Category: Ernie Kovacs
-
Ernie Kovacs on TV: A Standard Formula For Success
When I emerge from the downtown number 1 subway stop at West 50th street while en route to MoMA, I find myself across from the historic Winter Garden Theater, and I’m always struck by two things. One is that I am standing where Buster Keaton did while he was in rehearsal for The Passing Show…
-
Ernie Kovacs’ Enduring Theme Song
Although there have been several comedians from TV and radio who were associated with a particular song or theme song, Ernie Kovacs’ association with his theme runs through his entire television career as well as for every series he had. More than playing “Thanks for the Memories” when Bob Hope strode out onto a stage…
-
Etched Into My Memory Forever
Ernie Kovacs’ ”Albert Gridley” sketch is one of the better-known ones. Its simple premise, a talk-show guest who can’t remember details of the very story he’s being interviewed for, is coupled with Kovacs’ unique, dryly sarcastic prompting. It’s deeply funny, and quotable, since it’s just two people talking for 3-4 minutes. Like the Monty Python…
-
Ernie Kovacs on Game/Contest Shows
Sitting in the theater of what used to be called The Museum of Broadcasting in 1985 (it’s now the Paley Center), I was transfixed by the interview I was watching. The 1961 television program on screen was an episode of “The Lively Arts”, a program on the CBC. The guest interviewee was Ernie Kovacs. I’d…
-
Rugelach and Gilbert Gottfried: the Gifts that Keep on Giving
I often bring rugelach from Zabars as a professional gift. People really like it, and Zabars is 8 blocks away from our building. When I tossed bags of the stuff to Frank Santopadre and Gilbert Gottfried while unpacking my keyboard gear, Gilbert exclaimed “Ooh! You’re our new favorite guest!” Which I kind of guessed might…
-
Broadcasting to an Audience of One
With the absence of a live studio audience currently being enforced, hosts of entertainment programs on TV are faced with a challenge. But, ultimately, doing so will enable them to better participate in what Ernie Kovacs referred to on one of his shows as “an intimate vacuum”. It’s gotten to a point, anyway, where it…
-
Gilbert Gottfried, Silent Film Narrator
About a month ago I went from being a fan and regular listener of Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast to being a guest on the show. Josh Mills and I were on the show’s 294th episode to talk about Ernie Kovacs. The podcast aired on SiriusXM last week, and became available for everyone else as…
-
Ernie Kovacs’ Experimental Video – on Prime Time TV
We’ve all heard audio feedback, that high-pitched loud noise heard over a sound system. Even if you don’t know it’s called feedback, you know that annoying sound, and that sound people avoid it. The same electronic phenomenon exists with video, and Ernie Kovacs used it — on purpose. I first learned about video feedback in…
-
My Attempts At The Best of Ernie Kovacs
I’ve assembled a few different Ernie Kovacs compilation programs for events this year celebrating his centennial. It hasn’t been easy, because there’s such a wealth of material to cull from. You want to show fans everything, of course, and that’s impossible. I’ve been able to draw on my experience programming silent film shorts programs, but…
-
In Search of the Nairobi Trio
Mention Ernie Kovacs to anyone and the first thing they’ll come back with (when it isn’t “who?”) is The Nairobi Trio. Then maybe Percy Dovetonsils, and after that Ernie’s use of special effects. The Nairobi Trio is an iconic Kovacs gag or image to people, the way the photo of a Harold Lloyd hanging off…