Title Page | Collection Summary | Biographical/Organizational Note | Scope and Content | Arrangement
Biographical Note
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1911, Jan. 18 | David Daniel Kaminsky born, Brooklyn, New York Youngest of three sons and first native-born American born to Clara and Jacob Kaminsky, both originally from Ukraine; all three brothers eventually changed their names: Mack became Max Kamin and Larry became Larry Kaye |
| 1913, Aug. 29 | Sylvia Harriet Fine born, Brooklyn, New York One of three children born to Bessie and Dr. Samuel Fine, a dentist; son Robert later changed name to Robert Forrest |
| circa 1917 | David Kaminsky entered PS 149, Brooklyn, New York |
| 1919 | Fine began piano lessons |
| 1923 | Fine began studying harmony and musical theory Fine developed fear of performing in front of large audiences; became interested in writing and composing |
| circa 1925 | Dr. Samuel Fine employed David Kaminsky for a short period David and Sylvia met briefly |
| circa 1927-1930 | David Kaminsky attended Thomas Jefferson High School; left without graduating |
| 1928 | Fine graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School Fine enrolled in Hunter College to study music; took courses at Brooklyn campus (which became Brooklyn College in 1930) |
| 1930 | David Kaminsky took stage name of "Danny Kaye" Kaye performed as a tummler at White Roe Lake summer resort, Catskill Mountains, New York; as a jester did comedy, sang, other entertainment between acts |
| 1933 | Kaye toured Far East with Dave Harvey and Kathleen Young as the Three Terpsichoreans Kaye began to craft double-talk, babbling, and dialect routines |
| 1937 | Kaye signed with Educational Pictures to appear in two-reel comedies; made three short films intended to be shown between features |
| 1939 | Kaye and Fine met again while working on the unsuccessful Max Liebman production Saturday Night Vanities Liebman hired Fine to write specialty material for Camp Tamiment, a Pennsylvania summer camp Camp Tamiment hired Kaye on Fine's recommendation Fine wrote "The Wolf of Wall Street" (Yiddish version of Gilbert and Sullivan's Mikado), "Stanislavsky," and "Pavlowa," along with other material specifically for Kaye Kaye and Fine made Broadway debuts in Liebman's Straw Hat Revue, which featured "Anatole of Paris" in addition to the material Fine created at Camp Tamiment |
| 1940, Jan. 13 | Kaye and Fine married, Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
| 1940, Feb. 22 | Kaye and Fine married again in formal New York City wedding ceremony with family present |
| 1940 | Kaye performed Fine's material, including "Anatole of Paris," at Manhattan nightclub La Martinique |
| 1941, Jan. 23 | Kaye starred in Moss Hart's Lady in the Dark, in which he performed "Tchaikovsky," written by Hart and Ira Gershwin |
| 1941, Oct. 29 | Kaye starred in Cole Porter's Let's Face It!, in which he performed "Melody in 4F" by Fine and Liebman |
| 1943, Mar. 1 | Fine and Kaye negotiated five-year movie contract for Kaye with Samuel Goldwyn |
| 1943 | Kaye legally changed name to Danny Kaye |
| 1944 Feb. | Kaye starred in first feature film, Up in Arms, which included Fine and Liebman's "The Lobby Number" and "Melody in 4F" |
| 1945 | Kaye appeared in second feature film, Wonder Man, performing Fine's "Bali Boogie" |
| 1945-1946 | CBS radio aired The Danny Kaye Show (subtitled "Pabst Blue Ribbon Time"); Fine served as executive producer and created musical numbers for all 50 episodes |
| 1945-1967 | Kaye entertained troops in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam as part of USO tours with Leo Durocher (1940s and 1950s) and Vikki Carr (1966-1967), among others |
| 1946, Dec. 17 | Daughter Dena born (Kaye and Fine's only child) |
| 1946 | The Kid from Brooklyn released; Kaye performed "Pavlowa" by Fine Kaye began performance tour in the United States between filming dates |
| 1947 | Kaye starred in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, performing musical numbers by Fine, including "Anatole of Paris" and "A New Symphony for Unstrung Tongue" |
| 1948 | A Song is Born released, featuring Kaye with Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, and Lionel Hampton; not considered a box office success, the film is Kaye's first in which there is no material by Fine Kaye played six-week engagement at the London Palladium |
| 1949 | Kaye starred in The Inspector General, his first Warner Brothers film; Fine's contributions include "The Gypsy Drinking Song" and "Soliloquy for Three Heads" Kaye and Fine ended their contract with Warner Brothers after the poor reception of The Inspector General and signed with 20th Century-Fox Kaye's first album, Danny Kaye, released by Columbia; tracks include "Deenah," "Minnie the Moocher," and Fine's "Anatole of Paris" |
| 1950 | Kaye starred in On the Riviera, a 20th Century-Fox release, which included four songs by Fine; Kaye received Goldon Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical |
| 1952 | Kaye starred in Hans Christian Andersen, a Goldwyn Studios production |
| 1953 | Kaye played eight-week engagement at the Palace Theatre on Broadway Fine and Herschel Burke Gilbert's song "The Moon is Blue," from the movie of the same name, nominated for an Academy Award as Best Song |
| 1954 | Kaye named United Nations Children's Fund's (UNICEF) first Goodwill Ambassador to the world's children, beginning a 33-year relationship with the organization Kaye's international visits with underprivileged children documented in the UNICEF film, Assignment: Children Kaye co-starred with Bing Crosby in White Christmas |
| 1954-1986 | Kaye conducted Philadelphia Orchestra in his first classical music concert; over next 32 years, raises nearly $10 million for musicians' pension funds by conducting concerts around the world |
| 1955 | Kaye received special Academy Award for his humanitarian efforts Kaye received first honorary degree, Doctor of Humanitites, from American International College, Springfield, Massachusetts; he would receive seven more during his lifetime Fine an uncredited co-writer with Elmer Bernstein of the main title song for Man with a Golden Arm, for which Bernstein received an Academy Award |
| 1956 | Kaye performed Fine's material in the movie The Court Jester The Secret Life of Danny Kaye, a film documenting Kaye's work for UNICEF, aired on CBS as an episode of See It Now; the program earned Kaye a Peabody Award for the promotion of international understanding |
| 1957 | Kaye starred in Merry Andrew |
| 1958 | Columbia Pictures released Kaye's film, Me and the Colonel for which he received a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy Or Musical Brooklyn College named Fine Alumna of the Year |
| 1958-1985 | Kaye-Smith Enterprises, a joint venture with Lester M. Smith, was formed. Over its history, it owned and operated radio stations in Washington, Oregon, Kansas, and Ohio. Related businesses included the promotion company Concerts West and Kaye-Smith Productions, a recording and film production firm. Smith bought out all of Kaye's interests in 1985 |
| 1959 | Kaye starred in The Five Pennies, featuring music by Fine, including "Lullaby in Ragtime;" Fine's song "The Five Pennies" nominated for an Academy Award as Best Song |
| 1960 | Kaye performed for four weeks at The Desert Inn in first appearance in Las Vegas Kaye starred in, and Fine produced, his first television special, An Hour with Danny Kaye, which was nominated for an Emmy Award Kaye obtained his pilot's license |
| 1961 | Kaye made On the Double Kaye starred in his second television special, The Danny Kaye Show |
| 1962 | Kaye starred in The Man from the Diner's Club Kaye starred in his third television special, The Danny Kaye Show with Lucille Ball |
| 1963 | Kaye visited the U.S.S.R. for the United States Information Agency and to attend the Moscow Film Festival |
| 1963-1967 | Kaye's weekly variety television series, The Danny Kaye Show, aired on CBS; it received Peabody Award, and Emmy Awards for Best Musical Variety Star and Best Variety Program, and numerous Emmy nominations |
| 1965 | Kaye part of official UNICEF delegation at the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony Kaye earned flight instrument rating |
| 1965-1975 | Kaye made four flying trips throughout the United States in support of Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF; on last trip, he visited 65 cities in the United States and Canada in five days |
| 1966 | Kaye became vice-president of Lear Jet Kaye received Medal of the Ville de Paris |
| 1967-1968 | Kaye made seven-week tour across four continents conducting the Gadna Israeli Youth Orchestra |
| 1969 | Kaye appeared in last feature film, The Madwoman of Chaillot |
| 1970, Nov. 10-1971, Sept. 11 | Kaye starred in Richard Rodgers stage musical Two by Two |
| 1971-1973 | Kaye co-starred in television musicals Peter Pan, Peter Cottontail, and Pinocchio |
| 1972 | Fine taught semester-long musical comedy course at the University of Southern California |
| 1974 | CBS televised Kaye's Look-In at the Metropolitan Opera; Fine received Emmy Award as the program's producer |
| 1975 | Fine taught semester-long musical comedy course at Yale University Kaye received Les Meilleurs Ouvriers de France, the first non-professional to receive France's top culinary award |
| 1979 | Kaye part of original ownership group of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners PBS broadcasted Fine's Musical Comedy Tonight, documentary based on her lecture series; she received personal Peabody Award for the program |
| 1981 | Kaye appeared in Fine's Musical Comedy Tonight II Kaye starred in the television movie Skokie Kaye received a personal Peabody Award for Skokie and An Evening with Danny Kaye and The New York Philharmonic |
| 1982 | Kaye received Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |
| 1983 | Kaye received Screen Actors' Guild Lifetime Achievement Award Queen Margrethe II of Denmark awarded Kaye the Cross of the Knight of the Dannebrog, 1st Class, for his work with UNICEF and longstanding ties with Denmark |
| 1984 Jan. | Kaye served as Grand Marshall of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade |
| 1984 Dec. | Kaye received Kennedy Center Honor, along with Lena Horne, Isaac Stern, Gian Carlo Menotti, and Arthur Miller |
| 1985 | PBS aired Fine's Musical Comedy Tonight III Fine received the Division of Drama's Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of Southern California Fine received honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Brooklyn College Kaye received honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of South Carolina |
| 1986 | French Republic named Kaye Chevalier of the Legion of Honor |
| 1987-1991 | Under Fine's direction, Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine Kaye Foundation funded refurbishment of Playhouse at Hunter College, which became the Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse at its reopening in 1993 |
| 1987, Mar. 2 | Kaye died, Los Angeles, California |
| 1987, June 23 | Kaye posthumously received Presidential Medal of Freedom Columbia University and Tufts University posthumously conferred honorary doctorates on Kaye |
| 1988 | Long Island University awarded Fine honorary doctorate in Humane Letters |
| 1991 Apr. | Fine endowed the Sylvia Fine Chair in Musical Theater at Brooklyn College |
| 1991, Oct. 29 | Fine died, New York City |