Daniel David Kaminsky was born on 18th January 1911, in Brooklyn, New York City USA, and as Danny Kaye, was an actor, comedian and singer, for many years one of the most popular comic actors in the US. He played major roles in comedies like “The Kid from Brooklyn” (1946) and “The Court Jester” (1956), and was active in the entertainment industry from 1933 to 1986; he passed away in 1987.
How much is the net worth of Danny Kaye? It has been reported by authoritative sources that the overall size of his wealth is as much as $10 million, as of the data presented in the middle of 2017.
Danny Kaye Net Worth $10 Million
To begin with, as the son of Jewish immigrants from Yekaterinoslav in the Russian Empire, he lived his childhood largely in modest circumstances. He left school at the age of 13 and learned the basics of show business in the famous resort of Borscht Belt in the Catskills. In 1933, he joined the dance couple Dave Harvey and Kathleen Young, but in their premiere, he lost his balance and the audience burst into laughter. Immediately, Kaye built this misfortune into his role, and which in the longer term of his career, saw him become truly multi-talented.
With “The Straw Hat Revue”, the red haired Kaye made his Broadway debut in 1939. The subsequent musical “Lady in the Dark” (1941) helped him to break through with the audience and agents – in 39 seconds he chattered more than fifty syllable Russian and Polish composer names in a song called “Tchaikovsky”; a similar quick talk performance was recorded on the soundtrack of “The Court Jester” (1956). During the 1950s and 1960s, Kaye continued his work in films, and in 1963 he also got his own TV show “The Danny Kaye Show”, which became a giant success and brought him an Emmy in the first year. On television, he also took on the role of Captain Hook in “Peter Pan” (1976) and Master Geppetto in “Pinocchio” (1976). On the big screen, Danny Kaye had outstanding success in “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (1947) starring next to Virginia Mayo, who played his partner in many other films. In 1954, the actor experienced success in the film “White Christmas” starring beside Bing Crosby. As mentioned above, in 1956 Kaye starred in the musical comedy “The Court Jester”, for which he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award as the Best Motion Picture Actor – Comedy/Musical. However, the Golden Globe Award in the same category the actor won a few years later, for the role in “Me and the Colonel” (1958). In 1981, he performed with the New York Philharmonic in “An Evening with Danny Kaye” with many well known classical pieces. The show took place at the Lincoln Centre. He made his last appearance in 1986 in “The Bill Cosby Show”.
Concerning the social engagement, Kaye began his long-standing ambassadorship for UNICEF in 1959, and the same year, he received an honorary Oscar for his humanitarian commitment. He continued to work for UNICEF well into his old age. In 1982, at the 54th Academy Awards Awards, he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the hands of Academy Award President Gregory Peck. He managed to collect $10 million for UNICEF during his concerts. When UNICEF was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965, Danny Kaye was chosen to receive it for the organization.
Finally, in the personal life of Kaye, he married Sylvia Fine in 1940; they had a daughter born in 1946. The two lived happily until his death from heart failure and internal bleeding due to hepatitis C triggered by an infected blood transfusion during a bypass operation, on 3rd March 1987 in Los Angeles, California. He is buried at the Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, Westchester County, New York State.
