", "We should remember him with a smile," Kaiser said Saturday, adding a much-repeated quote of Borge's and title of his biography: "The smile is the shortest way between people.". In his later years, he directed Mozart's Magic Flute in Cleveland and prepared a concert version of Carmen. Im like apple pie. He also conducted orchestras with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Royal Danish Orchestra, etc. Generations come and go; they like it, understand it. At age 9, he entered the Copenhagen Conservatory on a scholarship. Soon thereafter Borge was hired by Bing Crosbyan American singer and actorfor his Kraft Music Hall. Victor Borge, 91, Comic Piano Virtuoso, Dies - New York Times 4.03 avg rating 119 ratings published 1971 9 editions. He would innocently reply, "Which one, Johann Sebastian or Offen?". people asked. Borge made his concert debut at the age of 13 and began composing at 17. Many of his skits were based on real-life events. In 1963 Borge helped create the Thanks to Scandinavia Foundation, which funded scholarships for Scandinavian students in gratitude for the aid many Scandinavians gave to Jews during the Holocaust. He studied with Egon Petri and Frederic Lammond. He wrote, with Robert Sherman, My Favorite Intermissions (1971) and Victor Borges My Favorite Comedies in Music (1980). Mr. Borge was knighted by five Nordic nations and received awards for his work from Congress and the United Nations. Early Breakfast with Lucy Coward Both of his parents were musicians, and Borge continued in this line, learning piano and performing as a classical pianist. Comedian Victor Borge Dead at Age 91 - ABC News Arriving He was born Borge Rosenbaum. Died on In 1941, days after failing to get a job pumping gas because his English wasnt good enough, he promptly secured himself a slot on the Bing Crosby radio show performing to 30 million Americans every week. seldom actually got around to doing it because of his hilarious [36], Ronald Borge Janet Crowle (adopted) Elsie Chilton Sanna Feirstein, Victor Bernhard (Vebe) Jr. place of death: Greenwich, Connecticut, United States, Quotes By Victor Borge | He was popularly known for his one-man show called Comedy in Music, an original Broadway show that set his name in the Guinness Book of Records for being the longest running show in the history of theatre. He only has to play a few notes to convince you of his utter mastery of the piano: One of his most famous routines involved working the melody for Happy Birthday into his pieces in the style of various composers such as Chopin, Beethoven and Mozart. He developed his protective, self-disparaging persona, which delighted generations of concertgoers, as a child in Denmark when his parents wanted to show off their prodigy. One part of that success wasn't musical: It was verbal, as he fractured English on stage.