Danny Kaye Variety Show

The Danny Kaye Show
Joyce Van Patten & Danny Kaye in The Danny Kaye Show (1965)
Genre	Variety show
Written by	Herbert Baker Billy Barnes
Presented by	Danny Kaye
Theme music composer	Sylvia Fine Sammy Cahn Paul Weston Nat Farber
Opening theme	"Life Could Not Better Be"
Ending theme	"Rendezvous In May"
Composer(s)	Paul Weston
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	120
Production
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	45–48 minutes
Production company(s)	Columbia Broadcasting System Dena Pictures, Inc.
Release
Original network	CBS
Picture format	Black-and-white (1963–65) Color (1965–67)
Audio format	Monaural
Original release	September 25, 1963 (1963-09-25) – June 28, 1967 (1967-06-28)

The Danny Kaye Show is an American variety show hosted by stage and screen star Danny Kaye that aired on Wednesday nights from September 25, 1963, to June 7, 1967 on the CBS television network. Directed by Robert Scheerer, the show premiered in black-and-white, switching to color broadcasts in the fall of 1965. At the time, Kaye was at the height of his popularity. He starred in a string of successful 1940s and '50's musical comedy features, made numerous personal appearances at venues such as the London Palladium and his rare selective visits to the small screen were considered major events. With his recent films considered disappointments, three triumphant CBS television specials in the early 1960s lead to this series. Prior to his television and film career, Kaye had made a name for himself with his own radio show, also titled The Danny Kaye Show, and numerous guest appearances on other comedy and variety shows.

At the beginning of the 1963–64 season, James T. Aubrey, then head of CBS, firmly believed he had scored a major coup by signing Judy Garland and Danny Kaye to headline their own variety shows. Kaye's program was originally slated to air on Sunday nights at 9:00 P.M. (EST) following The Ed Sullivan Show. However, that particular time slot was swiftly becoming known as "the graveyard slot" with NBC's top-rated western Bonanza also shown at that hour. CBS offered Kaye the Sunday 9:00 P.M. slot and he flatly refused. As a result, the network placed Kaye's show on Wednesday nights at 10:00 P.M. (replacing the alternating The United States Steel Hour and Armstrong Circle Theatre drama anthologies), and scheduled Garland's show at 9:00 P.M. on Sunday nights.

The Danny Kaye Show followed the usual variety-show format, with an emphasis on comedy (Danny became the weekly equivalent of Sid Caesar and Carol Burnett), and was one of many variety shows that filled television schedules between 1948 and 1973, when the format had its heyday. Larry Gelbart worked as a consultant with the producers in formulating the basic framework for the show before it began production. He was also involved in the selection of talent, and the program featured many relative newcomers.