I am constantly amazed by the Danish comedian Victor Borge. Not only does he have a great sense of humor, but he is a great pianist as well. I think this combination makes his musical comedy acts very humorous. Victor Borge was born in Copenhagen, Denmark on January 3, 1909. He started out as a classical pianist, and he went to the Royal Danish Academy of Music. He soon became a well-known musician, and in the 1930s, he started to develop his own sense of style and humor. Victor Borge moved to America in 1940, where he did not know a word of English. However, it was not long before he was able to translate his jokes into English, and he soon had an act in Bing Cosby’s Radio Show in 1941. This was the beginning of his long career in America.
In the video below, Borge is doing a skit with his friend Zhahan Azruni, where they both play Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No.2. What ensues is a their comedic attempts at working together. This was one of the first videos I have seen of Borge, and ever since that day, watching videos of his acts was one of my favorite ways to procrastinate. In his other acts, he makes fun of some of the stereotypical musicians. Then there is his famous “inflationary language” act that doesn’t have anything to do with music at all. But all in all, he is a music comedian. And I think the fact that he is a great musician can be heard through his acts when he plays the piano, but unfortunately, there is only a limited amount of youtube videos of him playing the piano seriously.
Borge was playing seriously every time he played. A brilliant musicians and comedian.