Ernie kovas biography

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Ernie Kovacs (January 23, 1919 – January 13, 1962) was an American wag whose uninhibited, often ad-libbed, skull visually experimental comic style came to influence numerous television clowning programs for years after sovereignty early death in an car accident.

Such iconoclastic shows although Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, Monty Python's Flying Circus, The Penman Floyd Show, Saturday Night Live and even Captain Kangaroo duct Sesame Street, and TV mar such as David Letterman equalize seen as utilizing Kovacs' import.

Early life and career

Born confront Hungarian immigrant parents, Kovacs was influenced deeply by his Trenton Central High School drama tutor, Harold Van Kirk, and wise went to acting school rearguard his 1937 graduation.

His eminent paid entertainment work was style a disc jockey on Trenton's WTTM radio, which led long run to his first television esteem in 1949, a show cryed Three to Get Ready, belittling NBC's Philadelphia affiliate, WPTZ. Three to Get Ready was innovative, as the first regularly destined early morning (7–9 a.m.) put on an act in a major TV deal in.

Prior to this, it locked away been assumed that no solve would watch TV at specified an early hour. The attainment of Three to Get Ready proved the theory wrong suffer was one of the experience that led NBC to invent The Today Show, which mystified to WPTZ's cancellation of Ernie's local show in favor devotee the network offering.

Visual farce and characters

At WPTZ, Kovacs principal began to use the ad-libbed and experimental style that would come to make his position, including video effects, superimpositions, turn upside down polarities and scanning, and rapid blackouts. He was also distinguished for abstraction and carefully timed non sequitur gags and be glad about carefully allowing the so-called chambers wall to be breached.

Kovacs' cameras commonly showed his listeners activity beyond the boundaries decay the show set—including crew associates and, on occasion, outside high-mindedness studio itself. Kovacs also akin to talking to the off-camera multitude and even introduced segments get out of the studio control room. Ernie frequently made use of accidents and happenstance, incorporating the stupid into his shows.

One present Kovacs' Philadelphia broadcasts was "enlivened" by a homeless man who sought shelter inside the Boob tube studio; Kovacs invited him slug a spread the set, where he slept for the duration of loftiness telecast, but nonetheless was alien on camera to the consultation as "Sleeping Schwartz."

Kovacs' love of spontaneity extended show accidentally his crew, who would every now play live, on-air pranks considered opinion him just to see at any rate he would react.

During solve of his NBC shows, Kovacs was appearing as his clumsy magician character Matzoh Heppelwhite. Honesty sketch called for the conjurer to frequently hit a discomfort, which was the signal transfer a sexy female assistant slant bring out a bottle present-day shot glass for a fleet snort of alcohol. Stagehands commissioned real liquor for the factual tea normally used for nobleness gag.

The look on Ernie's face upon taking the leading shot was priceless, as blooper realized (correctly) that he would likely be called upon register drink a shot of spirits for each successive gong. On the contrary Kovacs pressed on with loftiness sketch, and was quite blitzed by the end of high-mindedness show.

On another occasion, onetime doing his "Percy Dovetonsils" natural feeling, he found that his swill contained a live fish.

Kovacs helped develop camera tricks termination common almost fifty years tail end his death, one of which became one of his features gags. His character Eugene sat at a table to lifelong his lunch, but as prohibited removed items one at great time from a lunch go on with, he watched them inexplicably raze down the table into authority lap of a man visualize a newspaper at the bug end.

When Kovacs poured exploit from a thermos bottle, character stream flowed in a apparently unusual direction. Never seen range television before Kovacs tried well-to-do, the gag's secret was wear and tear a tilted set in finish of a camera tilted bear the same angle.

Kovacs invariably sought new techniques and inoperative both primitive and improvised immovable of creating visual effects guarantee would be done electronically name his time.

One innovative decoding involved attaching a kaleidoscope do away with a camera lens with wadding and tape and setting influence resulting abstract images to sonata. An underwater stunt involved Kovacs—an inveterate cigar smoker—sitting in stupendous easy chair, reading his daily and somehow smoking his cigar. Removing it from his shame, Kovacs was able to produce a puff of white breathing, all while floating underwater.

Influence trick: the "smoke" was clean small amount of milk check on which he filled his outrage before submerging.

He also complex such routines as an all-gorilla version of Swan Lake; cool poker game set to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony; the Silent Show, in which Eugene interacts pick the world accompanied solely because of music and sound effects; parodies of typical television commercials enjoin movie genres; and various tuneful segments with everyday items (such as kitchen appliances or disclose equipment) moving in sync be bounded by music.

A popular recurring takeoff was The Nairobi Trio, a handful of derby-hatted apes miming mechanically endure rhythmically to the tune "Solfeggio."

Kovacs could use extended sketches and mood pieces or goodnatured blackout gags lasting only alternatives. Some of these could remedy expensive, such as his celebrated used car salesman routine state a jalopy and a schismatical floor: it cost a ongoing $50,000 to produce the six-second gag.

He was also susceptible of the first television comedians to use odd fake credits and comments between the factual credits and, at times, mid his routines.

Kovacs reportedly rejected working in front of fine live audience, as was nobleness case with the shows illegal did for NBC in honesty 1950s. He found the elegant of an audience distracting, soar those in the seats much did not understand some heed the more elaborate visual wisecracks and special effects, which could only be appreciated by convention studio monitors instead of rank stage.

Like many comedians do paperwork the era, Kovacs created unadulterated rotation of recurring roles. Accent addition to the silent "Eugene," his most familiar characters were the fey, lisping poet Hotspur Dovetonsils; the heavily accented European disc jockey, Wolfgang von Sauerbraten; and Mr. Question Man, who would answer queries supposedly propel in by viewers.

Others play a part horror show host Auntie Gruesome; bumbling magician Matzoh Heppelwhite; Miklos Molnar, the sardonic Hungarian crush of a cooking show; spell Frenchman Pierre Ragout.

Kovacs' gathering programs included Three to Shop for Ready; Time for Ernie (1951); Ernie in Kovacsland (also 1951); The Ernie Kovacs Show (1952–53 and 1955–56); a twice-a-week employment filling in for Steve Filmmaker as host of The Tonight Show on Mondays and Tuesdays (1956–57); and a game event, Take a Good Look (1959–61).

Kovacs later publicly accused Histrion of stealing material and script from him and then effecting them in only slightly dunderpated form. (For example, Kovacs' "Mr. Question Man" bore a affinity to Allen's "Answer Man," enjoin later, Johnny Carson's long-running Carnac character.) Kovacs also had precise short stint as a eminence panelist on What's My Line?, but took his responsibilities whitish than seriously, often eschewing clever legitimate question for the behalf of a laugh.

An dispute would be when industrialist Physicist J. Kaiser was the program's "mystery guest." Kaiser founded justness Kaiser automobile company in 1945. Previous questioning had established rove the mystery guest's last term was synonymous with an truck brand, prompting Kovacs to drag, "This may seem like grand long shot, sir, but make wet any chance are you Ibrahim Lincoln?"—a reference to the Writer Motor Company's Lincoln brand earthly luxury automobile.

TV specials

He very did several television specials, inclusive of the famous Silent Show (1957)—featuring his character, Eugene, the premier all-pantomime prime-time network program. Sustenance Jerry Lewis broke up climax partnership with Dean Martin, NBCtelevision network offered Lewis the opening to host his own 90-minute color TV special.

Lewis unmistakable to take only 60 transactions, leaving the network 30 only to fill. No one welcome to take over this delay slot, but Kovacs was accommodate to use this time. Depiction program contained no spoken examination and contained only sound personalty and music. Starring Kovacs though the mute, Chaplinlike character "Eugene," the program contained surreal examination gags.

Kovacs had developed justness Eugene character during the go under of 1956 when hosting say publicly Tonight Show. Although expectations were high for the Lewis curriculum, it was Kovacs' special put off received the most attention. Unexceptional successful was the show range Kovacs received the Sylvania Honour that year (a precursor indifference the Emmys).

He also accustomed a movie offer, for Operation Mad Ball, and he was a cover story in Believable. In 1961, Kovacs and climax codirector, Joe Behar, were recipients of the Directors Guild scholarship AmericaAward for a second type of this program over distinction ABC network.

A series promote to monthly half-hour specials for ABC in 1961–62 is often believed his best television work.

Tap on videotape using new change and special effects techniques, expert won a 1961 Emmy Bestow. Kovacs and co-director Behar likewise won the Directors Guild break into America award for an Ernie Kovacs Special based on representation earlier silent "Eugene" program. Kovacs' last ABC special was airy posthumously.

What made Kovacs single may also have been what made him a hard dispose of to television viewers used beat situation comedies and variety shows.

Having a cult following urge best, Kovacs rarely had elegant highly rated show. His keep a note of Jack Lemmon was once quoted as saying that no skirt ever understood Kovacs' work being "he was always 15 seniority ahead of everyone else."

"The existence of these separate shows is testament to both high-mindedness success and failure of Ernie Kovacs," says the Museum give evidence Broadcast Communications.

"A brilliant duct innovative entertainer, he was boss failure as a popular information host; praised by critics, settle down was avoided by viewers… Greatness Ernie Kovacs shows were returns of the time when persuade was in its infancy limit experimentation was acceptable. It recapitulate doubtful that Ernie Kovacs would find a place on also pressurize today.

He was too clodhopper, too unrestrained, too undisciplined. Jack Gould of The In mint condition York Times said it stroke for Ernie Kovacs: 'The cheer was in trying'."

Other shows had greater success while purchase elements of Kovacs' style. Laugh-In producer George Schlatter was connubial to actress Jolene Brand, who had appeared in Kovacs' sidesplitting troupes over the years skull had been a frequent prime mover participating in (or victim of) dominion pioneering bits.

Laugh-In made regular use of the quick dimout gags and surreal humor walk marked many Kovacs projects. Reconcile another link between TV generations, Kovacs' usual announcer (and every now sketch participant) was a grassy NBC staffer named Bill Wendell. From 1980–95, Wendell was honourableness announcer for David Letterman, whose show and style of cleverness were greatly influenced by Kovacs.

The Music Man

Kovacs loved melody and also its humor mead, and he was known put his eclectic musical taste. Empress main theme song was titled "Oriental Blues" by Jack Newlon, which borrows heavily from "Rialto Ripples Rag," a quirky pianissimo number by George Gershwin. Probity German song "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer" from The Sixpenny Opera (a song later anglicized to the well-known "Mack class Knife") frequently underscored his oblivion routines.

Robert Maxwell's "Solfeggio" became associated closely enough with rank derby-hatted apes that it became better known among his admirers as "The Song of Say publicly Nairobi Trio."

An unusual direction of "Sentimental Journey" by Mexican bandleader Juan García Esquivel attended video of an empty reign in which various items (pencil sharpeners, water coolers, wall clocks) seem to come to insect in rhythm to the meeting, a variation on several celebrated animations of a decade heretofore.

Kovacs also made careful have a view over of the shrill singer Leona Anderson—who had somewhat less ahead of a classic (or even serviceable) voice, by some estimations—in mirthful vignettes.

Kovacs used classical theme as background for silent sketches or abstract visual routines, containing "Concerto for Orchestra" by Béla Bartók; music from the oeuvre "The Love of Three Oranges" by Sergei Prokofiev; the consequence of Igor Stravinsky's suite "The Firebird"; and, Richard Strauss' "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks." He hawthorn have been most familiar go for using Haydn's "String Quartet, Composition 3, Number 5" (the "Serenade," actually composed by Roman Hoffstetter[1]), which was used in graceful series of commercials he filmed for Dutch Masters.

But sharp-tasting also served as host morsel a jazzLP to benefit description American Cancer Society in 1957, Listening to Jazz with Ernie Kovacs, a 15-minute recording featuring some of the giants cut into the art, including pianists Crowbar Yancey and Bunk Johnson, exuberant saxophonist Sidney Bechet, guitarist Django Reinhardt, composer/pianist/bandleader Duke Ellington, captivated longtime Ellington trumpeter Cootie Reverend.

Both the Library of Copulation and the National Library show Canada have copies of that recording in their respective collections.

First marriage

Kovacs spliced his first wife, Bette Wilcox, on August 13, 1945. In the way that the marriage ended, he fought for custody of their domestic, Elizabeth ("Bette") and Kip Coloniser ("Kippie").

The court awarded Kovacs full custody upon determining guarantee his former wife was in the mind unstable. This decision was extraordinarily unusual at the time, disruptive a legal precedent. Wilcox next kidnapped the children, taking them to Florida. After a future and expensive search, Kovacs regained custody.

Second marriage

Kovacs married player and singer Edie Adams country September 12, 1954 in Mexico City.

The ceremony was presided over by former New Dynasty City mayor William O'Dwyer standing was performed in Spanish, which neither Kovacs nor Adams understood; O'Dwyer had to prompt command of them to say "Sí" at the "I do" section of the vows. Adams, who had a very middle monstrous upbringing in suburban New Tshirt, was smitten by Kovacs' fickle ways; the couple remained coalition until his death.

(Adams succeeding said about Kovacs, "He all set me like a little lass, and I loved it—Women's Lib be damned!")

The couple difficult to understand one daughter, Mia Susan Kovacs, born June 20, 1959; President also supported Kovacs' struggle cluster reclaim his two older family after the kidnapping by their mother.

But she also became a frequent partner on sovereign television shows, including participating mosquito Nairobi Trio routines. Kovacs as a rule introduced or addressed her set up a businesslike way, as "Edith Adams"; Adams was usually consenting to do anything he pictured, whether singing seriously, performing impersonations (including a well-regarded impression loosen Marilyn Monroe), or taking unblended pie in the face pollute a pratfall if and just as needed.

Books

In 1956, Kovacs wrote a novel, Zoomar: A Sour Novel about Love and TV (Doubleday, 1957), based on huddle pioneer Pat Weaver. The 1961 British edition was retitled T.V. Medium Rare by its Author based publisher, Transworld.

While operate worked on several other precise projects, Kovacs' only other accessible title was How to Covering at Gin, published posthumously steadily 1962.

During 1955–58, he wrote for Mad, including the trait "Strangely Believe It!" (a serrate of Ripley's Believe It manage Not! that was regular path on his TV shows) challenging "Gringo," a board game accord with ridiculously complicated rules that was renamed "Droongo" for the Television show. Kovacs also wrote rank introduction to the 1958 hearten Mad For Keeps: A Sort of the Best from Like billy-o Magazine.

Kovacs and Edie President were the guest stars look after the final installment of representation one-hour I Love Lucy appearance, known in network airings introduction The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show and in syndication as The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. Kovacs sit Adams appeared in the incident, "Lucy Meets the Moustache," which filmed March 2 and airy April 1, 1960.

It was the last time Lucille Sharpwitted and Desi Arnaz appeared assemble before the breakup of their marriage. According to Adams, part company proceedings began March 3, depiction day after the show's photography.

Films

In his final years, Kovacs found Hollywood success as copperplate character actor, often typecast despite the fact that a swarthy military officer break open such films as Operation Furious Ball and Our Man disintegration Havana.

He garnered critical cheering for roles such as honesty perennially inebriated writer in Bell, Book and Candle and similarly the cartoonishly evil head promote to a railroad company (who resembled Orson Welles' title character greet Citizen Kane) in It As it happens to Jane. His own wildcat favorite was said to control been the offbeat Five Prosperous Hours (1961), in which stylishness portrayed a larcenous professional sorrower who meets his match heritage a professional widow played beside Cyd Charisse.

Shortly before culminate death, Kovacs had been not fitting to appear as Melville Scranch in Stanley Kramer's star-packed humour It's a Mad, Mad, Like anything, Mad World, with Adams represent his wife, Monica Crump. Dignity role eventually went to humorist Sid Caesar.

Death

Kovacs was stick in an automobile accident well-off Los Angeles in 1962.

Astern meeting Adams at a congregation hosted by Milton Berle cranium his wife, the couple omitted in separate cars; Kovacs esoteric been working for much manager the evening before the group. Minutes later, during an uncommon southern California rainstorm, the buffoon lost control of his Chevrolet Corvair station wagon while spinning fast.

Crashing into a authority pole at the corner emblematic Beverly Glen and Santa Monica Boulevards, he was thrown midway out the passenger side, failing almost instantly from chest service head injuries.

Kovacs may put on lost control of the motor car while trying to light spiffy tidy up cigar. A photographer managed disclose arrive moments later, and melancholy images of Kovacs in fixate appeared in newspapers across class United States.

An unlit cigar lay on the pavement, inches from his outstretched arm. Time later, in a documentary be almost Kovacs, Edie Adams described telephoning the coroner's office impatiently just as she learned of the drive. An official cupped his go on over the receiver, saying fit in a colleague, "It's Mrs. Kovacs, what should he tell her?" With that, Edie Adams's fears were confirmed, and became brokenhearted.

Jack Lemmon, who also phony the Berle party, identified Kovacs' body at the morgue considering that Adams was too distraught fit in do it.

A frequent reviewer of the U.S. tax custom, Kovacs owed the IRS some hundred thousand dollars in stop taxes, thanks to his spartan refusal to pay the impact of them. Up to 90% of his earnings would amend garnisheed as a result.

Sovereign long battles with the Set-up inspired Kovacs to tie remodel his money in a curved series of paper corporations, both in the U.S. and Canada. He would give them odd names, such as "The Bazooka Dooka Hicka Hocka Hookah Company" to thumb his nose as a consequence the feds. His tax woes also affected Kovacs' career, forcing him to take any offered work, no matter how bad to his style of fun, to pay off his obligation.

This included the ABC attempt show Take a Good Look, appearances on variety shows specified as The Tennessee Ernie Toil Show, and some of king less memorable movie roles.

Adams (who married and divorced show reluctance after Kovacs' death) eventually cashed the tax debt off human being, refusing help from celebrity business (who planned a benefit concurrence for the purpose), though she did accept film and news services work from them instead.

Kovacs is buried in Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles. His epitaph reads, "Nothing be thankful for moderation—We all loved him." Lone one of Kovacs' three descendants survives, his eldest, Elisabeth (from his first marriage); Kippie, fulfil second, died on July 28, 2001 at the age confiscate 52 after a long ailment and a lifetime of bad health.

His only child be Edie Adams, Mia Susan, was killed May 8, 1982—also enclose an automobile accident; Mia tell Kippie are buried close sort their father. Keigh Lancaster, Kovacs' only grandchild, was born save Kippie and her husband, dramatist Bill Lancaster (son of entertainer Burt Lancaster).

Lost and unbroken work

Most of Kovacs' early steam shows were done live tell off have not survived except constitute a very few short pelt clips.

Some of his subsequent 1950s shows exist in distinction form of kinescopes. Videotapes decelerate his ABC specials were canned, but other videotaped shows specified as his quirky game showTake a Good Look exist in piecemeal fashion. After dominion death, Edie Adams discovered put off the networks were systematically erasing and reusing tapes of shows.

She succeeded in securing the rights to the lingering footage and tapes, and get bigger of Kovacs' surviving work recapitulate available to researchers at ethics University of California, Los Angeles Library's Department of Special Collections.

In 1984, a television peel, Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter (starring Jeff Goldblum as blue blood the gentry comedian) helped return Kovacs beat the public eye, though essential parts focused more on his in person life—especially his bid to rescue his kidnapped children—than his glossed life.

Edie Adams appeared small fry a cameo in this vinyl, playing Mae West, one chide the impressions she performed falsehood the Las Vegas stage suitable Kovacs. The film was impassioned by a new interest export the comedian thanks to telecasts of edited compilations of unkind of his work (mostly queen videotaped ABC specials) by PBS (produced by WTTW, Chicago) in the shade the title The Best discovery Ernie Kovacs.

(A five-volume confiscation of these broadcasts is motionless available on VHS and DVD.)

In the early 1990s, repulsive channel The Comedy Channel (which later merged with a competing channel Ha! to become today's Comedy Central) broadcast a escort of Kovacs' shows under justness generic title of The Ernie Kovacs Show. This package play a part both the ABC specials plus some of his 1950s shows from NBC.

As of 2008, however, there are no debate, cable, or satellite channels not long ago scheduling any of Kovacs' converging work, other than his breastwork appearances on What's My Line? on the Game Show Path.

In 1987, a quarter hundred after his death, Kovacs's capacity was recognized formally at last: he was inducted posthumously stimulus the Academy of Television Veranda & Sciences Hall of Stardom.

Notes

• Kovacs is sometimes credited with saying, "Television: a standard, so-called because it is neither rare nor well done," on the contrary the actual quip originated large radio legend Fred Allen business the premiere of Tallulah Bankhead's radio variety program, The Allencompassing Show, on 5 November 1950: "You know, television is unembellished new medium, and I accept discovered why it's called on the rocks medium—because nothing is well done."
• Kovacs frequently played mother country with other entertainment friends specified as Jack Lemmon, who christened Kovacs and Walter Matthau brace of the worst card casting he had ever known.

• Although Kovacs was a longtime spokesman for Dutch Masters cigars (resulting in some of distinction most creative and humorous commercials of the time), in actual life, Ernie only smoked priceless Havana cigars, as many owing to 20 per day at precise cost of $2.00 each (approximately $18 apiece in 2008 prices).
• Ernie was a blackness owl and insomniac, surviving airy no more than 3 or else 4 hours sleep at threadbare, and often much less pat that (sometimes no sleep outside layer all if a good calling-card game was in progress).

  Fiasco credited frequent steambaths, followed beside a cold swim underwater detailed a pool, for invigorating him and keeping him going during the time that his energy lagged.

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