song-and-trance man

in 1960, when my son gordon was 4 months old, i boarded a plane at midway airport in chicago to fly to washington and join my army husband. gordon, known as "buddy", started out suckling milk from his bottle as the stewardesses suggested he do, but when the plane was about half way up he started screaming and wouldn't stop. i know now that it was because of the pressure and discomfort in his ears. nothing the stewardesses or i did could solve the problem. suddenly, the curtain between our cabin and the first-class section flew open. in strode a tall, curly haired redhead asking what in the name of common sense was going on and whose baby was screaming so loudly he couldn't even get a nap.
well, with buddy still screaming, identification wasn't a problem. instead of giving me the what-for i was expecting , the readhead asked if he could hold the baby. having recognised the man by then, i handed the baby over.
he starting cooing and talking to buddy, rocked him in his arms and then began to sing a nonsense song.
buddy was so mesmerized that he stopped screaming and fell asleep. when he handed buddy back to me, Danny Kaye smiled, winked, thanked me and announced to the other passengers, "well, now i can get some sleep."
to this day, i don't know what he was doing on that plane, but i do know that i'm sorry i didn't get his autograph! - judith carlson [from-reminisce: the magazine that brings back the good times]

i don't know about you, but next to gene kelly, danny kaye is by far my favorite person/actor from the good ole' times. i've never heard something bad abouthim.
i only wish i had been born earlier to meet this amazing and talented man.

-i swear i was born to late-
  
if you haven't ever seen a danny kaye movie, please, your missing out on one of the most classic and talented men in film history-and that is an understatement- so do yourself a favor, watch one.

ps.
i would suggest seeing 'inspector general' first, its perhaps his most famous one, besides 'white christmas' w/bing crosby. if u can believe it, mr. kaye never had a dance or singing lesson. in. his. life!! crazy.. <3