Ernie Kovacs And Bob Hope On DVD

Good afternoon Kovacsians. Our good friend John Hammes of The UGA Science Library at The University Of Georgia wanted to share with us his quick review of an interesting piece of Ernie video memorabilia which he brought to my attention a while back. Fans of the blog know John as the gent who has contributed a couple of very tough trivia quizzes to the site. Here's his latest trip into Kovacsland:

Original Air Date: 12/11/59
"Bob Hope Christmas Special"

Repeat Air Date: 10/29/76
"Bob Hope's World Of Comedy"

BOB HOPE: The Ultimate Collection is mainly comprised of the original Bob Hope anniversary/compilation specials that were broadcast circa 1970's 1980's. This is a four DVD set that was released in 2007.

The 1976 "World Of Comedy" special is the sole feature on disc four. Among hundreds of clips, this includes a sketch featuring Ernie from the 1959 Christmas Special. EK and BH had another sketch on that same special (based on top 40 radio "Payola"), but that other sketch is absent here. Guess we will need to sent nice letters and e-mails to the good people at the Hope Estate, requesting the 12/11/59 Christmas Special in full.

Ernie's segment on "World Of Comedy" was unfortunately edited somewhat: it would have been better to see the entire sketch. Still, this is a good representation of Kovacs, clocking in at two minutes.

I'd like to thank John for taking the time and effort to put this together for the EK Blog. If you're an EK fan, Hope fan or both be sure to pick up a copy.

On May 12, 2009, the New York Observer ran an interesting piece about the former talk show host Richard Bey. Interesting because I was just having a "whatever happened to discussion" with someone the other day then saw this and interesting because someone in the article compares Bey to EK. I will say this; I never liked his show because of the prurient and infantile subject matter but I always liked Bey and found the man funny. He had some good bits, did some decent character work and was always quick on his feet. I can see the EK comparison to a certain extent. Read the article if you get a chance and judge for yourself. As always feel free to post a comment.

Thanks for stopping by friends. Until we meet again, "It's Been Real!"