[Dixielandjazz] "Christmas with Danny Kaye" reviewed - Newark Star-Ledger, December 14, 2012

[Robert Ringwald]

Christmas With Danny Kaye (Inception Media Group)
by Mark Voger
Newark Star-Ledger, December 14, 2012
Viewers of a certain age will delight in this two-show collection, which conjures
warm memories of watching old-guard stars in their career twilights making, as Dickens'
Bob Cratchit once put it, "rather merry" in schmaltzy TV specials.
The first show, in black and white, aired on Dec. 25, 1963. Mary Tyler Moore -- then
playing Laura Petrie on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" -- is adorable as a Jazz Age flapper
and a slumming princess. Nat King Cole sings his hit "The Christmas Song" and sits
with Kaye to kibitz and harmonize. In the finale, Moore holds her own singing alongside
Kaye and Cole.
The second show, in color, aired on Dec. 21, 1966. Kaye's guests are warblers Peggy
Lee and Wayne Newton. Harvey Korman plays opposite Kaye in comic skits in both shows.
There's also a touching 1965 clip of Kaye reading the Cratchit dinner scene from
"A Christmas Carol." At first, Kaye pretends to read from a book, but before long,
he looks straight into the camera and recites Dickens with warmth and sincerity.
-30-


-Bob Ringwald
www.ringwald.com
Amateur (ham) Radio Operator K6YBV
916/ 806-9551

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