The Danny Kaye 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 Danny Kaye that aired on CBS from September 25, 1963, to June 7, 1967, on Wednesday nights. Directed by Robert Scheerer, the show premiered in black-and-white, but later switched to color broadcasts. At the time, Kaye was at the height of his popularity, having starred in a string of successful films in the 1940s and '50's, made successful personal appearances at such venues as the London Palladium, and appeared many times on television. His most recent films had been considered disappointing, but the television specials he starred in were triumphant, leading to this series. Prior to his television and film career, Kaye had made a name for himself with his own radio show, and numerous other guest appearances on other 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 regarded as "the graveyard slot" because NBC's top-rated show Bonanza was also shown at that hour. CBS offered Kaye the 9:00 P.M. time slot and he flatly refused. As a result, the network moved Kaye's show to 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.