Second, if we look at the wikibio of Kaye, we notice he:
-ran away to Florida as a young boy (Kramer allegedly ran away from home at age 17 and stowed away aboard a steamer bound for Sweden)
-had a strong interest in cooking, installing contraptions in his kitchen and making his own sausages
-was passionate about medicine (could have tried to be a doctor if his parents afforded it) and used to watch surgery on several occasions
-loved baseball(not much of a connection, as a lot of people love it)
-had a character he interpreted only at home, Kaplan, the owner of a rubber company (like the rich Van Nostrand and other Kramer alter egos)
-"Superman creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, also fashioned a short lived superhero title, Funnyman, taking inspiration from Kaye's public persona" - this would point to Jerry's obsession with Superman and various similarities with that
show
- their overall body language, excluding the effeminate gestures of DK
I am watching White Christmas and I just realized Cosmo Kramer is Danny Kaye! Omg! I googled it and here I am. YES! You are totally right!
ReplyDeleteGreat minds.......
I just thought the same and here I am, not alone in that thought!
Deleteme too..now i know im not crazy
DeleteWatching white Christmas and thought the same thing lol
ReplyDeleteditto here! first time watching White Christmas
ReplyDeleteThe style, themes or appearance connections in the movie world are actually quite a lot - I suppose it might be an involuntary choice of related faces and plots made by those who have watched older movies or series or actors, or it might be on purpose - the public instantly relates to something that seems familiar...
ReplyDeleteIncredible - same thought. I'm just watching White Christmas - I've seen it before but for some reason it just hit me and I googled Danny Kaye Kramer... and here I am. Part of the connection for me is I was just thinking about Festivus a few hours ago. I wonder if Michael Richards has a conscious connection between the two.
ReplyDeleteI was just watching the 1940 something version of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty... and it hit me that Danny Kaye was Kosmo Kramer before M. Richards was, lol.
ReplyDeleteFantastic. I almost can't believe the similarities.
Absolutely. I noticed this years ago. I'm convinced that Micheal Richards has studied Kay's work somewhere along the way, perhaps while developing the Kramer character.
DeleteThanks. Danny Kaye was an astonishing talent whom Hollywood couldn't quite figure out how to use to best effect. As an example of his talents, he would conduct the serious Hollywood Bowl orchestra in classical concerts, even though he couldn't read music. He would memorize a symphony from a recording and then sing each part of the orchestration in the rhythm he wanted to the different instrumentalists.
ReplyDeleteHilarious! Just watching White Christmas and once I saw the Danny Kaye hobbled leg scene I said "It's Kramer!". Pleased to find that others continually make the same connection.
ReplyDeleteWow!! So I am not te only one that thought this! I have watched "A White Christmas" before but never made the connection. However I JUST finished watching "A Song is Born" and from the first scenes I cant stop thinking I am watching Kramer! It is really hard to imagine that Michael Richards didn't take some inspiration from him. And now reading the OP that Larry David didn't intentionally make small references to Danny Kaye in Kramer's life.
ReplyDeleteGiddyup!
ReplyDelete