If this has been answered before, it defied my ability to search it out, so please bear with me if this has already been addressed by the Teeming Millions.
(Also, please forgive me in advance for what must truly be a deplorable question to some.)
What is the origin of the infamous Danny Kaye “glass coffee table” story? As I always heard it, there was a rumor afoot about Kaye during his heyday, that he enjoyed watching women… er, defecate onto the top of a glass-topped table as he laid underneath it. As with any story of its type, it is probably not based in any kind of truth, but I wonder about the circumstances of such a trope, and how it would have gotten around so widely in the pre-internet days.
A cursory Google search gives us a few random pages of people repeating their knowledge of the rumor, but nothing concrete, and certainly nothing that says where the story might have originated.
Is there any kind of evidence that this rumor was even partially true? Or is it, like many Hollywood stories, based entirely on rampant speculation that got out of control?
I first heard this story applied to Sylvester Stallone. I have since heard it in connection with various other celebrities. It doesn’t appear in the Celebrity Sex category on Snopes, but it certainly seems like one of those stories that gets applied to the celebrity du jour. I have to say that I was surprised to see Danny Kaye referenced in the OP, but I’m not sure Danny Thomas makes any more sense.
No idea about the origin, but it’s certainly possible that someone, at some time, engaged in this behavior, and then the story developed a life of its own.
As far as these types of stories spreading pre-internet, Snope has the story of wild rumors about Clara Bow in the 1920’s.
I’ve only heard of it regarding Danny Thomas. I can’t find any real hits on Kaye but plenty on Thomas. There are several entries about it in the Urban Dictionary for Thomas and Sarah Silverman has often noted that the Danny Thomas sandwich at Canter’s Deli is suspiciously called the “# 2”.
The same story is told about pro wrestler Jimmy “Boogie Woogie Man” Valiant. It is claimed that the incident was witnessed by the Rock and Roll Express. Allegedly, they walked in on the action, Ricky Morton immediately threw up and left, but Robert Gibson stayed to watch.
…you know, the weirdest thing to me about this rumor is that it actually seems like it should be a kink, but I’ve never heard a reference to it from anybody discussing actual paraphilias.
I initially had the same thougt. Then I realized it doesn’t exist because the glass table is a half measure. People that are into this wouldn’t want the separation.
