Ernie Kovacs
Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills
Ernie Kovacs is often called
the first true comedy genius of television -- even though none of his many
television series lasted very long on the air.
After a career as a radio broadcaster and newspaper columnist,
Kovacs starred in several television series in the early 1950s, beginning with
"It's Time for Ernie," in May 1951, and followed by "Kovacs on the Corner,"
"Ernie in Kovacsland," "Kovacs Unlimited" and "The Ernie Kovacs Show."
Kovacs was one of the first performers to really use the
full visual potential of television, making it almost a co-star in his act.
Unlike many of the other television series of the early 1950s, Kovacs' shows
weren't just recycled radio programs or old vaudeville acts. Kovacs used
television and simple special effects to create visual humor that could
never be done on radio, and had never before been attempted on television.
For example, Kovacs tilted both a table and the camera at the same angle,
so the table appeared to be level. When he sat down and tried to pour milk
into a glass on the table, the milk appeared to defy gravity and flowed out
of the pitcher at an angle. In Kovacs' world, figures in paintings moved,
office furniture moved in time to music, and women gradually disappeared
Kovacs also created memorable characters, including poet
Percy Dovetonsils, magician Natzoh Hepplewhite, Professor Bernie Cosnowski,
the silent Eugene, Mr. Question Man and the Nairobi Trio - three men in trenchcoats
and ape masks who played music. Like most of Kovacs' humor, it's difficult
to describe; you really have to see it to appreciate it.
Kovacs appeared in only a handful of films, usually in supporting
roles, including "Operation Mad Ball" (1957), "Bell, Book and Candle" (1958),
"It Happened to Jane" (1959), "Our Man in Havana" (1960), "Strangers When We
Meet" (1960), "Wake Me When It's Over" (1960), "North to Alaska" (1960),
"Five Golden Hours" (1961) and "Sail a Crooked Ship" (1962).
On Jan. 12, 1962, Kovacs was putting the finishing touches
on a new film in which he was co-starring with comedian Buster Keaton. Kovacs
left work at about 11 p.m. to attend a party at the home of director Billy Wilder
in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles, in honor of Milton and Ruth Berle's newly
adopted son. Kovacs drove to the party in his white Rolls-Royce, while his wife,
singer Edie Adams, drove from home in their new Corvair station wagon. At about
1:30 a.m., Kovacs and Adams left the party to head home to their 17-room mansion
on Bowmont Drive in Los Angeles, with Adams driving the Rolls and Kovacs following
her, behind the wheel of the tiny Corvair.
About five minutes later, Kovacs was headed south on Beverly Glen
Boulevard. As he turned left onto Santa Monica Boulevard, he lost control of the
car on the rain-slickened street, and skidded sideways into a steel utility pole
at an estimated 50 miles per hour. The impact crushed the driver's door, and
Kovacs suffered a fractured skull and broken ribs, which ruptured his aorta, the
main artery from the heart. He died quickly, 10 days before his 43rd birthday.
His body was partially thrown from the passenger-side door of the wreckage, and
an unlit cigar was found on the pavement near Kovacs' hand, leading to speculation
that he might have been trying to light the cigar, which caused him to lose control.
Kovacs' grave marker features a facsimile of his signature, but his
handwriting is nearly illegible, so the marker also includes his tiny printed
name, in parenthesis, beneath the signature. The epitaph includes a quote from
Kovacs - "Nothing in moderation" - and the phrase, "We all loved him."
Kovacs is buried next to his daughter, Mia Susan Kovacs (1959 - 1982),
who also died in a car crash. Her grave marker includes the inscription,
"Daddy's girl - We all loved her, too."
Kovacs was born Jan. 23, 1919, in Trenton, NJ. He died Jan.
13, 1962, in Los Angeles, CA.
1919 - 1962
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