Victor Borge#Style

{{About|the Danish actor, comedian and pianist|the Cape Verdean politician|Víctor Borges|the Norwegian musician|Victor Borge (bassist)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Victor Borge

| image = Victor Borge 1968 (Cropped).jpeg

| caption = Borge in 1968

| birth_name = Børge Rosenbaum

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1909|1|3|df=y}}

| birth_place = Copenhagen, Denmark

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2000|12|23|1909|1|3|df=y}}

| death_place = Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.

| alias = {{nowrap|The Clown Prince of Denmark{{cite book|author1=Andrew Bender|author2=Sally O'Brien|title=Denmark|url=https://archive.org/details/denmark00bend|url-access=registration|access-date=2 October 2010|date=February 2005|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=978-1-74059-489-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/denmark00bend/page/36 36]}}}}
The Unmelancholy Dane{{cite book|title=Billboard|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_cBoEAAAAMBAJ|access-date=2 October 2010|date=14 October 1944|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_cBoEAAAAMBAJ/page/n22 23]|issn=0006-2510}}{{failed verification|date=July 2023}}
The Great Dane{{cite book|author=Elliott Robert Barkan|title=Making it in America: a sourcebook on eminent ethnic Americans|url=https://archive.org/details/makingitinameric00bark|url-access=registration|access-date=2 October 2010|date=May 2001|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-098-7|page=[https://archive.org/details/makingitinameric00bark/page/46 46]}}

| occupation = {{hlist|Actor|comedian|pianist}}

| years_active = 1917–2000

| citizenship = Danish
American (naturalized 1948)

| spouse = Elsie Chilton (m. 1933; div. 1953)
{{marriage|Sarabel Sanna Scraper|1953|September 2000|reason=died}}

| children = 5

| parents =

| relatives =

| module = {{Infobox musical artist

| embed = yes

| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist

| genre = Classical

| instrument = Piano

| label = }}

| website={{URL|https://www.victorborge.org/}}

}}

Børge Rosenbaum ({{Langx|yi|בורגע ראזענבוים}}; 3 January 1909 – 23 December 2000),{{cite book

|author=Bjørn Rasmussen

|title=Filmens hvem-vad-hvor

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-fzrAAAAMAAJ

|access-date=2 October 2010

|year=1969

|publisher=Politiken

|language=da

|page=239}} known professionally as Victor Borge ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ɔr|ɡ|ə}} {{respell|BOR|gə}}), was a Danish and American actor, comedian, and pianist who achieved great popularity in radio and television in both North America and Europe. His blend of music and comedy earned him the nicknames "The Clown Prince of Denmark," "The Unmelancholy Dane," and "The Great Dane."

Borge was a member of the executive committee of the Writers and Artists for Peace in the Middle East, a pro-Israel group.{{Cite web |title=Gop Platform Committee Urged to Give Support to Israel |url=https://www.jta.org/archive/gop-platform-committee-urged-to-give-support-to-israel |access-date=2025-05-23 |website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |language=en-US}}

Biography

=Early life and career=

Victor Borge was born Børge Rosenbaum on 3 January 1909 in Copenhagen, Denmark, into an Ashkenazi Jewish family. His parents, Bernhard and Frederikke (née Lichtinger) Rosenbaum, were both musicians: his father a violist in the Royal Danish Orchestra,{{cite web | url = http://www.kglteater.dk/site/OmKunstarterne/Ensembler/Det_Kongelige_Kapel/Tidslinjen.aspx | title = Det Kongelige Teater – Kort fortalt | access-date = 3 October 2010 | language = da |trans-quote=My father played in the orchestra for more than 30 years – we couldn't recognise him, when he came home.|quote=Om Bernhard Rosenbaum, som var bratschist i Kapellet fra 1888–1919 sagde Victor Borge: "Min far spillede i Kapellet i over 30 år – vi kunne heller ikke kende ham, da han kom hjem| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110110194149/http://www.kglteater.dk/site/OmKunstarterne/Ensembler/Det_Kongelige_Kapel/Tidslinjen.aspx | archive-date = 10 January 2011 | url-status = dead | df = dmy-all }}{{cite book|title=Who's Who in Entertainment 1989–1990 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=58BkAAAAMAAJ |date=1988 |publisher=Marquis Who's Who, Inc. |page=67 |isbn=978-0-8379-1850-1}} and his mother a pianist.{{cite book

|author=Ove Holger Krak

|title=Kraks blaa bog: ...nulevende danske mænd og kvinders levnedsløb ...

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=juthAAAAIAAJ

|access-date=2 October 2010

|date=1 January 1964

|publisher=Krak.i

|language=da

|page=186}} Borge began piano lessons at the age of two, and it was soon apparent that he was a prodigy. He gave his first piano recital when he was eight years old, and in 1918 was awarded a full scholarship at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, studying under Olivo Krause. Later on, he was taught by Victor Schiøler, Liszt's student Frederic Lamond, and Busoni's pupil Egon Petri.{{Cite web |title=Victor Borge |url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0096493/bio |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=IMDb}}

Borge played his first major concert in 1926 at the Danish Odd Fellow Palæet (The Odd Fellow's Lodge building) concert hall. 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 the American Elsie Chilton in 1933, the same year he debuted with his revue acts.{{cite book

|author=Bernhardt Jensen

|title=Som Århus morede sig: Folkelige forlystelser fra 1890'erne til 2. verdenskrig

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eOwNAQAAIAAJ

|access-date=2 October 2010

|year=1966

|publisher=Universitetsforlaget

|language=da

|page=128}} Borge started touring extensively in Europe, where he began telling anti-Nazi jokes.{{Cite web |last=Palmer |first=Jordan |date=2021-07-22 |title=Celebrating the great Jewish comedians: Victor Borge |url=https://stljewishlight.org/news/news-local/celebrating-the-great-jewish-comedians-victor-borge/ |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=St. Louis Jewish Light}}

When the German armed forces occupied Denmark on 9 April 1940, during World War II, Borge was playing a concert in neutral Sweden and decided to go to Finland.{{cite book

|author=Richard S. Sears

|title=V-discs: first supplement

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0ZJHAAAAMAAJ

|access-date=2 October 2010

|date=3 December 1986

|publisher=Greenwood Press

|isbn=978-0-313-25421-5

|page=23}} He traveled to America on the United States Army transport {{SS|American Legion|1919|2}}, the last neutral ship to make it out of Petsamo, Finland,{{cite book

|title=Information

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lWgvAAAAMAAJ

|access-date=2 October 2010

|year=1977

|publisher=R.Levin

|language=da

|page=26}}{{cite book |last=Charles |first=Roland W. |title=Troopships of World War II |year=1947 |location=Washington |publisher=The Army Transportation Association |lccn=47004779 |page=7 |url=http://www.history.army.mil/documents/WWII/wwii_Troopships.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402123952/http://www.history.army.mil/documents/WWII/wwii_Troopships.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 April 2015 |access-date=9 August 2015}} and arrived 28 August 1940, with only $20 (about ${{Inflation|US|20|1940}} today), with $3 going to the customs fee. Disguised as a sailor, Borge returned to Denmark once during the occupation to visit his dying mother.{{cite book

|author=National Geographic Society (US)

|title=The National geographic

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RflKAAAAYAAJ

|access-date=3 October 2010

|date=1 July 1998

|publisher=National Geographic Society

|page=59}}

=Move to America=

Even though Borge did not 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.{{cite book

|title=Billboard

|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_awoEAAAAMBAJ_2

|access-date=2 October 2010

|date=19 December 1953

|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.

|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_awoEAAAAMBAJ_2/page/n18 21]

|issn=0006-2510 }} He was hired soon after by Bing Crosby for his Kraft Music Hall programme.{{cite book

|author=Frank Cullen

|title=Vaudeville, old & new: an encyclopedia of variety performers in America

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XFnfnKg6BcAC&pg=PA132

|access-date=2 October 2010

|date=2007

|publisher=Psychology Press

|isbn=978-0-415-93853-2

|page=132}}

Borge quickly rose to fame, winning Best New Radio Performer of the Year in 1942 and earning favorable reviews for his performances at New York City's Roxy Theater and Capitol Theatre in 1943.[https://books.google.com/books?id=SQwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT14 The Billboard. 1 May 1943 p. 15 "Roxy, New York" Victor Borge on Google Books] Soon after the award, he was offered film roles with stars such as Frank Sinatra (in Higher and Higher). While hosting The Victor Borge Show on NBC beginning in 1946,{{cite book

|author=Grolier Incorporated

|title=The Encyclopedia Americana

|year=1970

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dEVKwVGO4e0C

|access-date=2 October 2011

|publisher=Grolier

|isbn=978-0-7172-0122-8

|page=272}} he developed many of his trademarks, including repeatedly announcing his intent to play a piece but getting "distracted" by something or other, making comments about the audience, or discussing the usefulness of Chopin's "Minute Waltz" as an egg timer.{{cite journal

|last=Borge

|first=Victor

|title=Popular Mechanics

|journal=Popular Mechanics Magazine

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YOQDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA107

|access-date=3 October 2010

|date=March 1985

|publisher=Hearst Magazines

|page=107

|issn=0032-4558 }} He would also start out with some well-known classical piece like Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" and suddenly move into a pop or jazz tune, such as Cole Porter's "Night and Day" or "Happy Birthday to You".{{Cite web |title=Victor Borge {{!}} American comedian and musician {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Victor-Borge |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=Britannica.com |language=en}}

=Style=

One of Borge's other famous routines was "Phonetic Punctuation," in which he read a passage from a book and added exaggerated sound effects to stand for most of the main punctuation marks, such as periods, commas, and exclamation marks.{{cite book

|title=Billboard

|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_cBoEAAAAMBAJ

|access-date=3 October 2010

|date=29 April 1944

|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.

|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_cBoEAAAAMBAJ/page/n24 25]

|issn=0006-2510

|quote=Victor Borge and his dead-pan interpretations of phonetic punctuation and gags clicked soundly with the pew-sitters.}} Another is his "Inflationary Language", in which he added one to every number or homophone of a number in the words he spoke. For example: "once upon a time" becomes "twice upon a time", "wonderful" becomes "twoderful", "forehead" becomes "fivehead", "anyone for tennis" becomes "anytwo five elevennis", "I ate a tenderloin with my fork, and so on and so forth" becomes "I nined an elevenderloin with my fivek, and so on and so fifth".

File:Victor Borge in concert 1957.JPG

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 or sideways, he would then play the actual tune, flashing a joyful smile of accomplishment to the audience (he had, at first, been literally playing the tune upside down or sideways).

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". Conducting an orchestra, he might stop and order a violinist who had played a sour note to get off the stage, then resume the performance and have the other members of the section move up to fill the empty seat while they were still playing: from off stage would come the sound of a gunshot.{{YouTube|title=Victor Borge – Dance of the Comedians (1996)|id=FS0q5Srx30g}}

His musical sidekick in the 1960s, Leonid Hambro, was also a well-known concert pianist.88 notes pour piano solo, Jean-Pierre Thiollet, Neva Editions, 2015, p.296. {{ISBN|978-2-35055-192-0}} In 1968, classical pianist Şahan Arzruni joined him as his straight man, performing together on one piano a version of Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody, considered a musical-comedic classic.{{YouTube|Aajtw30-YG0|Victor Borge – Hungarian Rhapsody #2.}} Borge performed a version of the routine with Rowlf the Dog on Season 4 of The Muppet Show.{{cite web | url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0653217/?ref_=ttep_ep5 | title = Episode 4.05 "Victor Borge" | website = IMDb | access-date =18 June 2021 |date=9 November 1979 }}

He also enjoyed interacting with the audience. Seeing an interested person in the front row, he would ask them, "Do you like good music?" or "Do you care for piano music?" After an affirmative answer, Borge would take a piece of sheet music from his piano and say, "Here is some", and hand it over. After the audience's laughter died down, he would say, "That'll be $1.95" (or whatever the current price might be). He would then ask whether the audience member could read music; if the member said yes, he would ask a higher price. If he got no response from the audience after a joke, he would often add "… when this ovation has died down, of course." The delayed punchline to handing the person the sheet music would come when he would reach the end of a number and begin playing the penultimate notes over and over, with a puzzled look. He would then go back to the person in the audience, retrieve the sheet music, tear off a piece of it, stick it on the piano, and play the last couple of notes from it.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

Making fun of modern theater, he would sometimes begin a performance by asking if there were any children in the audience. There always were, of course. He would sternly order them out, then say, "We do have some children in here; that means I can't do the second half in the nude. I'll wear the tie (pause). The long one (pause). The very long one, yes."{{YouTube|Lx4n9P4bLEo|Victor Borge – Funny Jokes -Part 1}}

In his stage shows in later years, he would include a segment with opera singer Marylyn Mulvey.{{cite web |url= https://www.playbill.com/playbillpagegallery/inside-playbill?asset=00000150-ac81-d16d-a550-ecbf0a870001&type=InsidePlaybill&slide=1|title= Inside the Playbill: Marylyn Mulvey |author= |access-date= 20 October 2020}} She would try to sing an aria, and he would react and interrupt, with such antics as falling off the bench in "surprise" when she hit a high note. He would also remind her repeatedly not to rest her hand on the piano, telling her that if she got used to it, "and one day a piano was not there – Fffftttt!" After the routine, the spotlight would rest on Mulvey, and she would sing a serious number with Borge accompanying in the background.{{Cite web|last=Henty|first=Hanako|date=April 28, 2016|title=A Fine Line Between Art and Entertainment: Music and Humor in the Performances of Victor Borge|url=https://scholarship.miami.edu|website=University of Miami}}

=Later career=

File:Victor-Borge.jpg

Borge appeared on Toast of the Town hosted by Ed Sullivan several times during 1948. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States the same year. He started the Comedy in Music show at John Golden Theatre in New York City on 2 October 1953. Comedy in Music became the longest running one-man show in the history of theater with 849 performances when it closed on 21 January 1956, a feat which placed it in the Guinness Book of World Records.{{cite book

|last=Young

|first=Mark

|title=The Guinness Book of World Records 1998

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZSyswNFqTycC

|access-date=3 October 2010

|date=2 March 1998

|publisher=Bantam Books

|isbn=978-0-553-57895-9

|page=439

|quote=The longest run of one-man shows is 849, by Victor Borge (Denmark) in his Comedy in Music from October 2, 1953 through 21 January 1956 at the Golden Theater, Broadway, New York City.}}

Continuing his success with tours and shows, Borge played with and conducted orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra,{{cite book

|author=Elliott Robert Barkan

|title=Making it in America: a sourcebook on eminent ethnic Americans

|url=https://archive.org/details/makingitinameric00bark

|url-access=registration

|access-date=3 October 2010

|date=May 2001

|publisher=ABC-CLIO

|isbn=978-1-57607-098-7

|page=[https://archive.org/details/makingitinameric00bark/page/47 47]}} the New York Philharmonic{{cite journal

|author=New York Media, LLC

|title=New York Magazine

|website=Newyorkmetro.com

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cNECAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA54

|access-date=3 October 2010

|date=27 January 1978

|publisher=New York Media, LLC

|page=54

|issn=0028-7369}} and London Philharmonic.{{cite book

|author=H.W. Wilson Company

|title=Current biography yearbook

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a4cYAAAAIAAJ

|access-date=3 October 2010

|date=1 January 1993

|publisher=H.W. Wilson

|page=82}} He appeared with the Cleveland Opera Company in Mozart's The Magic Flute in 1979 and at London's Royal Opera House Covent Garden in Bizet's Carmen in 1986.{{cite book|author-last=Thomas |author-first=Alastair H. |title=Historical Dictionary of Denmark |date=26 July 2016 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aPq6DAAAQBAJ |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=aPq6DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA74 74] |isbn=978-1-4422-6465-6}} Always modest, he felt honored when he was invited to conduct the Royal Danish Orchestra at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1992.

His later television appearances included his "Phonetic Punctuation" routine on The Electric Company in a filmed sketch.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf_TDuhk3No |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/Qf_TDuhk3No| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=Victor Borge – Phonetic Punctuation|last=Charles Bradley II|date=3 August 2013|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}} He would also use this sketch on The Electric Company's subsequent LP record, during its "Punctuation" song.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIsxPSgnrfA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/nIsxPSgnrfA| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=The Electric Company 1974 TV Soundtrack LP Record FULL ALBUM|website=YouTube |date=16 April 2015 }}{{cbignore}} In addition, he appeared several times on Sesame Street,{{cite web | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkE38Y7m1tM | title = YouTube – Victor Borge on Sesame Street | website = YouTube | date = 18 December 2006 | access-date =2 October 2010}}{{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl1YkUWs7BE| title = Victor Borge Meets Oscar The Grouch (Sesame Street), YouTube| website = YouTube}}{{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkE38Y7m1tM| title = Victor Borge on Sesame Street, YouTube| website = YouTube| date = 18 December 2006}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNDotER9XEs |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/PNDotER9XEs| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=Sesame Street: Practicing With Victor Borge|last=Sesame Street|date=1 March 2011|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}} and he was a guest star during the fourth season of The Muppet Show.{{cite web | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5iCVytIbmk | title = YouTube – Victor Borge on the Muppet show | website = YouTube | access-date =2 October 2010 | date = 22 May 1979}}{{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XShTTI7yYI| title = Victor Borge on The Muppet Show, YouTube| website = YouTube}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJgUz_RwRcw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/hJgUz_RwRcw| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=Victor Borge & The Muppets Orchestra – Tchaikovsky's 1st Piano Concerto|website=YouTube |date=4 October 2009 }}{{cbignore}}

Victor Borge continued to tour until his last days, performing up to 60 times per year when he was 90 years old. {{cite news|last=Holden|first=Stephen|author-link=Stephen Holden|title=Victor Borge, pianist who combined comedy and classical music, dies at 91 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/25/arts/victor-borge-pianist-who-combined-comedy-and-classical-music-dies-at-91.html|access-date=25 July 2023|newspaper=The New York Times|date=25 December 2000}} His microphone of choice since circa 1982 was the Shure SM59.

=Other endeavors=

Borge made several appearances on the TV show What's My Line?, both as a celebrity panelist and as a contestant with the occupation "poultry farmer". (The latter was not a comedy routine: as a business venture, Borge raised and popularized Rock Cornish game hens, starting in the 1950s.){{YouTube|i-Ps0H6Fwro|Victor Borge – What's My Line 11 October 1959}}

{{external media|float=left|width=190px |audio1 = You may hear Victor Borge performing with Robert Sherman on WQXR-FM's "Great Artist's Series" in 1984 & 1977
[https://www.wqxr.org/series/great-artists/about/ Here on WQXR.org]}}

Borge helped start several trust funds, including the Thanks to Scandinavia Fund,{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/26/classified/paid-notice-deaths-borge-victor.html| title = Paid Notice – Deaths: Borge, Victor| access-date =2 October 2010 |newspaper=The New York Times| date=26 December 2000}} which was started in dedication to those who helped the Jews escape the German persecution during the war.

Aside from his musical work, Borge wrote three books: My Favorite Intermissions{{cite book

|last1=Borge

|first1=Victor

|last2=Sherman

|first2=Robert

|title=My favorite intermissions

|url=https://archive.org/details/myfavoriteinterm00borg

|url-access=registration

|access-date=3 October 2010

|date=August 1971

|publisher=Doubleday}}

and My Favorite Comedies in Music{{cite book

|last1=Borge

|first1=Victor

|last2=Sherman

|first2=Robert

|title=Victor Borge's My favorite comedies in music

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R7rBAAAACAAJ

|access-date=3 October 2010

|year=1980

|publisher=Dorset Press

|isbn=978-0-88029-807-0}} (both with Robert Sherman), and the autobiography Smilet er den korteste afstand ("The Smile is the Shortest Distance") with Niels-Jørgen Kaiser.{{cite book

|last1=Borge

|first1=Victor

|last2=Kaiser

|first2=Niels-Jørgen

|title=Smilet er den korteste afstand -: erindringer

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RYlWAAAACAAJ

|access-date=3 October 2010

|year=2001

|publisher=Gyldendal

|language=da

|isbn=978-87-00-75182-8}}

In 1979 Borge founded the American Piano Awards (then called the Beethoven Foundation) with Julius Bloom and Anthony P. Habig. American Piano Awards now produces two major biennial piano competitions: the Classical Fellowship Awards and the Jazz Fellowship Awards.{{cite web |title=History |url=https://pianoawards.org/about/ |access-date=30 November 2014 |publisher=American Piano Awards}}

Family

He married his first wife, Elsie Chilton, in 1933. After divorcing Elsie, he married Sarabel Sanna Scraper in 1953, and they stayed married until her death at the age of 83 in September 2000.{{cite news | title = Comic Pianist Victor Borge Dies At 91 | date = 24 December 2000 | url = https://www.cbsnews.com/news/comic-pianist-victor-borge-dies-at-91/ | work=CBS News | access-date =2 October 2010}}

Borge had five children (who occasionally performed with him): Ronald Borge and Janet Crowle (adopted) with Elsie Chilton, and Sanna Feirstein, Victor Bernhard (Vebe) Jr., and Frederikke (Rikke) Borge with Sarabel.{{cite news | title = Paid Notice – Deaths: Borge, Sanna Sarabel| date = 11 October 2000 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/11/classified/paid-notice-deaths-borge-sanna-sarabel.html |newspaper=The New York Times| access-date =2 October 2010}}

Death

File:Victor Borge footstone 800.jpg of Victor Borge]]

On 23 December 2000, Borge died in Greenwich, Connecticut, at the age of 91, after 75 years of entertaining.{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1085323.stm|title=Comedian Victor Borge dies|date=24 December 2000|newspaper=BBC News|access-date=8 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802190000/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1085323.stm|archive-date=2 August 2016}}{{cite news|url=https://www.norwegianamerican.com/victor-borge-and-august-werner-exhibitions-at-nordic-heritage-museum/|title=Victor Borge and August Werner exhibitions at Nordic Heritage Museum|newspaper=The Norwegian American|date=1 December 2010|access-date=9 December 2020}} He died peacefully in his sleep a 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."{{cite web | url = http://slick.org/deathwatch/mailarchive/msg00154.html | title = Celebrity Deathwatch: Victor Borge, Comic Pianist, 91 | access-date = 2 October 2010 | quote = Borge, who had not been ill, had been planning to tour Australia next week. "It was just his time to go," his daughter said. "He's been missing my mother terribly." | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110110035729/http://slick.org/deathwatch/mailarchive/msg00154.html | archive-date = 10 January 2011 | url-status = dead | df = dmy-all }} (His wife had died only three months earlier.) Barely a week earlier he had recorded what would be his final televised interview with Danish television, later aired on New Year's Eve. In a poetic coincidence, when asked where he would be spending his Christmas and New Year's, Borge responded "somewhere completely different".{{YouTube|1th8w106Kok|Final TV interview, DR1, tx, 31 December 2000}}

In accordance with Borge's wishes, his connection to both the United States and Denmark was marked by having part of his ashes interred at Putnam Cemetery in Greenwich, with a replica of the iconic Danish statue The Little Mermaid sitting on a large rock at the grave site, and the other part in Western Jewish Cemetery (Mosaisk Vestre Begravelsesplads), in Copenhagen.{{cite news | first = Bente | last = Clausen | title = Victor Borges aske deles | date = 9 May 2001 | url = http://www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk/artikel/219265:Kirke---tro--Victor-Borges-aske-deles | work=Kristeligt Dagblad | access-date =3 October 2010 | language = da}}

Awards and honors

Borge received an honorary degree from Trinity College Connecticut in 1997.{{cite news | title = Danish Rabbi Will Visit Area Temple | date = 15 September 1997 | url = https://www.courant.com/1997/09/15/danish-rabbi-will-visit-area-temple/ | work=Hartford Courant | access-date =3 October 2010 | quote = [Bent Melchior] will also speak at Trinity College and, along with Victor Borge, receive an honorary degree from the college.}} Over the years, he was also awarded an honorary Doctorate of Music from Butler University in 1970, Dana College in 1976 and the University of Connecticut in 1983. In addition, he was awarded a Doctorate of Humane Letters from Luther College in 1985.

When the Royal Danish Orchestra celebrated its 550th anniversary in 1998, Borge was appointed an honorary member{{cite web | url = http://www.aaretspressefoto.dk/index.php?aar=1998&vis=liste | title = Årets Pressefoto 1998 | access-date = 3 October 2010 | language = da | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110719120641/http://www.aaretspressefoto.dk/index.php?aar=1998&vis=liste | archive-date = 19 July 2011 | url-status = dead | df = dmy-all }} — at that time one of only ten in the orchestra's history.The others were Edwin Fischer, A.W. Nielsen, Svend Wilhelm Hansen, Igor Markevitch, Sergiu Celibidache, Hanne Wilhelm Hansen, Henning Rohde, Peter Augustinus and Danny Kaye.

File:Victor Borge 1999.jpg

Victor Borge received numerous awards and honors during the course of his career. Borge received Kennedy Center Honors in 1999. He was decorated with badges of chivalric orders by the five Nordic countries, receiving the Order of the Dannebrog (Denmark), Order of Vasa (Sweden), in 1973 the Knight First Class of the Order of St. Olav (Norway), Order of the White Rose of Finland, and the Order of the Falcon (Iceland).{{cite journal |title=News in Brief |journal=News of Norway |date=April 6, 1973 |volume=30 |issue=7 |page=28 |publisher=Norwegian Information Service |quote=The Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav – Knight First Class – has been awarded to the Danish-born American entertainer, Mr. Victor Borge, for his activities in establishing and carrying on the work of the scholarship program Thanks to Scandinavia, Inc. The decoration was presented to Mr. Borge by Norway's Consul General in New York, Mr. Eigil Nygaard.}}{{cite web | url = http://www.kennedy-center.org/artist/A3700 | title = Victor Borge |website=Kennedy-center.org| access-date =16 August 2018 }}{{cite web|url= http://kor.dk/borge/b-bio-3.htm|title=Victor Borge Honored by the Kennedy Center|publisher= Werner Knudsen|author= Marshall H. Cohen|date= 18 June 2007|access-date= 15 March 2016}} In 1986, he was a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in recognition of his contributions to the improvement of American society.[https://www.eihonors.org/medalists Ellis Island Medal of Honor - Victor Borge (1986) on eihonors.org]

Legacy

Victor Borge Hall,{{cite web | url = http://www.scandinaviahouse.org/events.html | title = Events @ Scandinavia House – The Nordic Center in America|website=Scandinaviahouse.org | access-date =2 October 2010}} located in Scandinavia House in New York City, was named in Borge's honor in 2000, as was Victor Borges Plads ("Victor Borge Square") in Copenhagen in 2002.{{cite web | url = http://www.kk.dk/Borger/ByOgTrafik/VejePladser/Vejnavne/NyVejnavn2001Til2003.aspx | archive-url = https://archive.today/20110807134859/http://www.kk.dk/Borger/ByOgTrafik/VejePladser/Vejnavne/NyVejnavn2001Til2003.aspx | url-status = dead | archive-date = 7 August 2011 | title = Nye og ændrede vejnavne 2001–2003 | access-date = 3 October 2010 | language = da | quote = Victor Borges Plads. Benævnelse for en plads beliggende i J.E. Ohlsensgades udmunding i Nordre Frihavnsgade. Besluttet i Bygge- og Teknikudvalget den 9. oktober 2002. }} In 2009, a statue celebrating Borge's centennial was erected on the square.{{cite news | title = Så kom Victor Borge på plads / Dinby.dk | date = 8 July 2009 | url = http://www.dinby.dk/kobenhavn-o/saa-kom-victor-borge-paa-plads | work=Østerbro Avis | access-date =3 October 2010 | language = da}}

Asteroid (5634) Victorborge is named in his honor.{{cite web|url= http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/2016/MPC_20160818.pdf|title=Minor Planet Center, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Massachusetts|website=Minorplanetcenter.net}}

From 23 January to 9 May 2009, the life of Borge was celebrated by The American-Scandinavian Foundation with Victor Borge: A Centennial Celebration.{{cite journal |title=The Story of the American-Scandinavian Foundation: 1991-2011 Two Decades of Change |journal=Scandinavian Review |date=Autumn 2011 |url=https://www.amscan.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/SR.Fall11_CentennialChronicle-Part-3.pdf |pages=24–25}}{{cite news |newspaper=New York Post|date=26 November 2008 |title=Starr Report: Victor Borge |first=Jackie |last=Strause}}

=Film and television=

On 14 March 2009, a television special about his life, 100 Years of Music and Laughter, aired on PBS.{{cite news|url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/11262008/tv/starr_report_140884.htm|title=Starr Report|last=Starr|first=Michael|date=26 November 2008|work=New York Post|access-date=3 October 2010}}

On 7 February 2017, it was reported that, according to a press release by the Danish production company M&M Productions, both a television series and cinematic film about the life of Borge were foreseen to be filmed in 2018.{{Cite news|url=https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/kultur/film/oscarvinder-laver-storfilm-og-tv-serie-om-danmarks-stoerste-showbizstjerne|title=Oscarvinder laver storfilm og tv-serie om Danmarks største showbizstjerne|last=Nielsen|first=Marie Ravn|date=7 February 2017|newspaper=DR Nyheder|access-date=7 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207131856/http://www.dr.dk/nyheder/kultur/film/oscarvinder-laver-storfilm-og-tv-serie-om-danmarks-stoerste-showbizstjerne|archive-date=7 February 2017|language=da}}{{Cite news|url=http://cphpost.dk/news/oscar-winner-to-make-film-and-tv-series-about-victor-borge.html|title=Oscar winner to make film and TV series about Victor Borge|date=7 February 2017|newspaper=The Copenhagen Post|access-date=8 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207160242/http://cphpost.dk/news/oscar-winner-to-make-film-and-tv-series-about-victor-borge.html|archive-date=7 February 2017}}

Discography

{{ external media|audio1=[https://archive.org/details/lp_victor-borge-presents-his-own-enchanting-v_victor-borge/disc1/01.02.+The+Tinder+Box.mp3 "Victor Borge Presents His Own Enchanting Version of Hans Christian Andersen"], 1966|audio2=[https://archive.org/details/lp_piccolo-saxie-and-company_victor-borge/disc1/01.01.+The+Adventures+Of+Piccolo%2C+Saxie+And+Company.mp3 "The Adventures of Piccolo, Saxie and Company"], 1958|audio3=[https://archive.org/details/78_phonetic-punctuation-conclusion_victor-borge-borge_gbia0020450/07+-+A+Mozart+Opera+By+Borge+-+Victor+Borge.flac "A Victor Borge Program"], 1945}}

Phonetic Punctuation Parts 1 and 2 (1945, Columbia Records 36911, 78 rpm){{cite book

|title=Billboard

|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_dBgEAAAAMBAJ

|access-date=3 October 2010

|date=19 January 1946

|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.

|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_dBgEAAAAMBAJ/page/n27 28]

|issn=0006-2510 }}{{cite book

|last1=Block

|first1=Maxine

|last2=Herthe Rothe

|first2=Anna

|last3=Dent Candee

|first3=Marjorie

|title=Current biography yearbook

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JpMYAAAAIAAJ

|access-date=3 October 2010

|date=1947

|publisher=H. W. Wilson

|page=63}}

The Blue Serenade / A Lesson in Composition (1945, Columbia Records 36912, 78 rpm)
Brahms' Lullaby / Grieg Rhapsody (1945, Columbia Records 36913, 78 rpm)
A Mozart Opera by Borge / All The Things You Are (1945, Columbia Records 36914, 78 rpm)
A Victor Borge Program (1946, Columbia Album C-111, 4 discs 78 rpm – a set containing the four previous releases){{cite book

|title=Billboard

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-RkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT129

|access-date=3 October 2010

|date=23 March 1946

|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.

|page=130

|issn=0006-2510}}

Unstarted Symphony / Bizet's Carmen (1947, Columbia Records 38181, 78 rpm){{cite book

|title=Billboard

|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_iPUDAAAAMBAJ

|access-date=3 October 2010

|date=5 June 1948

|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.

|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_iPUDAAAAMBAJ/page/n25 34]

|issn=0006-2510 }}

Intermezzo / Stardust (1947, Columbia Records 38182, 78 rpm)
Rachmaninoff's Concerto No. 2 / Inflation Language (1947, Columbia Records 38183, 78 rpm)
Clair de Lune / Vuggevise (1947, Columbia Records 38184, 78 rpm)
An Evening with Victor Borge (1948 Columbia Album C-161, 4 discs 78 rpm – a set containing the four previous releases)
A Victor Borge Program (1951, Columbia Records CL-6013, 10-inch LP){{cite book

|last=Smith

|first=Ronald L.

|title=Comedy on record: the complete critical discography

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GVUrAQAAIAAJ

|access-date=3 October 2010

|date=1 March 1988

|publisher=Garland Pub.

|isbn=978-0-8240-8461-5

|page=82}}

Comedy in Music, Vol. 1 (1954, Columbia Records CL-6292, 10-inch LP){{cite book

|last=Debenham

|first=Warren

|title=Laughter on record: a comedy discography

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZpNZAAAAMAAJ

|access-date=3 October 2010

|date=August 1988

|publisher=Scarecrow Press

|isbn=978-0-8108-2094-4

|page=38}}

Comedy in Music, Vol. 2 (1954, Columbia Records CL-6293, 10-inch LP)
Comedy in Music (1954, Columbia Records CL-554, LP){{cite book

|title=Billboard

|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Ux8EAAAAMBAJ

|access-date=3 October 2010

|date=12 June 1954

|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.

|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Ux8EAAAAMBAJ/page/n19 22]

|issn=0006-2510 }}

Caught in the Act (1955, Columbia Records CL-646, LP){{cite book

|author=National Collegiate Players

|title=The Players magazine

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ojVaAAAAMAAJ

|access-date=3 October 2010

|year=1955

|publisher=National Collegiate Players.

|page=83}}

Brahms, Bizet and Borge (1955, Columbia Records CL-2538, 10-inch LP)
½ Time På Dansk (1958, Fona 251 HI-FI, 10-inch LP)Borges first performance in Denmark since World War II recorded 12 August 1958 in the Copenhagen concert-hall Odd Fellow Palæet (The Odd Fellow's Lodge building). [http://radiohistoria.jvnf.org/oe/l/580812_drm_en_halv_time_paa_dansk_fonas_show_med_viktor_borge.m3u Listen] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725091717/http://radiohistoria.jvnf.org/oe/l/580812_drm_en_halv_time_paa_dansk_fonas_show_med_viktor_borge.m3u |date=25 July 2011 }} The 32 minutes show was sponsored by FONA, transmitted by the recently established Radio Mercur to 275.000 listeners and subsequently sold as a 10-inch LP for kroner 19.50.
The Adventures of Piccolo, Saxie and Company (1959, Columbia Records CL-1223, LP)
The Adventures of Piccolo, Saxie and Company (1959, Coronet KLP 762, LP (AUS)){{cite book

|title=Music and dance

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PuoKAQAAIAAJ

|access-date=3 October 2010

|date=1958

|publisher=Australian Musical News Publishing Co.

|page=27}}

Victor Borge Plays and Conducts Concert Favorites (1959, Columbia Records CL-1305/CS-8113, LP){{cite book

|title=Billboard

|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_RQoEAAAAMBAJ

|access-date=3 October 2010

|date=27 July 1959

|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.

|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_RQoEAAAAMBAJ/page/n27 28]

|issn=0006-2510 }}

Borge's Back (1962, MGM E/SE-3995P, LP){{cite book

|title=Billboard

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IhYEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA30

|access-date=2 October 2010

|date=28 April 1962

|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.

|page=30

|issn=0006-2510 }}

Borge's Back (1962, MGM CS-6055, LP (UK)){{cite book

|last1=Mackenzie

|first1=Sir Compton

|last2=Stone

|first2=Christopher

|title=Gramophone

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BAXkAAAAMAAJ

|access-date=3 October 2010

|year=1963

|publisher=General Gramophone Publications Ltd.

|page=23}}

Borgering on Genius (1962, MGM 2354029, LP – same material as Borge's Back)
Great Moments of Comedy (1964, Verve V/V6 15044, LP – same material as Borge's Back)
Victor Borge presents his own enchanting version of Hans Christian Andersen (1966, Decca DL7-34406 Stereo, LP)
Comedy in Music (1972, CBS S 53140, LP)
Victor Borge at His Best (1972, PRT Records COMP 5, 2 LPs)
Victor Borge Live At The London Palladium (1972, Pye NSPL 18394, LP){{cite book

|last=Raymond

|first=Jack

|title=Show music on record: from the 1890s to the 1980s

|url=https://archive.org/details/showmusiconrecor00raym

|url-access=registration

|access-date=3 October 2010

|date=1 May 1982

|publisher=F. Ungar

|isbn=978-0-8044-5774-3

|page=[https://archive.org/details/showmusiconrecor00raym/page/190 190]}}

My Favorite Intervals (1975, PYE NSPD 502, LP)
13 Pianos Live in Concert (1975, Telefunken-Decca LC-0366)
Victor Borge 50 Års Jubilæum (1976, Philips 6318035, LP)
Victor Borge Show (1977, CBS 70082, LP, in Danish)
Victor Borge Live in der Hamburger Musikhalle (1978, Philips 6305 369, LP)
Victor Borge Live (1978, Starbox LX 96 004 Stereo, LP)
Victor Borge – Live(!) (1992, Sony Broadway 48482, CD)
The Piano & Humor of the Great Victor Borge (1997, Sony Music Special Products 15312, 3 CDs)
The Two Sides of Victor Borge (1998, GMG Entertainment, CD)
Caught in the Act (1999, Collectables Records 6031, CD)
Comedy in Music (1999, Collectables Records 6032, CD)
Phonetically Speaking – And Don't Forget The Piano (2001, Jasmine 120, CD)
En aften med Victor Borge (2003, UNI 9865861, CD)
I Love You Truly (2004, Pegasus (Pinnacle) 45403, CD)
Victor Borge King of Comedy (2006, Phantom 26540, CD)
Verdens morsomste mand: alle tiders Victor Borge (2006, UNI 9877560, CD)
Unstarted Symphony (2008, NAX-8120859, CD)
Comedy in Music (2009, SHO-227, CD)

Filmography

Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes
class="wikitable"
1937	Frk. Møllers jubilæum	Piano tuner Asmussen
1937	Der var engang en vicevært	Composer Bøegh
1938	Alarm	Tjener Cæsar
1939	De tre måske fire	Kontorist – Bøjesen
1944	Higher and Higher	Sir Victor Fitzroy Victor
1944	The Story of Dr. Wassell	Man	Uncredited, Unbilled
1964	Victor Borge at Carnegie Hall		TV special, ABC
1966	The Daydreamer	Zenith (The Second Tailor)	Voice
1982	The King of Comedy	Victor Borge
1989	Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration	Himself	TV special, TNT

References

External links

{{official|https://www.victorborge.org/}}
{{IMDb name|0096493}}
{{Discogs artist|Victor Borge (2)}}
{{IBDB name}}
[https://archive.org/details/OTRR_Certified_Victor_Borge_Collection Internet Archive: Victor Borge Collection]
{{cite web |url= http://www.kor.dk/borge/ |title= A Tribute to Victor Borge|first= Werner |last= Knudsen|ref=none}}
{{cite web |url= http://www.company7.com/bosendorfer/victorborge.html |title= He Introduced Me To The Bosendorfer Imperial: Victor Borge |publisher= Company Seven |quote= With images, video and sound files provided by Borge management }}
{{YouTube|Dgz7L4XGpxQ|Jewish Survivor Victor Borge Testimony (1998)}}; by the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education
{{YouTube|Mb1VTuNuQSQ|Victor Borge – Honored by Kennedy Center, Lifetime Achievement (1999)|link=no}}