through programs like this, made available for everyone through contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. [ piano playing descending scales ] [ piano playing ascending scales ] [ orchestra plays fanfare ] [ applause ] victor borge has delighted audiences for more than 75 years

by artfully revealing the comedy in classical music. ♪#@! [ playing "turkey in the straw" ] join victor's five children as they reminisce fondly about the master funnyman of the ages. borge loved to laugh. laughter, to him, was something that was to be enjoyed every single day. "'what is love?'" pfft pllt! "she asked." pfft. "he answered," pfft, "'well...'" it was a very personal melding of comedy and music. it was his take on things. he was a huge clown, a huge clown, that somebody could actually fall off the bench. ♪#!@ [ applause ]

sharing papa with the world was really wonderful, because so many people really loved him. it's time for "victor borge: comedy in music!" so sit back now and enjoy this nostalgic hour of laugh-filled family entertainment. ♪ [ applause ] [ laughter ] [ clears throat ] i gave up smoking about 12 years ago, but there must still be some left. [ applause stops ] when this ovation has died down...

i'm going to play -- this is a very beautiful piano, as you can see. maybe you can't see, but it is a very beautiful piano. i mean, it sounds very good when somebody plays on it. down! it was made in austria. i think. isn't it a shame, these big, fat opera singers always lean against them and bend them? [ laughter, applause ] do you happen to know the history of pianos? no, you don't. okay, well, forget it. the first piano was built a few hundred years ago. not so few, but a few. it was just a single key. people -- you know, a big key. people stood up and played it like... those were the first upright piano players. and then...

well, we haven't got time for this. it was very difficult to write music for that particular single key there, you know, because... and it was monotonous to listen to, particularly during piano recitals, of course. it was not until someone invented the cracks... [ laughter, applause ] then came civil rights. and that's the way we can make good music. now, i am going to play -- do you care for piano music? [ applause ]

too bad. ♪#@! it's always something. just a minute. it has to be right. i'm going to play a... i can't remember exactly. there are three things i can never remember -- one thing is names, the second thing is... telephone numbers, i think. and the third thing i can't remember at all. and now i can't remember what i was going to play.

but i'll play it anyhow. this is a piece i was asked to play. i can't remember who asked me, but... you know, i heard on the show that i celebrated my 75th birthday in copenhagen. i was walking in the street and a man came over to me -- i hadn't seen him for many, many years -- he came over and said to me, "was it you or your brother who died?" ridiculous. i told him i couldn't remember. [ applause ] but, uh... but i said, "you can call my brother, and if he answers, watch out." we were 3 1/2 brothers.

i can't remember why, but we were... 3 half-brothers, that's 1 1/2, and then 1 regular brother, that's 2 1/2... now i'm going to play -- i'm going to play a little piece called "hemorrhage." [ laughter ] oh, sorry. "humoresque." "humoresque." ♪@#! [ applause ]

just a minute. just a minute. do you care for piano music?

here's some. here it is. i was right. with borge on stage, you had two things. you had an elegantly dressed man and you had an elegant-looking instrument. the piano was his best friend, it was his sidekick. will he ever get it right? is there enough time? will this man be ready to play this piece on television?

for the answers to these questions, tune in and see victor borge and his exciting guests in "comedy in music." by the way, mr. borge, what do you think? it is very difficult, but i hope i'll have it ready for the third half of "comedy in music." see you then. i remember when he was starting at the golden theater, the longest-running one-man show on broadway. and he brought the house down. and it was the beginning of a huge success for him. victor borge still holds the record for the longest-running one-man show in broadway history -- 849 performances. the show was called "victor borge: comedy in music," and many of the routines victor developed during that three-year run became borge classics. here's one from a television variety show of the 1960s -- "hollywood palace."

would you, by any chance, like to know what i'm playing? you would? it's a piano. last time i was here at the hollywood palace, i showed you how the modern composers are inspired to their compositions, their song hits and so forth. this time i should like to show you how the old masters were inspired. beethoven was sitting one day near the window and he was going to compose a minuet, but he couldn't think of anything particular. he didn't know what to call it, he didn't know what to do. so he saw a beautiful young lady walking by the window outside and he just immediately got the inspiration. gee! gee! and there was the minuet in "gee," of course. [ applause ] thank you.

a danish compostress by the name of mathilde nilsson. i always had a problem pronouncing "th" -- thy, thou, though. it's very difficult when one is not brought up with this business of extending the tongue between the front teeth like that. one never knows how far to go, you know. in denmark, where i grew up, we speak way back here, you see -- grrr. it's quite a translation from grrr to thhh. a friend of mine once tried it the other way around. thhh -- grrr! he drowned. but he was fortunately just a little fellow, so the loss wasn't too great. and we was swedish. ha ha! you know, there's nothing wrong in being swedish. it's just there are twice as many swedes as there are danes,

particularly in sweden. do you count heads? or what do you count? i think you count people in america, yes, we do. 20 heads, 20 people; 400 heads, 400 people. in denmark, we're such a small country, in denmark we count feet, because we get twice as much out of it. we count 40 feet, we know there are 20 people. once i counted 7 feet -- i knew there were between 3 and 4 people. [ applause ] well, thank you. you couldn't have done that with heads. anyway... mathilde nilsson was one of the loveliest young compostresses of the time in which she lived, of course. she measured 36-24-36. and the other arm was just as heavy. she was about 4 1/2 feet tall, lying down. mathilde nilsson fooled around one day at the piano

and came up with this. now, this is not overpowering, but... mathilde nilsson thought it was delightful, so she wrote it down and she saved it in her safe. well, she saved it in her safe, and when she died, they found it in her safe. and then it was played again. and we are grateful to mathilde nilsson for this because... if mathilde nilsson hadn't given us this... we would never have had this. [ plays "shave and a haircut" ] here's an early american folk song -- 5:30 in the morning -- from the wild, wild west, rrrabbit. ♪ hyeh-hyeh hyah-hyah-hyah ♪ ♪ ha-ha-ha ho-ho-ho ♪ ha-ha ho-ho-ho ♪ ♪ poof-poof-poof ♪ ooh-ooh ooh-ooh-ooh ♪

♪ mm-boom bonk-bonk-pfft ♪ ♪ ya-ya-ya-ya-ya thumk ♪ ♪ pfft! ♪ blblblbl ba-da-da-ba ♪ victor borge loved to perform and worked with many of the legends of the entertainment world, including johnny carson, frank sinatra, dean martin, don rickles, and george burns and jack benny. haven't seen them in ages, but he did some things with andy williams that were really adorable. 'cause andy williams is a very... he was a smooth guy, and low-key, kind of jazzy in his personality. and he had a great time with my father. they played well together. here is the great victor borge. hi, friends. victor borge for victor borge pianos, where the key to happiness is in c natural. and with your keys, three pedals,

all ivory interior. i can put one of these in your living room tonight with all the strings attached. this model is the top of the line. the concert... grand prix -- it comes without watch. and a warranty of 5 years or 2,000 songs, whatever comes first. and whitewalls. what time is it? and what makes it amazing is that it's 100% sent from company complete with tenor, or soprano. this is the tenor. ♪ ol' man river ♪ he just keeps ♪ rollin' ♪ a... [ playing ♪ a... final chord ]

♪ a... ♪ a... ♪ a... [barking] [barking] ♪ a... [barking] ♪ a... woof! ♪ a... woof-woof! ♪ a... woof-woof! ♪ a... ♪ a... ♪ a... ♪ a... when we come back, victor will have you rolling on the floor and doubled up with laughter. but first, please, go to your phone and make a contribution to this vital public television station. they really need your support and have some wonderful ways of saying thanks. thank you.

as much as we are, please stay tuned. there's a lot more to come. hi, i'm bob marty, i'm the producer of the program, and i'm here with -- hi, i'm rikke borge! rikke borge is victor borge's youngest daughter. thank you so much for joining us. we're so grateful that you're here. and we're grateful that your father is here, bringing us his great performances, so funny. i like the andy williams part. that was cute, that was very sweet. at the end there, oh, my god. with the dog. we love the dog. oh, the dog. we love the dog. you know, we went back to the borge vault and we found new victor borge material. it's hard to believe -- this is the ninth victor borge special. it really is amazing, and there's some more great material coming up in the next part, and then the part after that, and it seems like these parts go on and on, and we're so happy that you're with us. oh, my goodness! if you can, please support this program and this great station, at the $65 level and say, "yes, yes," at $65 for the program dvd. make that call right now. it has 30 minutes of bonus comedy that's part of that, and you're just going to enjoy and laugh and laugh and laugh.

no, bob, that's dangerous. people could get hurt. if you can, step on up to that $150 pledge level and gift of support to this pbs station, and say, "yes," to that victor borge smorgasborge. it's the best smorgasborge around. it is, it's the collectors' edition, actually, 13 dvds plus "the two sides of victor borge" cd. one side is classical music, straight. and the other side is funny. is hilarious, it is very funny. it's hard to do that on a cd, but my father was very inventive. very inventive, and you'll also receive the collectors' edition of the souvenir program that victor borge used at all of his concerts -- you're gifting away everything, aren't you? it's an amazing array of gifts. and how does that happen? you call that number right there on the screen, and say, "thank you, thank you, thank you, for having public television in my life all year round." it's nice. it's nice to give. and it's nice to receive, and it's really nice to keep public television going. and it's nice to laugh yourself silly, which you will,

once you get those dvds and start plugging them in. so please make that call of support right now. no other station matches the range and diversity of pbs programs. and that's especially true for the arts. here, you can soar with opera, tap your toes to dance, explore the visual arts, and immerse yourself in great literature. it's amazing! and this may sound familiar -- you tune in for one program, and when it's over, you sample the next show and get hooked. that's the power of discovery. perfect for the person with an open mind. the show you're watching with victor borge is a perfect example of that. victor has introduced generations of fans to classical music and had them doubled up with laughter at the same time. it all happens because of you, and that's why we're here, asking for your support. so please make a call right now. we welcome your contribution in any amount, but if you choose to contribute $65, we'd love to offer you today's program on dvd. the dvd features everything in the program, plus 30 minutes of bonus material.

or make it a contribution of $150 or more, and we'll thank you with that smorgasborge with 13 dvds, plus that cd and that collectible souvenir program book with wonderful photographs and remembrances. it all comes as part of that package. please make that $150 contribution right now. it's a program that you make possible here with your contribution, simply by calling that number on your screen. laugh until your sides hurt with the master funnyman of the ages, victor borge. grrrt, pllt. every hilarious victor borge routine is here in this collectors' edition celebration. for your gift to this station of $65, you'll receive the dvd of the program you're watching, "victor borge: comedy in music!" with everything included in today's broadcast, plus 30 additional minutes not seen here. step up to a generous contribution of $150, and you'll receive 13 dvds.

that's right, 13 dvds, plus "the two sides of victor borge" cd and a just-published, exclusively for pbs contributors collectors' edition souvenir concert program filled with photos of victor borge's family and celebrities he worked with, along with stories from his life. every one of your favorite borge routines is in the collectors' edition of victor borge's smorgasborge. "the opera singer," "inflationary language," "dance of the comedians," "four hands, two pianos," "phonetic punctuation," and so many more. you will laugh and laugh and laugh! it truly is a smorgasborge of delight. so please make that call of support to this public television station right now. what are you waiting for? you're supporting all the wonderful programming you find here every day, and receiving a gift that will have you laughing until your sides hurt.

thanks! so victor borge makes everyone laugh. it makes me hurt. it really does. i got to produce -- got to work with mr. borge for many years, and every time i'd see his routines or every time i'd see your dad perform, you laugh yourself silly. it could be painful, really. very painful. you know, he said something, rikke, that i loved very much, which was, "a smile is the shortest distance between people." and it's true. it's true. you hardly have to use any energy at all, just go like this. and it connects people. and that's what we're trying to do with you right now, is connect to you and say, "this station needs your support." please pick up the phone and call right now. i get at least 100 smiles per gallon. 100 smiles per gallon -- at that $150 pledge level, we have the smorgasborge. it's an amazing collection. it's a collectors' edition of 13 dvds, plus -- it's the greatest routines -- plus the cd, "the two sides of victor borge."

it is, and this just-published souvenir concert program. the program is absolutely wonderful. it's filled with photographs and family stories of celebrities and, oh, my goodness, presidents, and lyndon johnson and all kinds of people that mr. borge knew and worked with -- there are 13 dvds. it's going to be a wonderful, wonderful treat for you and your whole family if you make that call of support right now. but please, we need your support. yes, we do. we do need your support. and you do that by making a call. so please make that call. something we have a choice about, how about that! you have a choice -- it's viewers like you that make this happen. we're in charge! we're going back to the program now. and it's some wonderful routines. i'm thinking, "timid page turner." you're right, you're right, but remember, you can make that call during the program. so please -- or online, if you'd like. make that call of support right now. hello? hello?

we're back with... anything he said was funny, really, if he was relaxed and just let it spill out. life was absurd to him and he grasped that, and it never disappointed him. [ applause ] [ laughter ] [ laughter ] [ typewriter dings ] [ carriage return whirs ] [ ding ] [ whir ]

[ splash! ] and now we'll transform it. [ playing beethoven's fifth symphony ] oh, beethoven. no, i'm steinway. beethoven couldn't make it. andy. another request.

[ fires ] from his earliest performances, victor borge found the comedy in music... and the music in comedy. ♪ aaaaa! ♪@#! he did something with perry como, and i can't remember if it was at the hollywood bowl,

but it was outside somewhere and i guess there was some kind of echo. and here now, prior to his return on broadway, in one of his famous one-man shows, the delightful mr. victor borge. [ fanfare pls, audience applauding ] thank you very much. i wish this show had been done indoors. [ laughter ] i went all over the hall and i met some friends up in toronto there in the corner. hi there in toronto. um... i'm going to play a little composition and i'm going to dedicate it to an uncle of mine who used to live in detroit. and the reason i'm dedicating this number to him is that he is tonight celebrating his 99th birthday.

unfortunately, he died when he was 26. liebestraum. hey, victor. ♪#@! [ laughter, applause ] you're not going to sing another song now, are you? no, no, i was just going to remind you that you're supposed to play the piano, play a duo with lee hambro, did you forget? yeah, but you only have one piano. we only have one? yeah, you only have one piano. there's not room for two here? no, we don't -- well, then stop playing in these little lounges.