The Wilmington morning star., 1947-11-14
AS Pegler Sees 1t
Bv WEsTBROOK PEGLER

New YORK, Nov. 13I have just re-
ceived a letter from an old comrade OF
Danny Kaye, the great morale-bullder OF
the movies, who served IN the war VIII
him for almost three-quarters OF an 1n"a noul
in Grand Central Palace on Dec. 81, 1870
Grand Central Palace was the pig store OF
the draft the plant in which "all the dli-
ferent groups" as Eleanor the Great, with
lofty, objectivity, refers to the lower orders
of the human race, were stripped TO naKeo-
ness and in this dignifled condltlon' an
swered freedoms call. ,
After som preliminary remarks, Mr.
Kayes old sidekick in the no-hundred and
nothingth battalion of nothing, begins;
'"This brings us to Danny Kaye and back
to Dec. 81, l943.
81 being resident of East New YORK, ao-
Joining Brownsville, (Which is the old home
grounds of the beloved, in a manner OF
Speaking Kid from Brooklyn') was regis
tered with draft board No. 229 Danny
Kaye's board). had just turned IL and was
being drafted. l will never forget that day
We were to report to the local board, Sutter
and Warwick, or Ashford, street. AS we
waited around for all the fellows to show
up, we were informed that Danny Kaye
was registered in this board and would be
at Grand Central with us.
81 suppose it was little too early in the
morning or maybe he didn't like to ride the
subway, because he didn't 60 with us, but
the auditorium and were being briefed on
what was to come, it was only natural the
fellows were trying to pick Danny Kaye out
Which they finally did. Although it wasn't
laughing Danny we saw. He gave no re-
Spouse to guys hollering out his name. He
seemed very annoyed and just sat motlon-
less.
"About three-ouarters Of the way through
is when I next spotted him. l hardly rec
ognized him. He had had his shoulders on
that is to say we'll padded suit etc, but
now we were all stripped to our shorts.
There was about three other fellows in
front of me waiting for the next doctor.
And here was Danny Kaye, putting on prob
ably his best performance yet
"The doc would tell him to bend from
the waist. AS he did this he gave out with
a cry and Immediately Strengthened up as
if to say it was impossible to do"
Possibly that is what his local board, No.
229, had in mind when it rejected unani-
mously a request from the U.S.O that
Danny be permitted to go out as an en-
tertainer and insisted that he would 60 In
soldier suit or not at all.
The board wrote: Neither his physical
nor his mental condition or attitude TENDS
to show that the morale of the armed forces
would be benefited by his performance be-
fore them as civilian
"He then commenced to explain some
of somewhat less than an hour in the war
against the savage barbarian hordes for the
preservation of human liberty. After which
the doc pressed his back with his fingers
but only to hear Danny sign again. BY this
time, another doctor came over and started
examining us. Soon after, I was through
with that section and started to move on
when got my last glance at the Kid from
Brooklyn. He was attempting knee bend
but had lost his balance unrealfstlcally. Ii
this was his talent that was supposed to
have lifted our morale overseas was glad
never heard or saw of him while in the
service"
Well, that is the way it goes in the rough
and-ready banter of fighting men. This chap
went on to do his bit in the dumb crude way
of "all the different groups" but Danny
went to Fort Jay for some careful check
ing and the word came back which caused
his local board to comment on his mental
attitude"
And after a while Danny's whole draft
file vanished permanently from the Jurlsdlc- |
ton of the boards and he devoted himself
unmolested to esthetic works He is most
esthetic when he plays blubber-hp and
emits a highly spiritual sound something
like the drooling of committed IDIOT in a
lunatic asylum
Like frankie Boy Sinatra, another fero-
cious, though vicarious fighter against the
DlOOQy -ndnUeQ l1Ull, 1AoyC do NC
MED his chance to visit the zones OF war
until they were mere tourist areas. Like
frankie Boy, also, he developed aggressive
social and political ideas. frankie Boy, gave
$500 to Roosevelt's fourth campaign fund
and developed a case of 4-F ear-drum but
he came right to the waters edge, in New
York, in May, 1916, only year after it
ended, and fearlessly denounced double
talking diplomats at show under the au-
spices of the Independent Citizens Commit
tee of the Arts and Sciences. If you want to
know how many times this committee has
been cited as front by the Dies and Thomas
Committees in official reports to Congress,
you will just have to look it up yourself.
However, frankie Boys manager, George
Evans, says that thereafter he put himself
under the political guidance of two report
ers who are experts on communism and
agreed not to mess around with any outfit
which they disapproved. 1t shows frankie
Boys wonderful political grasp and wisdom.
About the same time, frankie Boy snarl-
ed menacingly at Ashton Stevens of the
Chicago Herald-American, who is rising 80
years. because Mr.. Stevens had called his
bobbysoxers "morons." frankie spoke very
affectionately and protectively about his be-
loved little blabbity- -blabs as Danny Kaye
would call them. He regards them as in
nocent American girlhood, but, by curious
difference of opinion Mr.. Stevens thinks OF
them as several million sexually excited
specimens of jail-bait. MIR. Stevens adds that
frankie Boy is always on guard to protect
his precious name because when the little
morons seem to be wanting nothing but his
autograph, actually, they are trying to tear
his clothes Off" |
Sordid, isn't it? But that's life
Danny Kaye was one of those glamorous
gods of the unreal world of romantic en-
chantment who flew to Washington to pro-
test against the undemocratic procedure of
the United States Congress in proving that
certain Hollywood communists were COM
munists. Back in his beginning days he