Category: Ernie Kovacs

  • Jack Newlon, Oriental Blues and Oriental Rag

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    Jack Newlon may have been hoping lightning might strike twice in 1952 when he composed and recorded Oriental Rag. His former piano student Tony DeSimone’s recording of his Oriental Blues was now being heard fairly regularly on Ernie Kovacs’ popular shows on WPTZ. Why not capitalize on its (qualified) success? This is, of course, entirely…

  • The Further Adventures of Jack Newlon and “Oriental Blues”

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    Ben Model
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    Thanks to a number of comments here and on FB in response to yesterday’s post, I now am a little further down the Jack Newlon rabbit-hole. For one thing, it turns out Oriental Blues was written much earlier than Kovacs’ first TV show, and also there’s a connection to Tony DeSimone. It’s funny how you…

  • Ernie Kovacs’ Theme Song

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    Ben Model
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    Throughout the various iterations of Ernie Kovacs’ television shows over different networks, time slots and formats from 1951-1962 there was one thing that remained constant — his theme song. And like much of Kovacs’ humor, there was an element of Dada to it. “Oriental Blues” by Jack Newlon is neither oriental, a blues, or wholly…

  • Trading Up: Kovacs Goes Hollywood

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    Ben Model
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    Ernie Kovacs: Movie Star? Ernie Kovacs is not necessarily remembered for his movie career, and it’s understandable. He was a unique voice in TV comedy, from its toddler days through his early death in January 1962. His  presence on the small screen was non-stop, and his face was uniquely qualified to “read” on a 6×8-inch…

  • “The Best of Ernie Kovacs” – EEFMS, the Next Generation

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    Ben Model
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    My parents were Ernie Kovacs fans, and when they learned that Channel Thirteen, our PBS station, was going to air a series called “The Best of Ernie Kovacs”, they made sure I knew. My interest in visual comedy, almost an obsession, had started when I discovered Chaplin comedies on TV when I was a toddler. …

  • Sound Into Sight – Ernie Kovacs on Music

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    Ben Model
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    I’ve noticed over the last several years that more and more symphony orchestras are doing concert events where they perform the score to a popular or classic movie in synch with it. Raiders of the Lost Ark, one of the Harry Potter films, the Wizard of Oz, Casablanca, Bugs Bunny cartoons. Classical music audiences are…

  • “Let’s Get Away From It All” — The Slightly Missing Matt Dennis

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    Ben Model
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    The name Matt Dennis may not be familiar, but if you’re an Ernie Kovacs fan you may know it. Or maybe not. You’d have be a credits-reader who also paid attention to the details in the back of the “Ernie Kovacs Collection” DVD box sets’ booklets. Who was Matt Dennis? My introduction to him was…