ENTERTAINMENT

IR E
DA N

Victor Borge's
favorite three B's are
Bach, Beethoven and Boats.

RITA CHARLESTON

Special to The Jewish News

Music helped pianist Victor Borge make the transition from Denmark to the U.S.

hether spoofing the
classics or himself,
Victor Borge, hailed
as "The Great
Dane," has his own
unique way of looking at life.
For example, when once asked
how he felt about punk rock, he
laughingly replied, "I have met a lot
of punks and I have met a lot of rocks.
But I really don't know very much
about punk rocks!'
And of the Bosendorfer piano he
always plays during his performances,
he quips, "At $63,000 it is the most
expensive piano in the world. It is tru-
ly the Roll Royce of pianos. Only it has
smaller. wheels!'
Borge was born in Copenhagen,
Denmark, 80 years ago to a musical
family. His mother introduced him to
the piano when he was three years
old. His father was a lifetime member
of the Royal Danish Philharmonic
Orchestra.
When he was just 8, Borge made
his concert debut in Copenhagen as
a pianist. He was hailed as a prodigy
and was given a scholarship to the
Copenhagen Music Conservatory.
While still in his teens, he was award-
ed scholarships to study with Frederic
Lamond and Egon Petri in Berlin and
Vienna.
In his early 20s, Borge was
already established as one of the
leading film and stage personalities
in Scandinavia when the Nazi inva-
sion occurred. As a humorist, Borge
was noted for his- biting satire, and his
barbs about Hitler made him a first-
rate target of the Nazis. He eventual-
ly fled to America on the S.S.
American Legion, the last American
passenger ship to leave Northern
Europe before the war.
"I escaped from the Nazis because
of religious persecution and because
I was number one on the wanted list,"
he revealed recently from his home in
Connecticut. "The Germans knew
about me because of the Danish
Nazis, a small contingency of Nazis
who had threatened me for a couple
of years and told me to look out the
day they came into power. They had
been accumulating their hate because
of my stage shows and my skits and
the things I did and said about them."
Being a Jew made him a double
target for persecution. Even before
the invasion in 1940, Borge says most
people weren't taking the Nazis
seriously. But he was. "I used to say
the Church and I were the only ones
who saw it coming. Everyone else was
saying it will never happen."
Borge says his insight came after
studying for two years in Berlin. "It
was so obvious to me, but people were
just too comfortable. They couldn't
believe it and we still don't believe
that it happened. People who haven't
seen it are still saying it's a made-up
tale and it's not true and it wasn't all
that bad. But I prepared for it because

I GOING PLACES I

WEEK OF MARCH 10-16

SPECIAL EVENTS

THE PALACE

3777 Lapeer Rd., Auburn Hills,
Royal Hanneford Circus, now
through Saturday; Detroit
Pistons vs. Washington Bullets,
Sunday, 7 p.m., admission.
377-0100.

JOE LOUIS ARENA

Detroit, CCHA Championship
(College Hockey), Saturday and
Sunday, admission; Ice Capades,
Jill Watson, Peter Oppegard and
the California Raisins, Tuesday
through March 19, admission.
567-6000.

COMEDY

COMEDY CASTLE

2593 Woodward, Berkley, Dennis
Wolfberg, now through Saturday;
Tom McTigue, Tuesday through
March 18, admission. 542-9900.

THEATER

ANDOVER HIGH SCHOOL

4200 Andover Rd. (between Long
Lake and Telegraph), Bloomfield
Hills, Plaza Suite, Friday and
Saturday, 7:30 p.m., admission.

HILBERRY AND
BONSTELLE THEATRES

Wayne St. University, Detroit,
The Scarlet Pimpernel, now
through April 15; admission.
577-2972.

BIRMINGHAM THEATRE

211 S. Woodward, Birmingham,
Company, now through March
19, admission. 644-3533.

MEADOW BROOK THEATRE

Oakland University, Rochester,
The Road to Mecca, now March
26, admission. 377 3300.

-

PERFORMANCE NETWORK

408 W. Washington, Ann Arbor,
Wowie Kazowie, now through
Sunday; People Dancing and The
Detroit Dance Collective,
Thursday through March 19;
admission. 663-0681.

GREENFIELD VILLAGE

Dearborn, The Solid Gold
Cadillac,Fridays and Saturdays
through March 18, admission.
271-1620.

STAGECRAFTERS

Baldwin Theater, 415 S.
Lafayette Ave., Royal Oak, Move
Over, Mrs. Markham now
through March 19, admission.
541-6430.

THE AVON PLAYERS

1185 Washington Road,
Rochester Hills, Deathtrap, now
through March 18, admission.
656-1130.

Continued on Page 66

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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