David Daniel Kaminsky was born in Brooklyn New York on January 18, 1913 and died March 3, 1987. His parents Jacob and Clara had two other sons that were born in Ekaterinoslav before they immigrated to the U.S. When he was a young teen his mother died, which impacted on Danny greatly. He quit school and ran away to Florida with his best friend. His friend played guitar and Danny sang for whatever money they could get. He later returned home and unsuccessfully tried to finish school. He tried several jobs in New York but they all ended with Danny getting fired. Finally in 1933 he was asked to become part of a vaudeville act that toured the country and then went to the Orient with a different act. One day in Osaka Japan a Typhoon hit the city, and part of the roof of the hotel they were in crashed into Danny's room nearly killing him. That evening the storm was still raging, but the show must go on. The rest of the act was afraid to go on stage, and in the darkened theater, with a flashlight pointed at his face, Danny calmly went on stage and belted out every song he knew to the Japanese audience. During this tour in the Orient, where very few in the audience could understand English, Danny started using large pantomime gestures and facial expressions that became his comic trade mark in later years. His career slowly took off with movies, including the 1949 hit 'The Inspector General' and singing engagements, Broadway shows and later television specials. His comic approach to the arts made him a great favorite for young children, and his love for entertaining children marked his later career. He became the first Ambassador for UNICEF, and hosted and sang at the twenty fifth anniversary of Disneyland, and hosted the opening ceremonies for the Disney Epcot Center in 1982. He loved baseball, and was a part owner of the Seattle Mariners, but his heart was always with the Brookly Dodgers, who later became the Los Angeles Dodgers. One of his hallmark songs was the D O D G E R S song, which you can hear here.