There is only one comedian in contemporary television history who is considered to have fully understood the potential of the medium. That comedian is Ernie Kovacs. Kovacs, an American Hungarian born on January 23, 1919 in Trenton, New Jersey, got his start in radio on a local basis then eventually moved into television. During its infancy, television was nothing more than a medium in which to see people moving around in. What was once considered vaudevillian, found its way into television: singing, dancing, and verbal comedy. To Kovacs, that kind of material was kiddie stuff. He was a comedian of unique sophistication for his time and has many times been called an acquired taste in the world of comedy.

Kovacs has long been considered master of visual comedy. In the 1970's, PBS reran a series of specials he had taped prior to his untimely death. During that time I was in my childhood years but still recall seeing some of the most bizarre tricks and sequences ever to come out of the 1950's and early 1960's. Items rolling off a table (which in reality was a tilted table), a half-soused effeminate poet, a children's storyteller dressed up for Halloween, and a German disk jockey has me recalling laughter just thinking about them. Percy Dovetonsils, the poet, was my personal favorite. Holding a martini, his hair in two spitcurls over his forehead, glasses with fake eyeballs in them, and the leopardskin jacket with that oversized book of poetry in his hand, Kovacs made an outrageous satire of literata. Even his poetry was just as outrageously funny, as one so goes: "Beautiful dreamer, your fun never stops, so put out the butt now cause here come the cops." The antics of this 6'2" tall comedian was just too much.

Who could forget the Nairobi Trio? Three people dressed up in gorilla masks, bowler hats and overcoats playing musical instruments with Kovacs conducting them was possibly the most innovative form of early music video. Kovacs would occassionally get clobbered over the head with the drumsticks, every movement the Nairobi Trio made was carefully choreographed to the "Solfeggio" tune immediately took its place in classic television comedy. Other wild characters he created were: Miklos Molnar, the chef and sometime sculptor, Auntie Gruesome the storyteller, and Wolfgang von Saurbrauten the German disc jockey.

The visual extremes Kovacs created has earned him the title of comedy genius of the 1950's. Unlike the rest of the great comics of the time, including Sid Caesar, Jackie Gleason, and Milton Berle, Kovacs refused to become part of the conformist style of comedy. Kovacs was so original, so unique in his own style he has been called a man ahead of his time. Television viewers of his decade were not quite prepared to accept his style yet he received some of the highest criticism for his work. It was for his last filming of "Eugene", an innocent who lives in a world of silence save for the noise effects surrounding him, in which Kovacs received a posthumous Emmy after his death.

Another early memory of Kovacs was in the movie "Bell Book and Candle", in which he plays an author of books on witchcraft. This story is about urban witches. In this movie also appears Jack Lemmon, who was good friends with Kovacs off the set, and Kim Novak and Jimmy Stewart. It was in fact this movie that would provide the inspiration for a 1960's sitcom, Bewitched. I then saw the only movie in which Kovacs would play a leading part, a gem called "Five Golden Hours". This was one of the few pictures Kovacs made before his death. By the early 1990's this was still being shown on cable television. This charming story was about a professional mourner, Kovacs, who consoles wealthy widows and provides his personal services to them. That is, until one day Baroness Sandra (portrayed by Cyd Charisse) decides to take Kovacs for everything he's worth. This movie was directed by Mario Zampi and filmed in the UK. The movie itself is given an Italian backdrop, for the five golden hours referred to is the time difference between Rome and the NY stock exchange. The movie was not a popular one, but Kovacs's performance was nevertheless outstanding, as all of his ten movie appearances have been. His chemistry with Alec Guiness was outstanding when they appeared together in "Our Man in Havana". Overall, while Kovacs's movies were not smash hits they did appeal on a cult-level following.

As a comedian, Kovacs never had the problem of running out of ideas or going dry. He was always blooming with fresh creativity, and it was this positive approach that has allowed him to adapt so easily to changes in television which were so prevalent in the 1950's. Back then very few tv shows were long-running, and Kovacs has had shows on all the major networks back then. He performed camera tricks and humor which was never done before in television. In many ways, he paved the path for future comedians: Chris Rock, Monty Python, members of SNL, Chevy Chase, Keenen Ivory Wayans (In Living Color), and the Naked Gun movies. In printed form, his humor has influenced "The Far Side", created by Gary Larson, and the panel "Close to Home" by John McPherson. His legacy was secure and his brand of comedy, while unique, never went out of style.

The Ernie Kovacs Award is the only award named for a comedian in contemporary American comedy and is presented to an annual recipient, at the Dallas Video Festival. This festival started in October 1987. Each year Edie Adams hands this award to someone who best represents the unique comic vision and innovative gift of comedy in the style of Ernie Kovacs. Recipients of this award include Martin Mull, Joel Hodgson of Mystery Science Theater 200 fame, Terry Gilliam of Monty Python, Robert Smigel of SNL, and Paul "Pee Wee Herman" Reubens.

In 1987 Kovacs was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame. And in 1994, a bust bearing his likeness, complete with cigar, was unveiled to commemorate what would have been his 75th birthday and was held in Trenton, New Jersey. The celebration was sponsored by the public tv network in Trenton, NJN. The president of White Star Video, makers of "The Best of Ernie Kovacs" five volume series, and Edie Adams, unveiled the bust for public showing.

Two good biographies have been written about him, Kovacsland by Diana Rico, and The Ernie Kovacs Phile by David Whalley. There have been several movies made about his work: Ernie Kovacs: Television's Original Genius Cards (1982) and Cigars: The Trenton in Ernie Kovacs (1980). A made-for-television movie on ABC, Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter (1984) focused primarily on his child custody case with his first wife. Kovacs possibly was the first man in history to received custody of his children in a divorce case.

Kovacs loved satirical humor as well. In some of the earliest issues of Mad magazine he wrote pieces, one of which was a column called "Strangely Believe It!", a spoof of Ripley's "Believe It Or Not!". The segments employ his humor in attempting to convince the reader of the "believeability " of what he was trying to get across. These Mad magazines from the 1950's with his columns are highly collectible today.

The personality of Kovacs was somewhat unique. He was always high on life and laughter and has been attributed as having the charisma of childlike innocence, as his good friend Jack Lemmon once said. In real life he had three daughters: Elizabeth, Mia, and Kippie. During his early days on television he invited them onto the set with him. It was on one of his shows he would meet his second wife, Edie Adams. He had many friends on the east coast, and on the west coast, until one rainy night in January 1962 when he lost his life in an accident. Ernie also had a private, rather exemplary spirituality in his life. An issue of The Christian Century magazine (August 22-29, 1990) printed an excerpt from Edie's biography, "Sing a Pretty Song" on Ernie's prayer practices. The article concludes with stating that prayer is indeed personal and private. Not too many comedians' religious lives get mentioned in such magazines; apparently Ernie was special enough to deserve an honored mention.

His work is not to be forgotten. There are a number of sites on the web which are tributes to him and there is also an active fan club operated by Edie. The surreal humor of Kovacs still lives on for those who nurture their unbridled creativity in laughter and share it as freely as he did.

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