RoR: Forum

Beautiful, Robert. He was indeed super-extraordinary. Though I have to say it used to irritate the hell out of me that he'd just hit his stride in some gorgeous melody, causing me to swoon, & then bring it to some dissonant halt! Aaargh!!!!

Linz
(Edited by Lindsay Perigo
on 3/24, 1:20am)

Post 1

Thursday, March 24, 2005 - 4:28am

Borge is one of my all-time favorites, too. He was a fine pianist and a very silly man. My kind of guy. Every time I hear Liszt's "Liebestraum", I am reminded of Borge. That's the song that he used to fall asleep in the middle of performing.

Thanks for the article. I learned some things I didn't know about him. For instance, I knew he had left Denmark because of the Nazis. I did NOT know that he was ticking them off with jokes. But I shouldn't be surprised!

I hope your article inspires more people to check out performances by Borge. It's really fun to laugh until your sides hurt sometimes!

~Jenn

Post 2

Thursday, March 24, 2005 - 6:04am

Thank you for this, Robert. One of the reasons I enjoy SOLO is being exposed to things that "new" to me but classics to most others. I'm going to have to check this out!

Jason

Post 3

Thursday, March 24, 2005 - 5:21pm

Thanks Robert,

It reminds that when I was growing up there were quite a few comedy musicians like Borge on TV variety shows. Maybe they copied their acts from him? However, this type of performance has died out nowadays. Audiences have lost interest.

Post 4

Thursday, March 24, 2005 - 6:22pm

Thank you one and all for your kind words!

Jenn, "It's really fun to laugh until your sides hurt sometimes." Indeed, but it begs the question: who made you laugh like that?

Jason, my only advice is to obtain a DVD/VHS recording of Victor in action - you need to see both the physical and verbal side of his comedy to truely appreciate it. If you just get a CD of one of his shows you will find that there are places where the audience laughs at nothing (that you can hear). Unfortunately, I don't own a good DVD or VHS recording of his so I cannot recommend anything to you.

Linz, I understand your frustration. But without his skill as a concert pianist I doubt he could have been the same comedian.
Can you imagine a comic with the musical talent of an Elton John getting quite as many laughs playing a two-piano Hungarian rhapsody with Sahan Arzruni on a single piano by climbing over and around each other?

Marcus, I would say that the sort of music that Spike Mulligan and Victor Borge indulged in was both popular and life-affirming. Their comic talents were not at odds with their musical tastes and abilities and so they successfully intergrated both into their respective acts. Take todays situation: can you imagine Kurt Cobain or Eminem being successful comics? How could they? They spend their time bitching and whining about life.

I think that when popular music again embraces life rather than craps on it - I think you will see the song/dance and laugh acts return. And it won't be before time either. Reality TV makes me sick.

(Edited by Robert Winefield on 3/24, 6:26pm)

Post 5

Friday, March 25, 2005 - 3:51pm

Why does it not surprise me to see Victor Borge praised on Solo. Robert, thank you for this wonderful reminder of one of the great comedians and finest gentlemen that ever lived. All Borge had to do was walk on stage and I needed oxygen. I still have a hundred Borge jokes that come to mind. Here is one.
"Last night, we celebrated the 101st birthday of my great grandfather". Just as the applause is dying down, "Unfortunately, he died at 29, and was unable to be with us.."

Post 6

Friday, March 25, 2005 - 4:52pm

James, you should post a few more of Borge's jokes on a new thread!
Jason

Post 7

Friday, March 25, 2005 - 6:36pm