment updated the package—putting it in a shiner case, adding a couple of special features to the DVD, substituting music downloads for the CD, and throwing reprints of the lobby card set. The second set is still available from several retailers. It’s a nice package, but if you’re just interested in the movie, there’s a better alternative...

White Christmas: Diamond Anniversary Edition  It seems like every Christmas, a new, re-re-remastered edition of White Christmas would be released, in a slightly different package, with some new but insignificant bell or whistle. There’s now no longer need for any more. Last year’s Blu-Ray release is high-definition perfection. It proudly sits on my shelf next to other beautiful Blu-Rays like Hans Christian Andersen, On the Riviera, Knock on Wood, and On the Double.

The Great Movie Comedians  Repeat showings of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty on KTLA-5 started my love of Danny Kaye movies, but this classic book by Leonard Maltin opened my eyes to everything else, beyond the handful of movies reshown.I read that chapter on Danny Kaye over and over again—not to mention Maltin’s spot-on analysis of many of my other favorites, like Laurel & Hardy and the Marx Brothers.
This book had been out of print for years, so it’s great to see it finally back in circulation in a new expertly updated edition.




Danny Kaye: Legends  This latest batch of Danny Kaye Show episodes on DVD release is another winner, with six fascinating shows featuring such guests as Lucille Ball, Louis Armstrong, George Burns, Tony Bennett, and Shirley Jones.
This is the third collection of shows released, maintaining the high level set by a collection of Christmas shows (issued in 2012) and a “Best of...” with, among others, the premiere (2014).

White Christmas Shirts  A number of inventive companies are offering T-shirts, blouses and tank tops with White Christmas images on them. Payyand offers shirts with the iconic Santa foursome shot and with the stage play’s logo, but my favorites are the T’s, tanks and hoodies with a logo for “Wallace-Davis Productions.” (Redbubble also has Wallace-Davis logo’ed throw pillows and welcome mats!)

Poster Reprints  Pop Culture Graphics sells colorful print-on-demand reproductions of movie posters, including several Kaye titles (mini-11x17’s of The Court Jester, White Christmas, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and A Song Is Born, plus full-size 27x40 one-sheets of the Man from the Diners Club and—the coolest—White Christmas in Italian). At $10 for an 11x17 or $20 for a 27x40, including shipping, they’re a lot more affordable—and likely more vibrant—than an original.

Danny Kaye Jigsaw Puzzles  Prints Prints Prints offers three different photo jigsaw puzzles featuring Danny—one a handsome portrait, one as Mitty the Kid, and one at a nightclub with Bette Davis. At $34.99, they’re a little pricey, but very cool looking.




Classic Homes of Los Angeles  This stunning coffee table book by architecture expert Douglas Woods showcases fine estates in Southern California, including Danny Kaye’s former home on San Ysidro Drive in Beverly Hills.
Since the Kayes never invited me over for dinner in Danny’s Chinese kitchen, this is the closest I’ll ever get.


Enjoy the holidays, everyone, and I hope to have another article for you next week!

See The Court Jester on the Big Screen Aug. 2 in Ventura County

Watch Danny Kaye in The Court Jester and hear from author David Koenig all about the "King of Jesters" Aug. 2 in Moorpark, Ca.

This weekend you’ll have a rare opportunity to enjoy Danny Kaye’s classic The Court Jester the way it was intended: in an old-time movie palace packed with an appreciative audience.

This Saturday August 2, 2014, at 7 p.m., The Court Jester will be screened at the High Street Arts Center in Moorpark, California. Hosting the event will be theater arts critic Cary Ginell with his special guest David Koenig, author of Danny Kaye: King of Jesters (that’s me!). Before the screening, we’ll  discuss Danny's career and the making of The Court Jester, and afterwards I’ll be signing books.

Advance tickets are just $3.00, or it's $5.00 at the door.

The High Street Arts Center, located at 45 E. High St., Moorpark, opened in 1927 as the El Rancho, the first “talking movie” theater in the east end of Ventura County. Starting in the 1950s, it saw several incarnations as a theater for live events.

Why Victoria Clammed Up

Not quite 4 years old, Victoria Paige Meyerink rejuvenated The Danny Kaye Show in its 1964-1965 second season.

It was my great joy yesterday to finally meet Victoria Paige Meyerink, the little girl who captivated Danny Kaye—and Danny Kaye Show audiences—back in the mid-1960s.

As Victoria tells the story, the series was slumping in its sophomore season and looking for a ratings boost. When she—a week shy of her fourth birthday—hit it off with Danny during an interchange at the end of the annual Christmas show, fan mail poured in. The producers quickly called her back again, and again, and again.

But after about a half-dozen appearances, Victoria started to clam up. The magic was gone. The producers tried everything to get her talking again—clearing out the audience for her bit with Danny, creating a whole “Vickie’s Room” set—but nothing worked.

For my book Danny Kaye: King of Jesters, producer Perry Laffery speculated on a possible cause:  “I don’t know whether her mother was pushing the kid or what.”

Victoria, drawing upon a photographic memory, insists her mother was nothing but supportive. The problem, she says, was Danny.

Kaye, as I can attest others have shared with me, had a tendency of occasionally needling co-workers, just to see if he could push their buttons. Victoria says Danny liked to call her “Vickie,” knowing she hated to be called that. He even had songwriter Billy Barnes write a song about her (and also about singer Vikki Carr) called “Vickie.”

Kaye supposedly also knew that she disliked the color yellow. But the Vickie’s Room was set done all up in yellow. And, during one fateful episode, Danny asked her what color her gold necklace was. She replied, “Gold.” Danny corrected her, “No, it’s yellow.” The audience laughed. But Victoria was confused, convinced that her buddy Danny had turned on her and was encouraging the audience to laugh at her.

After seven appearances, the producers cancelled her contract for the remainder of season two. She would return for a Christmas-themed show in season three and for seven episodes in season four, now a grizzled show biz pro at age 6. She would remain close friends with Danny for the rest of his life, working with him one last time: as a co-presenter at the 1983 Emmy Awards.

To hear more of her tales of life with Danny, download Victoria and my 2.5-hour appearance on Stu’s Show (it’s a 99-cent download—program 307—from www.stusshow.com/archives.php). Victoria is also set to return to Stu’s in the near future to talk about her work post-Kaye:  as a regular on Green Acres, appearing with Elvis in Speedway, twice turning down the lead in The Exorcist, and more!

"King of Jesters" Interview

I share some great Danny Kaye stories today in an interview with John Greco, the blogger behind Twenty Four Frames. Check it out here.