Jimmy Durante Biography

Fast Facts

• Has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for his radio work and one for his motion picture work
• Raised more than $20 million for handicapped and abused children through the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Jimmy Durante Children's Fund
• Won a Peabody Award for being "the best entertainment in television" in 1951
• Had early success in vaudeville, enough to land him a role in the Broadway production of Billy Rose's "Jumbo" in 1935
• Dropped out of school during eighth grade in favor of becoming a ragtime pianist in the saloons and burlesques of Harlem and Coney Island
• Quote: "You put a joke in modern dress, but the substance is the same, just as people are the same although the clothes they are wearin' may be a diff'rent style․ People like to laugh, and I like to make 'em laugh․ That makes me happy․․․That's my life․"
• Quote: "(On performing): "I love it out there․ It ain't work․ To hear those people out there laugh and enjoy themselves․․․When you're out there, you pray to God that it'll never end․""
• Best known as singer, pianist, and comedian who hosted "The Jimmy Durante Show" and played the narrator in the 1969 holiday classic "Frosty the Snowman․"
• Some of his trademarks were his comically garbled manner of speech, his raspy singing voice, and his big nose, which earned him the nickname "Schnozzola․"
• Some of his popular catchphrases were "Ha-Cha-Cha-Chaaaa!," "Dat's moral turpentine!," and his sign off, "Good night Mrs․ Calabash, wherever you are," which he later revealed was a pet name for his first wife, Jeanne