Victor Borge

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For the Cape Verdean politician, see Víctor Borges.

Victor Borge (b. January 3, 1909, Copenhagen, Denmark – d. December 23, 2000, Greenwich, Connecticut) was a humorist, entertainer and world-class pianist affectionately known as the Clown Prince of Denmark and the Great Dane.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Memorable Quotes 3 Discography 4 External links

[edit] Biography

Born Børge Rosenbaum, his parents, Bernhard and Frederikke Rosenbaum, were both musicians (Bernhard played violin in the Royal Danish Chapel, and Frederikke played piano). Borge took up piano like his mother at the age of 3, and it was soon realized that he was a prodigy. He gave his first piano recital when he was 8 years old, and was awarded a full scholarship at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in 1918, studying under Olivo Krause. Later on, he was taught by Victor Schiøler, Frederic Lamond, and Egon Petri.

Borge played his first major venue in 1926 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 1933, the same year he debuted with his revue acts. Borge started touring extensively in Europe, where he began telling anti-Nazi jokes. This led to Adolf Hitler placing the outspoken Jew on his list of enemies to the Fatherland.

When Denmark was occupied by the Nazis during World War II, Borge was playing a concert in Sweden, and managed to escape to Finland. He travelled to America on the USS American Legion, the last passenger ship that made it out of Europe prior to the war, and arrived August 28, 1940 with only 20 dollars, 3 of which went to the customs fee. Borge, disguised as a sailor, visited Denmark once during the occupation, to visit his dying mother.

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 1941, 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 1942. Soon after the award, he was offered film roles with big stars, such as Frank Sinatra (in Higher and Higher). While hosting The Victor Borge Show on NBC from 1946, he developed many of his trademarks, including repeatedly announcing his intent to play a piece but getting "distracted" by something or other, making comments on the audience, or discussing the usefulness of Chopin's Minute Waltz as an eggtimer.

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 onomatopoetic sounds. Another is his "Inflationary Language", where he incremented numbers embedded in words, whether they are visible or not ("inflate" becomes "inflnine", "before" becomes "befive", "Tea For Two" becomes "Tea Five Three", 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 seat-belt, and buckle himself onto the bench, for 'safety.' His musical sidekick, Leonid Hambro, was a trained concert pianist.

He also enjoyed interacting with the audience. Seeing an interested person in the front row, he would ask them, "Do you like piano music?" When they said they did, Borge would take the sheet music from his piano, say "Here," and give it to them. Waiting for the laughter to die down, he then said, "That'll be $1.95" (or whatever the current price might be).

Borge guested on Toast of the Town, hosted by Ed Sullivan, several times during 1948, and became a naturalized citizen of the United States of America the same year. He started the Comedy in Music show on The Golden Theatre in New York City on October 2, 1953. After divorcing his wife Elsie, he married Sarabel Sanna Scraper in 1953. Comedy in Music became the longest running one-man show, with 849 performances when he stopped January 21, 1956, being accepted into the Guinness Book of World Records.

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. 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 1992.

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 1999.

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.

Borge died December 23, 2000 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. "It was just his time to go", Frederikke Borge said. "He's been missing my mother terribly."

Victor Borge Hall was named in Mr. Borge's honor in 2000. It is located in Scandinavia House in New York City.

He left behind 4 children, Victor Jr. and Frederikke with Sarabel, and Ronald and Janet with Elsie.

[edit] Memorable Quotes

• I'd like to thank my parents for making this night possible. And my children for making it necessary.
• 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 from the eye...and that's my reward.... the rest goes to the government.
• I only know two pieces, one is 'Claire 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!

[edit] Discography

1. Phonetic Punctuation (Parts 1 and 2) (78rpm)
2. Blue Serenade/A Lesson In Composition (78rpm)
3. Brahms’ Lullaby/Greig Rhapsody (78rpm)
4. Mozart Opera By Borge/All The Things You Are (78rpm)
5. Brahms, Bizet and Borge
6. Comedy in Music (1954, Columbia Records CL-554, re-released on CD in 1999)
7. Caught in the Act (1955 Columbia Records CL-646, re-released on CD in 1995)
8. Borge's Back (MGM E-3995)
9. Victor Borge (1962, MGM SE-3995P)
10. Great Moments of Comedy (1964, Verve V/V6 15044 - a re-issue of Borge's Back)
11. Hans Christian Anderson (1966 Decca DL-34406)
12. Adventures of Piccolo, Saxie & Co. (Columbia Records CL-1223)
13. Concert Favorites (Columbia Records CL-1305)
14. A Victor Borge Program (Columbia Records CL-6013)
15. My Favorite Intervals (Pye 502)
16. Victor Borge - Live(!) (Re-released on CD in 1992 - Sony Masterworks MDK 48482)
17. Two Sides of Victor Borge (1998)

[edit] External links

• A Tribute to Victor Borge
• Laughterlog.com Biography with list of radio, television, film and record appearances
• Childrenschoir.dk Children's Choir of the Royal Danish Academy of Music of which Victor Borge was the patron
• My Bosendorfer Imperial.com Site dedicated to the Bosendorfer Imperial piano preferred by Borge