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Victor Borge

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Victor Borge

Victor Borge, born Børge Rosenbaum, was a Danish comedian, entertainer and world-class pianist, affectionately known as the Great Dane and the Clown Prince of Denmark.

Victor Borge was born in Copenhagen on the 3rd of January 1909. It soon became evident that Borge had an unusual musical talent. He started taking piano lessons at the age of two, gave his first piano recital when he was eight and at the age of nine was awarded a full scholarship at the Royal Danish Academy of Music.
In the 1930’s he became one of Denmark's greatest musicians. He began as a classical pianist, then after a few years started his now famous “stand up” act in which he developed his very own style of mixing music and humour.

When the Nazis occupied Denmark in 1940, Borge managed to escape to America. He didn´t speak a word of English, though nevertheless soon managed to translate his jokes for the American audience. In 1941, he had his first performance in the States on the Bing Crosby's radio show.

In 1942 Borge won Best New Radio Performer of the year and was soon after offered film roles with stars such as Frank Sinatra. In 1946 he was given his own show on NBC.

In 1948 Victor Borge became an American citizen and a few years later was offered another show of his own ‘Comedy in Music’. In 1993 he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Victor Borge continued to tour until his last days. At the age of 90 he would still perform sixty times a year. He died on the 23rd of December 2000 at his home in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA.

Victor Borge & Dean Martin - Musical Phonetic Punctuation

Edited September 19, 2011

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