Victor Borge

Danish-American pianist, comedy actor, composer, writer and director, one of the most popular entertainers in theatre history. His blend of music and comedy earned him the nicknames "The Clown Prince of Denmark", "The Unmelancholy Dane", and "The Great Dane". His brand of musical mayhem resulted in years and years of concert engagements. He was honoured in October 1986 with the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, one of 83 Americans descended from immigrants who were honoured for their contribution to the USA.

Borge was the youngest of five boys born to a dad who was first violinist with Copenhagen's Royal Theatre. Introduced to the piano at three, Borge made his concert debut at ten in his native Denmark. He played seriously, though his friends knew him as a parlour comedian. In 1931 a new career opened up when he substituted for the star of an amateur show for which he had already written the music. His flair for comedy had began to surface at 14, becoming an irreverent wit that evolved into a talent for satirizing the Nazi party. By 1940, this was not a commercially viable talent, so Borge, by then a star of Danish movies and musical comedies, found himself emigrating to the U.S. with his wife.

Penniless when he arrived, Borge later remarked that he was born again in 1940. He learned English at age 31 by going to movies, and found a job as a warm-up comedian for Bing Crosby's radio show. After 56 weeks, he had his own show. Since then, he also has become an author and parlayed a poultry ranch into a million-dollar business.

Borge felt that it had all come easily. He had always been his own promoter and his own doer, and as a self-made man, he accumulated a great fortune. His only regret was that his parents were never able to participate in his American life as his dad was 60 when Victor was born. He had a simple recipe for his music and comedy.