Shout Factory announced today the release (on Tuesday, October 23, 2012) of the second DVD box set of Ernie Kovacs television programs. I have been working as curator on this set since fall of 2011, and am pretty excited about it and hope you will be, too.
I watched all 74 extant episodes of Ernie's morning show for NBC and selected 8 full episodes (2 of which have Edie's songs intact because they were in the public domain!) as well as 18 additional sketches from the morning show. Three killer episodes of "Take a Good Look" are on disc 3, as well as the much-sought-after unaired "Medicine Man" pilot co-starring Buster Keaton, seen in a brand new transfer. What I'm really excited about is the inclusion of Ernie's October 1961 interview for "The Lively Arts" on the CBC, in which he speaks candidly about his working methods and his philosophy of television. I will try to write more in detail about the contents of the set as the release date gets closer.
Make sure you pre-order from Shout Factory, the only place you can get a free bonus DVD containing 7 additional episodes of "Take a Good Look"! Click this link to pre-order your copy today: The Ernie Kovacs Collection: Volume 2 with Bonus DVD!
I'm grateful to Jordan Fields at Shout Factory and to Josh Mills of Ediad Productions for the opportunity to put this follow-up set together for them, and mostly of course I am indebted and deeply grateful to Edie Adams (wherever she is right now) whose forward-thinking efforts to save all of Ernie's stuff has meant we can all continue to enjoy his comedy in the 21st century.
"It's been real…"
Ben Model
New York, NY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OVERWHELMING DEMAND FOR FIRST KOVACS COLLECTION RELEASED IN 2011 FUELS SECOND VOLUMEWITH MORE THAN 9 HOURS OF PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED & RARE CLASSIC TELEVISION CONTENT
The Ernie Kovacs Collection
Volume 2
OVERWHELMING DEMAND FOR FIRST KOVACS COLLECTION RELEASED IN 2011 FUELS SECOND VOLUMEWITH MORE THAN 9 HOURS OF PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED & RARE CLASSIC TELEVISION CONTENT
SET FEATURES 8 EPISODES OF KOVACS' NATIONAL MORNING SHOW, 3 FULL EPISODES OF KOVACS' ODDBALL GAMESHOW TAKE A GOOD LOOK, AN UNAIRED TV PILOT MEDICINE MAN FEATURING BUSTER KEATON, RARE SOLO INTERVIEW WITH KOVACS, 2011 AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUEPANEL DISCUSSION, HOME MOVIE WITH JACKIE GLEASON, EDIE ADAMS AND MORE
TAKE A GOOD LOOK BONUS DVD AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FROM SHOUTFACTORY.COM
OWN IT ON DVD OCTOBER 23, 2012 FROM SHOUT! FACTORY
LOS ANGELES, CA (JULY 10, 2012) More of the vast archive of Ernie Kovacs' (www.erniekovacs.com) iconic brand of comedy and classic television will once again be available to consumers both physically and digitally for the first time since it originally aired in the 1950's. One of television's early comedy pioneers gets his second box set due to overwhelming demand.
Produced and distributed by Shout! Factory in association with Ediad Productions, Inc., The Ernie Kovacs Collection Volume 2, a 3-DVD box set is set to debut in stores across North America on October 23, 2012, just in time for the holiday season. Pent-up demand from fans, rave reviews of the first collection, and better than expected sales of the first collection have made this new volume a reality. This DVD box set is now available to preorder at Amazon.com, ShoutFactoryStore.com, erniekovacs.com and other online retailers.
Kovacs, whose offbeat humor graced the airwaves for just a decade in the 1950s and 60s, served healthy portions of the offbeat to his audiences, who had never seen anything quite like this cigar-wielding charmer. Wickedly funny but not offensive, Kovacs' unique humor and flair for improvisation would ripple across generations, influencing TV funnymen from Johnny Carson, Monty Python and David Letterman to Jim Henson, Pee Wee Herman and Saturday Night Live.
The first 6-Disc DVD collection, curated by noted film/television historian Ben Model, was designed to appeal to Kovacs fans already familiar with his work, and was priced at $69.97. This second 3-Disc DVD collection, priced at $29.93, is designed to introduce a broader audience to the comedic icon. Kovacs, who died in a 1962 car accident, left behind an unparalleled body of work that survives thanks to the indefatigable efforts of his wife and co-star, the late Edie Adams (www.edieadams.com). With more than 150 half hours of early television in the archive, Kovacs' legacy and archive is perhaps the largest collection of privately owned early television in existence.
Fans who pre-order The Ernie Kovacs Collection direct from ShoutFactoryStore.com will receive as a gift with purchase, an exclusive bonus DVD containing seven episodes of Kovacs' game show Take A Good Look, all unseen since their original broadcast. Panelists/guests include Edie Adams, Carl Reiner, Cesar Romero, Hans Conreid, Rogers Hornsby and Bobby Fischer.
Since the release of the first box set in 2011, a Kovacs revival is in full swing. In April of 2012, Shout! Factory released a single set DVD The ABC Specials, and a long lost, previously unreleased comedy album, Percy Dovetonsils...Thpeaks was released on vinyl, CD and digital formats on June 19 of this year. Additionally, a series of special live events focusing on his work were produced at the Paley Center for Television in New York, the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles, the Museum of the Moving Image in New York and the Long Beach (CA) Museum of Art. Additional events are planned in the near future in Washington, DC and Los Angeles.
The Ernie Kovacs Collection Volume 2 includes a comprehensive booklet filled with rare photos and informative program notes from Kovacs and Edie Adams archivist Ben Model. Priced to own at (SRP) $29.93, The Ernie Kovacs Collection Volume 2 from Shout! Factory offers fans another goldmine of comedy genius from one of television's original genius.
The Ernie Kovacs Collection Volume 2 Features:
- 8 More Episodes From Kovacs' National Morning Show
- 18 Bonus Sketches Featuring Many Of His Most Beloved Characters
- 3 Complete Episodes Of His Oddball Game Show Take A Good Look
- "A Pony For Chris" - His Rare TV Pilot For Medicine Man Costarring Buster Keaton
- The Lively Arts Featuring The Only Existing Filmed Solo Interview With Ernie Kovacs
- 2011 American Cinematheque Panel, featuring Harry Shearer, Jeff Garlin, Bob Odenkirk, Merrill Markoe, George Schlatter, Jolene Brand and Ben Model.
DISC 1: THE NBC MORNING SHOW (December 12, 1955, to July 27, 1956 - 10:30-11:00 a.m.)
- EPISODES
- The Ernie Kovacs Show January 6, 1956
- The Ernie Kovacs Show January 23, 1956
- The Ernie Kovacs Show January 30, 1956
- The Ernie Kovacs Show March 16, 1956
- Bonus Sketches:
- Interview: Algernon Gerard, Archaeologist
- Howard, The World's Strongest Ant: A Hot Date
- Strangely Believe It: Writers To Blame
- The Kapusta Kid In Outer Space Meets Olivia Scilloscope
- Charlie Clod In Brazil
- Ernie's Opening Monologue
- Miklos Molnar's Glue
- Percy Dovetonsils: "Ode To Electricity"
- Interview: The World At Your Doorstep
DISC 2: THE NBC MORNING SHOW
- EPISODES
- The Ernie Kovacs Show April 12, 1956
- The Ernie Kovacs Show April 17, 1956
- The Ernie Kovacs Show May 17, 1956
- The Ernie Kovacs Show June 27, 1956
- Bonus Sketches
- Irving Wong: Tin Pan Alley Songwriter
- Percy Dovetonsils: "Ode To A Housefly"
- Rock Mississippi In The Umbrella Salesman Of Ranchipur
- Howard, The World's Strongest Ant: Howard's Campground
- Skodney Silsky, Hollywood Reporter
- Ernie's Opening Monologue
- Surprise Audience Member
- Audio Lost
- Matzoh Hepplewhite
DISC 3: RARITIES
- Take A Good Look - April 21, 1960 - Panelists: Ben Alexander, Tony Randall, Edie Adams; Guests: Scott Crossfield, Clarence Nash
- Take A Good Look April 28, 1960 - Panelists: Ben Alexander, Cesar Romero, Edie Adams; Guests: Mack Sennett, Daniel Inoyue, Asta The Dog
- Take A Good Look March 2, 1961 - Panelists: Hans Conreid, Cesar Romero, Edie Adams; Guests: Carl Reiner, Bob Rosberg
- Interview With Ernie Kovacs on The Lively Arts October 31, 1961 - Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC)
- "A Pony For Chris" - Unaired Pilot for Series Medicine Man Costarring Buster Keaton; Filmed January 1961, Produced by Screen Gems
- Ernie Kovacs Panel Discussion: August 27, 2011, at the American Cinematheque in Hollywood, CA
- Home Movies: Golf With Ernie and Edie
- Wake Me When It's Over Trailer
- Five Golden Hours Trailer
About Ediad Productions, Inc.
Formed by the late entertainer & Muriel Cigar girl Edie Adams and currently run by her son Joshua Mills, Ediad Productions is home to what is likely the largest independent archive of early American television in existence. With more than 150 half-hours of content from legendary comedian Ernie Kovacs as well as two seasons of Edie Adams' prime time variety show from the mid-1960's, Ediad Productions is a treasure trove of classic popular entertainment. Titles in the archive include, The Ernie Kovacs Show, Ernie in Kovacsland, Take A Good Look (clues), the Kovacs specials for ABC, The Edie Adams Show, Here's Edie! And much more. Ediad Productions is the go-to archive for television, digital & mobile entertainment content and is based in Los Angeles, California.
About Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is a diversified entertainment company devoted to producing, uncovering and revitalizing the very best of pop culture. Founders Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos have spent their careers sharing their music, television and film faves with discerning consumers the world over. Shout! Factory's DVD offerings serve up classic, contemporary and cult TV series, riveting sports programs, live music, animation and documentaries in lavish packages crammed with extras. The company's audio catalogue boasts GRAMMY®-nominated box sets, new releases from storied artists, lovingly assembled album reissues and indispensable "best of" compilations. These riches are the result of a creative acquisitions mandate that has established the company as a hotbed of cultural preservation and commercial reinvention. Shout! Factory is based in Santa Monica, California. For more on Shout! Factory, visit shoutfactory.com
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On Tuesday, November 19, 2013, MVD Entertainment Group will release "Here's Edie: The Edie Adams Television Collection"! This is a 4 DVD, 12 hr set of the
entire run of Edie Adams variety show which aired on ABC from 1962-64. It is the first-ever release of her classic variety show after more than 50 years.
Bonus material includes Edie''s musical numbers from the Ernie Kovacs show, a 16-page booklet with rare photos, program notes and her iconic Muriel Cigar
commercials. Here's a 
which will be officially released on Tuesday, October 23, 2012.
