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Danny Kaye made physical comedy and rapid-fire novelty songs into a movie career, starring in 23 films including The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, White Christmas and The Court Jester, and turning songs like "The Ugly Duckling" into standards. Beyond the screen, he became UNICEF's first ambassador-at-large in 1954, using his celebrity to raise money and attention for children's causes worldwide over more than three decades — work for which France awarded him the Legion of Honor in 1986, the year before his death.