Victor Borge Autographs, Memorabilia & Collectibles

Victor Borge, born Børge Rosenbaum on January 3, 1909, in Copenhagen, Denmark, was a Danish-American comedian, conductor, and pianist affectionately known as "The Clown Prince of Denmark."

Borge began piano lessons at the age of two, and it was soon apparent that he was a child prodigy. He gave his first piano recital when he was eight years old and was awarded a full scholarship to the Royal Danish Academy of Music. Alongside his burgeoning classical career, Borge developed a sharp wit and comedic talent, which he began to incorporate into his musical performances.

In 1940, due to his Jewish heritage and public criticism of Hitler, Borge fled to the United States to escape the Nazi invasion of Denmark. Unable to speak English, he quickly taught himself the language and created a niche in radio and then television with his unique blend of humor and music. His one-man show "Comedy in Music" opened on Broadway in 1953 and held the record for the longest one-man show in the history of Broadway with 849 performances over two and a half years. Borge's comedic style often involved the use of physical and visual elements, absurdity, and his prodigious skill as a pianist. His most well-known routines include "Phonetic Punctuation," where he recited a story with special sounds representing each punctuation mark, and "Inflationary Language," where he incremented numbers embedded in words (e.g., "twonight" instead of "tonight").

Throughout his career, Borge made numerous television appearances, including his own special programs such as "The Victor Borge Show" (1951) and "Victor Borge at Carnegie Hall" (1966). He continued performing until his death on December 23, 2000, in Greenwich, Connecticut.