Ernie Kovacs
Ernie Kovacs Ernie Kovacs on the set of his television show, 1956 Birth name Ernest Edward Kovacs Born (1919-01-23)January 23, 1919 Trenton, New Jersey, US Died January 13, 1962(1962-01-13) (aged 42) Los Angeles. U.S. Medium Newspaper, radio, television, magazine, film Nationality American Years active 1949–1962 Genres Character comedy, surreal comedy, improvisational comedy, prop comedy, spoof, sketch Spouse Bette Lee Wilcox (1945–52; divorced); Edie Adams (1954–62; his death) Notable works and roles Silent Show–Eugene; The Nairobi Trio; Percy Dovetonsils Emmy Awards Emmy 1962 outstanding electronic camera work (posthumously) Academy of Television Arts & Sciences 1987 Television Hall of Fame Ernie Kovacs (January 23, 1919 – January 13, 1962) was an American comedian, actor, and writer. Kovacs' uninhibited, often ad-libbed, and visually experimental comedic style came to influence numerous television comedy programs for years after his death in an automobile accident. Many shows, such as Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, Saturday Night Live, The Uncle Floyd Show, Captain Kangaroo, Sesame Street and The Electric Company are credited with having been influenced by Kovacs. Chevy Chase acknowledged Kovacs' influence and thanked him during his acceptance speech for his Emmy award for Saturday Night Live. Chase appeared in the 1982 documentary. Ernie Kovacs: Television's Original Genius, discussing the impact Kovacs had on his work. On or off screen, Kovacs could be counted on for the unexpected, from having marmosets as pets to wrestling a jaguar on his live Philadelphia television show. When working at WABC (AM) as a morning-drive radio personality and doing a mid-morning television show for NBC, Kovacs disliked eating breakfast alone while his wife, Edie Adams, was sleeping in after her Broadway performances. His solution was to hire a taxi driver to come into their apartment with his own key and make breakfast for them both, then take Ernie to the WABC studios. While Kovacs and Adams received Emmy nominations for best performances in a comedy series in 1957, his talent was not formally recognized until after his death. The 1962 Emmy for outstanding electronic camera work and the Directors' Guild award came a short time after his fatal accident. A quarter century later, he was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame. Kovacs also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in television. In 1986, the Museum of Television & Radio (now the Paley Center for Media) presented an exhibit of Kovacs' work, called The Vision of Ernie Kovacs. The Pulitzer Prize–winning television critic, William Henry III, wrote for the museum's booklet: "Kovacs was more than another wide-eyed, self-ingratiating clown. He was television's first significant video artist."