There Ain't Nothin' Like a Dane!

As most of us on the east coast are housebound today with the wonderful weekend blizzard, snug in our comfortable heated homes, my thoughts turn to an important anniversary that I want to be sure to honor today.

Ninety years ago yesterday, on February 11, 1916, the actor Karl Dane, born Rasmus Karl Therkelsen Gottlieb, emigrated to this country from Copenhagen, Denmark, at the age of 29. Karl settled in Brooklyn, and worked for awhile at the Robert Gair Company on Washington Avenue as a machinist.

All of you movie buffs may know that Karl started in films while living in NYC, appearing in the first American propaganda film (and first Warner’s feature) “My Four Years in Germany” (1918), before moving to California and eventually hitting it big in MGM’s “The Big Parade” (1925). But to hear the rest of the story, you will have to wait for my upcoming biography!

Today, I want to focus on the beginning of Karl’s adventure in America. When you think about it, his story is not really all that different from that of many other immigrants to this country, like my grandfather Vaclav (Willie) who came here from Cecelovice, Bohemia, in 1926. All of these people scraped together their entire savings, very often left their entire family, friends, family lands, and culture, and risked everything to come to America for a better life.

I am truly in awe of this kind of courage and fortitude, and cannot even imagine taking this kind of a risk myself. After all, I was born in Newark, NJ, and still live in this state (very happily, I might add), and only know a smattering of foreign words and phrases. Occasionally, Dan and I pat ourselves on the back when we take the occasional foray out to far-flung places like India and Tanzania on vacation. Of course, even in these places, we are relatively pampered tourists, always relying on our English speaking guides, and returning to our safe haven in the US at the end of 2-3 weeks.

Just imagine being on Karl’s ship, the Oscar II, as it sailed through the treacherous dark waters of the Atlantic in February 1916. Only several months earlier, the Lusitania had been sunk, and much of the world was at war. This must have been a very intimidating crossing to make, but one Karl and his fellow passengers considered worthy to make, for a better life, and for the freedoms and opportunity in America. Indeed, Karl became a naturalized US citizen only several years later.

This story is especially relevant now, in my humble opinion, considering the current unrest and controversy around the world in response to the Danish cartoons lampooning the Prophet Mohammed. Freedom is something so incredibly precious and fragile, something for which untold numbers of immigrants risked everything. Witness only the horrible recent stories of stowaways hiding in and freezing to death in the wheel wells of jumbo jets, or Chinese immigrants dying of asphyxiation in the backs of vans—all taking the risk to come to this country to escape political oppression or poverty, and sometimes ending up paying such a terrible price.

It is all very humbling to me and makes me realize that we cannot dishonor these people by forgetting their sacrifices—or to become complacent about what we tend to take for granted, being born in this country.

So today, when you finish shovelling your walk or cleaning off your car, when you return to your warm and comfy home, take a moment to remember Karl Dane on his special anniversary. Imagine that other winter’s day 90 years ago and how excited he must have been to see the Statue of Liberty for the first time. To marvel at the beautiful Brooklyn Bridge after he was processed through Ellis Island and started for his boarding house on Clermont Avenue. Go to the fridge like I will, and take out a beer, (for me it will be a Carlsberg) raise your bottle, and say a special “Skal!” in honor of Karl, and many others like him who helped build this country. They will never be forgotten!