SCANDINAVIAN Victor borge LEGENDS king With his poor English, he couldn’t even get a job at a gas station. But shortly after, VICTOR BORGE was a guest star on Bing of comedy Crosby’s radio show. The Danish entertainer was a man of surprises but also had a talent for survival. He had escaped the Nazi’s persecution of the Jews and fled to the USA with a determination to start his career all over again. And boy, did he. Bruce Johnson tells the story of his hero.
This page: Victor Borge caught smoking in his home in 1970. Right page: Performing on 2stage in 1957. Scanorama october 2007 Scanorama october 2007 3 n the summer of 1940, Victor Borge was an exile in He went to the organ and sat down. He began by playing a sim- Sweden because he was number one on the Nazi’s ple lullaby that his mother had sung to him. His hands dropped to most-wanted list. He received word that his mother, his lap. He imagined the people in that distant sanctuary speak- Frederikke, was gravely ill. Although someone in Den- ing about his mother’s dedication to her family and friends and mark could have recognized him, and being spotted by her devotion to decency and dignity. He knew the funeral service a Danish Nazi sympathizer would have been fatal, he by heart. As a student, he had earned extra money playing the LEGENDS Itook a risk and snuck into Denmark disguised as a sailor to see her. organ at a chapel near the Copenhagen Jewish cemetery. He slipped into a private hospital in Copenhagen. When he Alone, far from home and forbidden to be by her side, he played entered her room, she held out her arms to greet him and drew the funeral music in his mother’s honor. He was amazed that the him close. She whispered, “You see, I’m getting better and soon walls of the little chapel could withstand the surge of his emotions. ...” Her strength failed. Desperate to cheer her up, he told her that he had just received amily and music were always very important to Borge, a tremendous movie offer from Hollywood and that as soon as who was born Borge Rosenbaum. His father Bern- she was well enough, they would go to America together. It was hard Rosenbaum had played violin in the Royal Dan- the biggest lie of his life, but he would have done anything to ish Philharmonic Orchestra. His mother was a pianist reassure her. She smiled and whispered, “Don’t let it go to your head ...” Fand started teaching him to play her instrument when he was He leaned down, kissed her and said, “Good-bye mother.” As three. According to Borge’s daughter Rikke, “My father said his he left, he knew he would never see her again. mother had a great sense of humor. She always had a glint in her eye and was quick for a joke.” Her sense of humor influenced her hat evening, Borge took a boat across the sound to two sons, Sven and Borge. Sweden, where he was performing in a musical com- Sven, two years older than Borge, had a reputation for being Above left: Borge prepares for his two-hour performance at the Palace edy revue. He continued his performances, although clever and was a friend of legendary Danish humorist/writer Elsie Chilton, Borge’s American-born wife, suggested that Theatre in London on March 22, 1957. Above right: The Borges relax at their his heart was breaking. Storm P. In his act, Borge performed one of Sven’s creations, they immigrate to America after the death of his mother. When estate in Greenwich, Connecticut, in the mid-1950s. Below: In December 1999, Borge receives the Kennedy Center Honors from President Bill TA week later, he received a cablegram at his hotel informing licking the fingers of one hand while turning the pages of sheet Borge went to the American embassy in Sweden to apply for Clinton for his achievement in the performing arts. him that his mother had died in her sleep. The funeral service music with the other hand. a visa, the ambassador said, “If you promise to make America would be at 10 o’clock on Friday. At 9.30 that morning, Borge got Borge’s own talent for comedy quickly became evident. As laugh as much as my wife and I laughed the other night, please, I permission to use a small stone chapel at a cemetery in a Stock- a young boy, his parents sent him to cheer up ailing relatives. will ask you to go to America.” Leaving behind almost everything holm suburb. Standing alone in the aisle, with soft light filtering Borge said, “They either died laughing or they got better.” that they had, Borge, Elsie and their dog sailed on the SS Ameri- through the stained glass windows, he pictured the people who When his parents asked him to play at their dinner parties, can Legion, the last passenger ship to leave Northern Europe. knew and loved his mother filing into the sanctuary where her he would announce he was playing one of Beethoven’s sonatas body lay, 650 kilometers away in Copenhagen. and then improvise a composition in the style of Beethoven. He lthough Borge had been an extremely successful thought it was funny when one of the guests would respond, “Ah, entertainer in Scandinavia, he was unknown in the yes, that has always been my favorite of Beethoven’s works,” or USA. Now, at the age of 31, he had to start his career “I’ve never heard it played so well!” all over again. Despite what he had told his mother, Playing music and making jokes were as natural to Borge as heA initially had trouble finding bookings. He was confident in breathing. “I do it all the time whether on the stage or off. I found his abilities but not sure where to get his start. He moved to Los that in a precarious situation, a smile is the shortest distance Angeles where he was hired to warm up audiences for singer, between people. When one needs to reach out for sympathy or actor, bandleader and entertainer Rudy Vallee’s radio program. a link with people, what better way is there?” To supplement his income, he applied for a job at a gas station Borge’s unique combination of classical music and come- near the studio but was turned down because he didn’t speak dy made him one of Scandinavia’s most popular entertainers English well enough. appearing on the radio, in live revues and in four Danish movies. On December 4, 1941, he appeared as a guest star on Bing Cros- When rehearsing for a musical revue, Borge noticed that his by’s Kraft Music Hall radio program. He performed “Phonetic colleagues all had colds and were “punctuating” their lines with Punctuation” and other routines that Elsie had translated for coughs, sneezes, nose blowing, etc. That inspired one of his most him from Danish to English. He performed his act phonetically famous routines, “Phonetic Punctuation.” He would explain without being sure what he was saying. Audience response was that punctuation marks help us when we read, but we sometimes have problems when we listen because we don’t know where the punctuation is. His solution was to create a motion and sound Left: Lighting the for each punctuation mark, which he demonstrated while read- cigarette for Danish ing a love story out loud. Queen Margrethe, a Aware of their persecution of the Jews, Borge satirized and heavy smoker, at a ridiculed Hitler and the Nazis in his act. Because of his verbal dinner party at the attacks, he headed the Danish Nazi hit list and began getting University Club in New York in 1999. threatening phone calls and letters. Right: At a benefit When Germany invaded Denmark on April 9, 1940, Borge was for Memorial-Sloan performing in Sweden. To protect his mother from retaliation Kettering Cancer because he had disappeared, she was immediately admitted to Center, held at the hospital under an assumed Christian name. New York’s Radio City Music Hall in 1983, Borge and Doggy style. Borge and poodle perform in the USA in the 1950s. Frank Sinatra sing
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4 Scanorama october 2007 Scanorama october 2007 5 up all night waiting for inspiration to come. I don’t know why him little time to spend with his family. So he sold the farm in to protect the Jews. The multimillion-dollar fund has allowed you sit down in the day and sit up at night. It’s your language. 1965 and devoted the remainder of his life to his musical comedy more than 3,000 Scandinavian students, scholars, scientists and I’m just trying to use it.” career, family and philanthropy. doctors to study and conduct research in the United States, Isra- Borge’s success on the Bing Crosby radio show led to his own Although he became an American citizen and loved his adopt- el and Scandinavia. radio program and then to a TV series in 1951. ed land, Borge retained his love of his native land and often To celebrate the founding of TTS, Borge wrote and performed returned to Scandinavia to perform. “Basically there is no dif- “The Legend,” a 20-minute monologue. The first part included
LEGENDS fter his TV series concluded, Borge bought a 160- ference between Scandinavian humor and American humor some of the humorous wordplay that Borge was known for. hectare ranch in Southbury, Connecticut, because he because when you play a thing upside down you don’t have to The second half was very effective dramatic theater as Borge wanted to share his love of animals with his children. have a language to do that.” described the rescue of the 7,500 Danish Jews, paid homage to (His first concert performance in Denmark had been One of Denmark’s highest grants is a musical one Borge estab- those involved and urged the listeners to learn from their exam- aA benefit for homeless cats and dogs.) He always had at least one dog, usually a stray that he had adopted. He was a skilled eques- trian and a gentleman farmer. He also had sheep, Japanese deer, pheasants, geese and horses on the farm. “I don’t know why you sit down in the day and sit up at His farm manager suggested that Borge should try raising a new breed of bird called the Rock Cornish hen. Borge served the night. It’s your language. I’m just trying to use it.” hens to guests at the farm and then began giving them away as holiday gifts. His friends soon wanted to give them as gifts as well. One of those friends, Vincent Sardi, began serving the birds lished in honor of his parents, and it continues to fund music ple. “The Legend” was recorded and used as a TTS fund-raiser. at his New York restaurant. The city’s hotels had a hard time scholarships. Borge understood its value because, at the age of At the end of his shows, Borge would say, “I would like to thank estimating how much meat they needed for banquets. The Rock nine, he received a full scholarship to the Royal Danish Academy my parents for making this evening possible, and I would like Cornish hen was the ideal solution – one bird per person. of Music, and he later received scholarships to study under Fred- to thank my children for making it necessary. I would like to Borge’s farm became a phenomenal success, and his staff eric Lamond and Egon Petri. thank all of you for making it so pleasant. When once in a while, grew from three to 125. He oversaw all stages of the production, a handkerchief comes out to wipe away tears from laughter, that Always finding new, and including the brochures and the recipe booklet accompanying is mother was not the only member of his family is my reward ... the rest goes to the government. Remember that simple, ways to entertain, the gift packs. The booklet contained some of Borge’s humor, protected by the Danes from the Nazi Holocaust. a smile is the shortest distance between two people. When you Borge plays his piano in 1956. like this recipe for three-minute eggs – “bring the piano into the His four older brothers survived because they were say good-bye to something you love, a little of yourself dies. So I kitchen and play the ‘Minute Waltz’ three times, slightly drag- hidden by Danish citizens and sent by boat to Swe- won’t say good-bye to you. I’ll just say, ‘until next time.’” ging the third time!” Hden. His aunt, Johanne, was captured by the SS and sent to the His wife died in September 2000. Only three months later, great, and the sponsor insisted he be added to the program. He Borge and Chilton eventually divorced, and he married Sara- Theresienstadt concentration camp. Diplomatic pressure from arriving home after a tour in Denmark to celebrate the holidays appeared on Kraft Music Hall for 56 weeks and was named “the bel Sanna Scraper in 1953. Together with their children, they the Danish government and the Red Cross protected the 500 with his family, Borge went to bed and died in his sleep. He was 91. best new radio performer of the year” by the American press. moved from the farm to a waterfront home in Greenwich, Con- Danish Jews imprisoned there. They survived because Danish His daughter Rikke said, “It was just his time to go. He had been After several weeks on the show, Borge returned to the gas necticut, which was closer to airports and to New York. Borge citizens sent them food parcels. missing my mother terribly.” station and told the owner, “My English may not be good enough felt at home when he was on the water or where he could see it. In 1959, Borge began a long association with CARE, a humani- Borge saw the last sunrise of his life in Copenhagen and saw to pump your gas, but it is good enough for me to speak on the Water symbolized escape and freedom to Borge, and he resumed tarian organization that began in 1945 by sending food parcels to the last sunset of his life in Greenwich, the two places in the radio to 30 million people every week.” his love of sailing. He enjoyed the solitude of being on a boat away those living in areas that had been devastated by the war. world that he loved the most. Since English was not his native language, Borge analyzed idi- from the phone and business obligations. “To me the three B’s In 1963, the 20th anniversary of the rescue of the Danish oms that everyone else takes for granted. He “stumbled over” are Bach, Beethoven, and Boats,” he said. Jews, Borge and Richard Netter created the Thanks To Scan- Bruce Johnson is a variety arts historian and a professional entertainer appear- the idiosyncrasies of English, which became part of his act. He He spent half his time traveling to performances, and when dinavia (TTS) scholarship fund in recognition of the bravery ing as Charlie the Juggling Clown. He has spent his entire life enjoying Borge’s per-
commented, “People think composers sit down all day and sit he was home, he was occupied by his poultry business, leaving scanpix all press. over page: right this page: and decency of Scandinavian citizens who risked their lives formances through recordings, video and live concerts. [email protected]
In front of the camera during The Victor Borge Show in 1951. Visiting the Tivoli amusement park in Copenhagen in 1989. Opening the Scandinavia House in New York in 2000. The Nazis invade Denmark in April. Marries American- Borge, who tops the Nazi hit list, is per- born Elsie Shilton forming in a music revue in Sweden Debuts on Bing The Complete Plays himself on December 24. Crosby’s radio Marries Victor Borge, in the film The Their marriage Arrives in New York on the SS Amer program and Performs at Sarabel a six-week TV King Of Come ends in divorce ican Legion, the last passenger ship makes 56 Carnegie Hall Sanna series, is broad- dy by Martin after 18 years to leave Northern Europe appearances in New York Scraper cast on BBC2 Scorsese 1945 1997 1941 1974 1932 1948 2000 1909 1940 1949 1952 1983 1951 1926 1912
Victor Borge Borge’s Gives his first piano Becomes the The Victor Borge Becomes an Makes his Stars in 22 half-hour epi- Borge’s one-man show Borge’s autobio- Borge dies on (Borge Rosen- mother concert, at the Odd headliner at Show, a 30-minute American TV debut sodes of his own weekly Comedy In Music debuts graphy The Smile December 23, baum) is born begins Fellow Palæet in the Gypsy Hall variety show, debuts citizen on The Ed comedy-variety TV show, on Broadway and sets a Is the Shortest three months in Copen- teaching Copenhagen, to nightclub in on the radio. The pro- Sullivan which is sponsored by record for the longest run- Distance… is after the hagen on him to play benefit homeless Copenhagen gram is broadcast for Show Kellogg’s cereals ning solo broadway show published in death of his January 3 the piano dogs and cats four years (849 performances) Denmark wife Sarabel Sanna
Borge and family at the house in Frydenlund, Denmark, in 1959. Launching his biography in 1997.
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