
Soon after the award, he was offered film roles with stars such as Frank Sinatra (in Higher and Higher). īorge quickly rose to fame, winning Best New Radio Performer of the Year in 1942. He was hired soon after by Bing Crosby for his Kraft Music Hall programme. He took the name of Victor Borge and, in 1941, he started on Rudy Vallee's radio show. Move to America Įven 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. Disguised as a sailor, Borge returned to Denmark once during the occupation to visit his dying mother. He traveled to America on the United States Army transport American Legion, the last neutral ship to make it out of Petsamo, Finland, and arrived 28 August 1940, with only $20 (about $418 today), with $3 going to the customs fee. 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. Borge started touring extensively in Europe, where he began telling anti- Nazi jokes.

He married the American Elsie Chilton in 1933, the same year he debuted with his revue acts.

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. īorge played his first major concert in 1926 at the Danish Odd Fellow Palæet ( The Odd Fellow's Lodge building) concert hall. Later on, he was taught by Victor Schiøler, Liszt's student Frederic Lamond, and Busoni's pupil Egon Petri.
#Family guy funny moments comp full#
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. Borge began piano lessons at the age of two, and it was soon apparent that he was a prodigy.

His parents, Bernhard and Frederikke (née Lichtinger) Rosenbaum, were both musicians: his father a violist in the Royal Danish Orchestra, and his mother a pianist. Victor Borge was born Børge Rosenbaum on 3 January 1909 in Copenhagen, Denmark, into an Ashkenazi Jewish family. His blend of music and comedy earned him the nicknames "The Clown Prince of Denmark", "The Unmelancholy Dane", and "The Great Dane". Børge Rosenbaum (3 January 1909 – 23 December 2000), known professionally as Victor Borge ( / ˈ b ɔːr ɡ ə/ BOR-gə), was a Danish-American comedian and pianist who achieved great popularity in radio and television in both North America and Europe.
