Kapusta Kids And Nairobi Trios: IN COLOR

Did the title grab your attention Kovacsians? Good. It was supposed to.

I have a great visual treat for you today and considering Ernie was such a visual comic the shoe, or in this case the shoes, masks, scarves and hats, fit.

The Hollywood Entertainment Museum held an auction this past weekend of their 100 year old collection of television and film memorabilia in order to raise money for at-risk youth. Included in the inventory of this most worthwhile cause were a mother lode of goodies from Kovacsland.

Wonderful puppets from Ernie's parody of children's sci-fi and puppet shows, "The Kapusta Kid In Outer Space," were some of the featured items. Rick Spector, a new fan of the blog and website, was the lucky winner of the EK puppet which you see pictured below. He seems to think these puppets may have been made by the late puppeteer Larry Berthelson and this certainly may be the case as his puppets appeared regularly in Ernie's early shows. "Kapusta" incidentally is the Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, and Slovak word for cabbage. You might say Ernie's puppets were the original "Cabbage Patch Kids."

In addition to the puppets, the masks and costumes of Ernie's legendary "Nairobi Trio" were also up for auction. And, as if that wasn't enough, throw in some title cards from two of Ernie's early shows, "3 To Get Ready" and "Kovacs Unlimited," some assorted props (including the "Nairobi Trio" mallets) and an odd prop with dials known as "Gearshift's Mechano Almanac" which, quite frankly, I've never heard of. It's amazing what great shape these items are in considering they date back to the early 1950s. (ED. NOTE: I have to make a correction as we've just been informed that the masks pictured are not the actual ones, but facsimiles since the original is very fragile and I'm assuming they decided not to handle it too much. Please read the comments section for additional clarification. My apologies!)

I certainly hope you enjoy the color photos posted below; something different since they, along with Ernie, were always seen on TV in black and white:

Well, there you have it Kovacsians. Until next time Happy Holidays and a very sincere "It's Been Real!"

ED. NOTE, DEC. 26TH, 2009:

The Museum Of Broadcast Communications in Chicago has their archives listed online so you can view the list. Some of these listings have a digital file accompanying them for viewing and ⁄ or listening.

"The Ernie Kovacs Show" from December 19th, 1955, is one of these. The show contains as one of its sketches "The Kapusta Kid In Outer Space." I uncovered this while doing some further research on the puppets. The EK puppet is not in the sketch but many of the others are.

To view this file:

1. Visit this link and sign up. It’s free.
   
   
2. Once you login choose the "TV" link, put Ernie Kovacs in "Keywords" and check the box at the bottom that says "Digital File Available". Then click submit. The archive listings for several files along with links to them will then come up. Look for catalog # TV_05449-3 with a date of 12/19/1955.

Most people who visit my EK sites know I don't usually promote online files because most of the time the person uploading them does not have permission to do so. Many times I'm sent emails with links to EK file downloads which I ignore and delete. My assumption here is that a broadcast museum is not just putting up clips without permission.

Interview: "Kovacsland" Author Diana Rico

In January of 2008 I was contacted by one of my favorite authors/biographers Diana Rico who wrote the definitive biography on Ernie Kovacs, "Kovacsland".

What follows is an interview with Diana that has been in the works for the past year. I sincerely hope you enjoy it and I thank Diana for taking the time out of her very busy schedule to answer my questions. - Al Quagliata, February 11, 2009

1. Give our readers some background on yourself and how you got started as a writer.

I studied English literature at UCLA because I wanted to become a writer, and I minored in film history because I was an obsessive film-o-phile. Writing had actually been my dream since I was seven and read my first novel, "Little Women" (I realize now it was probably an abridged child’s version, but nevertheless I wanted to be Jo March!). When I got out of school I went to work as a magazine editor, then gradually started to pitch article ideas and get writing assignments. Eventually I was writing about the arts and entertainment for major publications like GQ, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, and Architectural Digest, and I became the art writer for the Los Angeles Daily News and the art critic for the NPR flagship station in Los Angeles, KCRW.

2. What first got you interested in writing a book about Ernie Kovacs and how did the project finally come to pass?

I was first introduced to Ernie when I was associate editor at Emmy, the magazine of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. My editor at the time was a big Kovacs fan, and he assigned me to do an article on the history of Ernie’s shows. I sort of knew who Ernie was, but as a little kid I’d mix him up with Tennessee Ernie Ford—they both had black mustaches and smoked cigars. I think Ernie Kovacs’s work was too weird for my parents, so we didn’t watch him at home. Anyway, when I went to the UCLA Television Archives and saw Ernie’s work for the first time, I went wild. It was like watching Theater of the Absurd, only on mainstream 1950s TV. I loved the surrealism of it, his casual attitude about being on TV (unheard of at the time), his strangeness and whimsy, all his kooky characters and playful use of language. Then, in the course of researching the Emmy article, I discovered Ernie had had a fascinating, roller coaster life as well as, of course, a tragic death at the height of his creative powers. He was a bigger-than-life creative genius, and I felt he deserved a serious, in-depth biography. I hung onto all my research. A few years later, when I had an agent, I pitched the idea to him and he had me write a proposal. He actually got an auction going among several publishers, including William Morrow, where Edie Adams eventually sold her own memoir. I ended up going with Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. They were immensely supportive, especially my fantastic editor, John Radziewicz. When the book came out in 1990 they organized a book tour for me, and I was interviewed on "Larry King Live," "CBS Nightwatch with Charlie Rose," "Good Morning America"—lots of places. I must say I was blessed with a thoroughly marvelous publishing experience for a first-time book author.

3. Did you have any other titles in mind for the book besides "Kovacsland?" What made you decide on that particular title?

My editor felt, quite rightly, that it was important to have some reference to Ernie’s name visible on the spine of the book. I was a longtime fan of Lewis Carroll’s "Alice in Wonderland" and had found it enchanting that Ernie had a 1951 TV show referencing that, "Ernie in Kovacsland." So I borrowed from the best! As it turned out, it was quite apt, as I felt like I was guiding readers through this marvelous, wacky world that was peculiar to Ernie Kovacs.

4. What did you find to be the most difficult aspect of the research?

The most difficult aspect of the project was just figuring out how to write a biography for the first time. There is no roadmap for it (despite my attempts to find one by reading a zillion biographies I admired). One amasses fantastic quantities of research, ideas, notes, scripts, etc., and also develops some spiritual sense of who the person was. To say that putting order to all that chaos is daunting is an understatement. It was one of the biggest writing challenges I’ve ever had. Of course, that experience paid off years later, when I became a producer-writer for E! Entertainment Television and got to make biography shows of other artists I loved, like Richard Pryor, Steve McQueen, Alfred Hitchcock, John Lennon, Natalie Wood, and Jane Fonda—great, great talents with big, complicated lives like Ernie’s.

5. What (or who) did you find to be the most valuable aid in your research?

I think the love people still had for Ernie, years after his passing, was my greatest aid. Old crew members, his writers, poker buddies, even childhood friends—they were so happy to share their memories of Ernie, so open and forthcoming. While all the other types of research are critical for a biography, I find that interviewing the people who actually knew the subject is the best way for me to get a deep feeling about who they were and what made them tick.

6. Who was your favorite interview for the book?

Oh gosh, they were all fantastic. One of the great privileges of working on this book was getting to talk to all these wonderful people who knew Ernie. But I would have to say my absolute favorite was the late Louis “Deke” Heyward, one of Ernie’s writers from New York. We just clicked (probably because we’re both writers). Deke was an extremely intelligent man with a highly developed sense of whimsy—a wonderful combination, which Ernie shared. When I found out Deke had been a writer on Winky Dink, one of my favorite childhood shows, I was hooked! We didn’t just talk about Ernie. I mean, how often do you get to chat with the guy who invented adventures for Tom Terrific and Manfred the Wonder Dog? I got to hear all about the Magic Screen!

7. How long did it take you to complete the book?

It took three years from the time I got my contract with Harcourt Brace. I had already done the preliminary research for the Emmy article, so that helped me get off to a good start. I knew who to go after for interviews, where a lot of the resources were, the places I needed to go where he had lived, and so forth.

8. Tell us about the first time you ever saw Ernie Kovacs on TV and what sort of impression it made on you.

Please see #2 above.

9. I always get emails from Ernie fans asking me if any copies of "3 To Get Ready" exist and of course I have to tell them no. At any point in your research did you hear from a source or an interview that a copy might exist someplace?

“3 to Get Ready” was a local show in Philadelphia, as you know. In the early 1950s local shows just went out live over the airwaves and were gone, poof! In those days they only made kinescopes when a show was going to be “syndicated,” or sent to another market beyond the local one. I mean literally they would shoot the broadcast off a TV screen using a film camera, take the film cans, and “bicycle” them to another city; that was the available technology of the time. This was not done with "TTGR," because it was only sold in the Philadelphia market. So unfortunately the only documentation that exists is in written material and photographs. Andy McKay was a great help to me in reconstructing the experiences of "TTGR."

10. You quoted Ernie's ABC-TV cameraman Bob Kemp as saying "If management put up a barrier he (Ernie) would tear it down." How do you feel Ernie would have dealt with the management structure in today's television world given that there was less management interference when he was on TV? Do you feel today's bottom line "television by committee" structure would have adversely effected his art?

I doubt that Ernie would be working in TV if he were alive today. He was always attracted to what was on the cutting edge, whatever arena hadn’t been explored yet. TV was like that when he first entered it, but, as you point out, it has changed into television by committee. I think he’d being doing something way out there on the internet, or making his own independent productions (something he wanted to do, but the technology and distribution systems hadn’t become democratized as they have now in the digital era). He just wanted to be free to create, and I think if he were around now he’d be seeking out the most open-ended means of doing that.

(ED. NOTE: I interviewed Ernie's head ABC cameraman Bob Kemp a while back and he has a similar opinion.)

11. I've read the biographies of many of the famous TV comics/comic actors from Ernie's era; giants such as Lucille Ball, Jackie Gleason, Sid Caesar, Milton Berle, Jerry Lewis, etc. and while all were comic geniuses there are many stories about the conflicts they sometimes had with others or about employees disliking them. Yet in your book and in David Walley's "The Ernie Kovacs Phile" the picture that's given is that for the most part everyone liked Ernie. Why do you think this is?

For all his genius, I think Ernie had very little ego (except when, as you mentioned earlier, management was trying to quash his creative urges—then he could fight like a tiger). Everyone, everyone I interviewed talked about his sweetness, his extreme generosity, how he treated everyone as equals. He had a childlike quality too that was genuine, a really charming innocence. These characteristics set him apart from the usual “star” type personalities. The crew members and writers I talked to wanted more than anything to please him. They just adored him.

12. What are your favorite Kovacs sketches and why?

To this day my favorite sketch is the Nairobi Trio. It’s almost a mystical thing; the charm of it cannot be explained. It’s mimed, it’s slow, it’s deliberate, it’s crazy. I will never tire of it.

13. Which is your favorite Kovacs film and why?

In truth most of the films Ernie appeared in were pretty dismal and not strong showcases for his talent. I like him best in "Operation Mad Ball" – it’s lovely to see him with his best pal, Jack Lemmon. And I think "Our Man in Havana" is an elegant film. I’m working on a novel right now that takes place partly during the Cuban Revolution, and director Carol Reed actually shot that film on location as the Revolution was happening. I mean, I read a magazine interview with Ernie in which he talked about how they could hear the rebels setting up firing squads as they were filming the movie. So for me it’s also an interesting document of the time.

14. In your intro to the book you say that some of Ernie's work is "nearer in structure and spirit to absurdist theater and Dadaist and surrealist art than to the sitcoms and stand-up routines that have defined most of television comedy since the earliest days." Which pieces do you feel most exemplify this?

I think the last work he did, the ABC specials, were the most avant-garde expressions of his sensibility and the closest to the European avant-garde movements I cited. I mean, Ernie didn’t even appear in those pieces. They were strange little films of his peculiar, unique visions. It still amazes me that they were made for broadcast TV. But then he was selling those cigars in the commercials. As long as he brought the sponsor’s money in, the network was ok with the rest of it.

15. Would you consider some of Ernie's more abstract pieces to be an early form of performance art?

Performance art uses the artist’s body as a sort of instrument and is presented live before an audience, so I wouldn’t say Ernie’s work was performance art. But I would definitely consider it early video art. A lot of the concepts he pioneered in his use of the TV medium were ideas that video artists like Nam June Paik and Teddy Dibble later explored in depth.

16. Two of the people closest to Ernie, Edie Adams and the late Jack Lemmon, declined to participate in the project. What was the reason for this? It's a generally positive and very honest portrayal and you figure they'd want to share their reminiscences.

Edie cooperated with me when I was working on the Emmy article. In fact, at one point we were in discussions about the possibility of my helping her catalog her incredible cache of Ernie costumes, props, and other paraphernalia, which she had in storage at Bekins in L.A. She had Percy Dovetonsils’ leopard smoking jacket! But when I got my book contract, she decided she wanted to do her own book. She hired a theater writer, Robert Windeler, to ghost it for her. She was very close to Jack Lemmon, and out of respect for Edie, he shared his memories exclusively with her. But absolutely everyone else I approached participated happily, including his two daughters, Kippie and Elisabeth, who were marvelous.

17. If Ernie were alive today how do you feel he would make use of all the new technology?

Please see #10 above.

18. Is there any TV comic performing today who you feel best carries the torch passed on by Ernie Kovacs?

That’s a good question, but I can’t say. I don’t watch much TV these days, to be honest.

19. It seems that while you do see movies with Ernie frequently on cable (especially "Bell, Book And Candle" and "North To Alaska"), its only TRIO-TV which shows his programs as part of their "Brilliant But Cancelled" series and I've heard this is because the president of that network is a fan. In the beginning Comedy Central used to show his work all the time but then stopped. Why do you think there aren't more cable nets showing Ernie's work given the fact that there are so many channels that you'd think there'd be a need for content?

Oh, that would require a dissertation on the vagaries and politics of cable TV management and economics. But I also think Ernie’s work never appealed to very large numbers of people, and it still may not. His fans are fiercely devoted, but not as huge in numbers as those of some of the more mainstream comedians. And TV, whether it’s cable or broadcast, always tends towards the mainstream.

20. How do you feel about the state of the television industry today?

I think TV is still a marvelous medium with so much potential. But unfortunately a lot of what gets made and watched is, in my opinion, junk. In particular I deplore the mean-spiritedness of a lot of the so-called “reality” shows, which (I can tell you because I have a lot of friends who have worked on them) are anything but real. There is, however, some brilliant writing and producing going on in the area of dramas and “dramedies.” I have great respect for the really gifted producer-writers who manage to get their unique visions and voices on the air, like Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy) and Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives).

21. You're a producer, publisher, photographer, writer/journalist and I want to strongly encourage our readers to visit your website AND pick up a copy of this great book. What projects are you working on currently?

Well, I left Los Angeles three years ago and became a nomad, dividing my time between New Mexico, Colorado, and Guatemala, where I wrote documentaries for a director named Mischa Prince. Those projects are now in post production. Now I’m settling in New Mexico and building up my business, The wordARTist (http://www.wordartist.net/), which offers premium writing, editing, producing, and multimedia content development services exclusively for individuals and organizations in the arts. I love doing this! I’m also in the middle of curating a series of live readings by major award-winning authors (Alisa Valdes Rodriguez, Hampton Sides, Robin Romm, numerous others) for the Society of the Muse of the Southwest, a venerated literary nonprofit in northern New Mexico. And I am working on an experimental novel about the late Cuban-American artist Ana Mendieta called "The Woman Who Fell to Earth". I researched her life and work as if I were writing a biography, but now I am freely imagining her life, and bringing in elements of magical realism, the Santería religion, Cuban music, mythology, art history—all sorts of things. I’ve received fellowships and grants from a number of organizations for this project, including the Wurlitzer Foundation, the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, and the Harwood Museum of Art. Oh yes, and a few days ago I launched a blog! It is sooooo fun, a whole new genre of writing. It’s on the subject of creativity, and people can check it out at http://theloveartblog.wordpress.com/. Please leave comments on the posts—I truly want this to be an interactive endeavor! Maybe that’s what Ernie would be doing now. Blogging.

Thanks again Diana! You can also visit Diana's main website at http://www.dianarico.com/.

Kovacsians, if you've never read "Kovacsland" you really need to pick up a copy. I've read it several times and its my constant reference companion for helping to answer all the questions I get from Ernie's fans. Its a fantastic and wonderful resource about everything to do with Ernie and his work.

While the book is available from most major online booksellers we suggest you get your copy from Powell's Books; they give authors a much better percentage on book sales than most. For a great biography like this that is most deserved.

Thanks for stopping by and until next time: "It's Been Real!!"

Fan Scan Joe Masi's The Man!

Good evening Kovacsians. Let me start out by thanking all the folks who have put in friend requests on the Ernie Kovacs MySpace Fan Page. Accept my apologies; we haven't mentioned the page in quite a while and are always getting requests. We're pushing towards 1,000; the page is currently at 856 fans and we're grateful to all who are helping to keep Ernie's work alive!

Today I'd like to share with you two scans which Kovacs fan Joe Masi sent me. The first is an autographed card from "Kovacs Unlimited" which he received back in 1953:

And here's an extra fun artifact in case you were wondering when Joe received this prized possession (I removed the street address):

Almost 56 years ago! Remember the days before zip codes? How about typewriters? Remember two cent postage? Well I don't but I wish I did. I grew up in Westchester County so of course Port Chester resonated with me; that I remember!

Joe was inquiring as to what the value of the card might be. To tell you the truth I'm not sure. Our last post talks about an upcoming auction of Kovacs memorabilia; a similar "Kovacs Unlimited" card is one of the listed items and there are several title cards which Ben Model thinks are also from that program. Here is another scan of one of these autographed cards which a fan sent me about seven years ago.

From left to right in the photo are "Kovacs Unlimited" cast members Eddie Hatrak, Edie Adams, Ernie, Trigger Lund and Andy McKay, each with an accompanying signature underneath. In all the different photos of this card the signatures appear similar though the ink colors are different. Joe is of the opinion that the signatures on his are "secretarial" and I tend to agree; "Kovacs Unlimited" was a nationally broadcast program which orginated daily, "live from New York", and I doubt very much that the cast would have had the time to sit around signing cards for which there were probably myriad requests while still preparing for a live comedy show. That being said this is still a great piece of Kovacsian memorabilia which could probably draw some nice bids at auction, especially with the envelope featuring that cool CBS-TV logo.

Joe also mentions in his email that he once had an EEFMS card but lost it; I have a feeling these are worth a bit more because they were from Ernie's local "Three To Get Ready" program in Philly and are probably rarer. Even though it's a scarce item I've received many scans of it from a variety of fans. Here's a color version of the card.

We thank Joe very kindly for his question and for taking the time to send these scans; what keeps this blog going and Ernie's legacy alive are the memories of the folks who loved him and enjoyed his work.

Until next time my fellow Kovacsians: "IT'S BEEN REAL!"- Al Quagliata

Good Ol' Officer Boyle Of The EEFMS

Good evening Kovacsians. When Edie Adams passed away last week I sent an email to our good friend Jack Phillippe, who grew up in Philadelphia and as a young man was a guest on a January 1952 episode of "Kovacs On The Corner."

Hearing of Edie's passing made Jack reminisce about growing up in Philly during the 1950's and watching the great television shows of that time. He wanted to share some artifacts from his collection with all of us and has been gracious enough to take the time to send me some scans.

The first is of an EEFMS card; it's an original from Ernie's very first show on WPTZ Channel Three, NBC in Philadelphia, "3 To Get Ready." Jack sent this once before and I posted it, but this time its a bit bigger and clearer. Enjoy:

One staple of Philadelphia televison in the 1950s was Officer Pete Boyle, played by that icon of Philadelphia Kids' TV Peter Boyle Sr.. Pete Sr. was the father of the late actor Peter Boyle Jr. most recently of "Everybody Loves Raymond" fame. "Offcier Pete Boyle" appeared in his own shows on WPTZ and many times as a guest on Ernie's. In fact, he played his "Officer Boyle" character the day that Jack appeared as a guest on "KOTC!"

Jack went to high school with Peter Boyle Jr. in the 1950s and Peter was an actor even back then. These photos are some extracts from a playbill that Jack kept from his high school days; they're for a musical called "Song Of Norway" in which the young Mr. Boyle appeared.

A very young Peter Boyle (a far cry from Frank Barone!):

Here he is on the cast list (even in high school it seems he had an understudy):

Peter Boyle Sr. hosted a very well known kids show in Philly called "Chuckwagon Pete" in which played the title character. Here's an ad he took out in the playbill:

You can click on the "Peter Boyle Sr." link above to see a photo of "Chuck Wagon Pete" and read more about the show.

Jack, thanks again for some great memories.

Until next time, "it's been real!"

AL QUAGLIATA

P.S.- The Ernie Kovacs My Space Fan Page is up to 828 friends since our last post. As always we thank everyone who requested an add or accepted a request from us. We also thank you for the nice comments sent about Edie.

Going Back To The Corner With Kovacs

Good evening my fellow Kovacsians. Just a few tidbits of info for you tonight.

The Ernie Kovacs My Space Fan Page is up to 725 friends and as always we thank everyone who requested an add or accepted a request from us. It seems that the friend requests for the Fan Page have started to level off so I hope you'll encourage your friends to contact us if they haven't. I'd love it to hit 1,000 members by the end of the summer if possible.

I ran a piece on May 23rd called "Hanging Out On The Corner With Kovacs" in which I interviewed my friend from Pennsylvania, Mr. Jack Phillippe, about his appearance on a January, 1952 episode of "Kovacs On The Corner." Unfortunately I didn't have the photos I would liked to have run so I put up a pic of the street sign for Ernie Kovacs Street in Ernie's hometown of Trenton, New Jersey. I figured that would indicate the idea of "corner" well enough as the sign is at the corner of Stockton Street.

Well, Kovacsians, I have since acquired some photos that supplement the interview nicely and I'd like to share them with you. Better late than never is my motto. I couldn't have done this without Jack's help so thanks Jack!!

Here's a compilation of photos from the episode of "KOTC" on which Jack appeared:

Jack also has his original membership card in the "EEFMS" which was Ernie's fan club. He made me a copy and I've scanned it to share with you. I've shown photos of these cards before which have been sent to me by Ernie fans. The difference in this case is that those were from Ernie's days in NYC; this is an original card from his very first show on WPTZ Channel Three, NBC in Philadelphia, "3 To Get Ready." Enjoy, as I'm sure very few of these still exist:

Thanks for your help Jack and for taking us on this wonderful trip down memory lane!

Moving on to other news Kovacsians. My good friend and contributor to this blog, Ben "Undercrank" Model, is an expert on silent film (when you get a chance click on the link and you'll see what I mean). Ben sent me the following email:

A suggestion for the blog: you have the sub-head "A blog devoted to the Charlie Chaplin of Television, the late great Ernie Kovacs!"

I think of Kovacs as more a Buster Keaton than a Chaplin. BK used the medium of film in ways that Chaplin never bothered with, and occasionally called attention to the fact that you were watching a film. You might consider revising this. Just my $0.02...

Great idea Ben! Your $0.02 has been accepted and the sub-head has been changed. No offense to Mr. Chaplin if he's up there looking down at this...

I'd like to leave you with a couple of internet pieces I found enjoyable. The first is from the blog Boomerville, USA and it offers up some video of the infamous "Nairobi Trio." The second is a wonderful video celebrating the many years in television of station WIVB-TV. This Buffalo, New York station, which also broadcast Ernie's shows, did some wonderfully creative and original programs of their own during television's golden age. You won't see any Ernie material in the piece but its well worth watching. If only television were like this today!

Thanks for stopping by my friends and until we meet again I bid you a very heartfelt "It's Been Real!"

Hanging Out On The Corner With Kovacs

Good evening my fellow Kovacsians. Its been a while since last we spoke.

The very fact that I create these posts devoted to my favorite television comedian affords me the opportunity to connect with people who themselves had a connection with Ernie Kovacs in the past. One of these people, a gentleman in the truest sense of the word, is 71 year old lifelong Pennsylvania resident Jack Phillippe.

Jack sent me an email recently stating that back in 1949 at the ripe old age of thirteen he appeared on an episode of Ernie's very first show for WPTZ Channel Three, NBC in Philadelphia, the famous "3 To Get Ready," for which no known kinescopes exist. He appeared in a "trading post" segment in which Ernie would exchange some useless item an audience member gave him for some equally useless item from the prop box or backstage.

What struck me immediately when I read Jack's email was that I had seen his segment and it wasn't on "3 To Get Ready." It was on Ernie's program "Kovacs On The Corner," the final Kovacs series to originate from WPTZ before Ernie made the big jump to New York. The show had a very short run from Thursday January 4, 1952 until Friday March 28 of the same year and was broadcast nationally Monday-Friday in the 11am-11:30am time slot. The show would open with the announcer saying "NBC holds the key to WPTZ's very own television town where everyday around this time you'll find Kovacs On The Corner!" Then, as on all his shows no matter the title, Ernie's famous theme music would start.

"KOTC" featured Ernie against a corny "neighborhood" type set (think a low rent Sesame Street) interacting with the lovely Edie Adams, The Dave Appell Trio dressed as sanitation workers, a couple of actors dressed as a large dog (Al) and a large cat (Tondelaya) and Officer Pete Boyle, played by that icon of Philadelphia Kids' TV Peter Boyle Sr.. Pete Sr. was the father of the late actor Peter Boyle Jr. most recently of "Everybody Loves Raymond" fame.

I was in one of the massive chain bookstores about ten years ago looking for jazz CDs when I spotted a video tape from the now defunct "Video Yesteryear" of a "KOTC" episode. The tape jumped out at me when I saw Ernie's mug on the box and I bought it right away. When I got home and put it on I was fascinated by it; the show is early TV kitsch at its best delivered in that inimitable Kovacs style. I've read that Ernie was never a big fan of doing the show; the network kind of forced it on him and interacting with costumed characters wasn't really a format he enjoyed. Still its funny, its Kovacs, and luckily for Jack Phillippe the one episode he appeared on is the one episode that you can still get a hold of.

Jack was right that he appeared on camera to trade something with Ernie; I remember Ernie trying several times in the segment to pronounce his last name correctly and when I saw the name in his first email to me I thought, "No, that's 'Kovacs On The Corner' you were on!"

I asked Jack to answer some questions for us about the experience. Here's what he had to say:

Q: Welcome to "The Ernie Kovacs Blog" Jack. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

A: I grew up in Philadelphia in the forties. After graduating high school and college prep I moved on to several jobs, until I landed a job with the Philadelphia Inquirer and stayed there for thirty one years until my retirement.

Q: Tell us how you first become aware of Ernie Kovacs.

A: The first family television was purchased in 1948 and at that time Philadelphia had three television stations, one of them being WPTZ. Ernie Kovacs first television show was on WPTZ in the morning called "Three To Get Ready". At that time, I became an Ernie Kovacs fan and I also loved "Howdy Doody". Ernie had a club on "Three To Get Ready" that included a membership card, I still have mine some fifty eight years later. It is called an EEFMS (Early Eyeball Fraternal And Marching Society) card.

EDITOR'S NOTE: CLICK THE LINK TO SEE A PICTURE OF AN "EEFMS."

Q: What did you think the first time you saw one of Ernie's shows?

A: I was enamored with Ernie and his show, so much so that I wanted to join his show very much like a child wants to run away to the circus. I wrote to him telling him so; of course he never responded and in a way I did not expect him to.

Q: How did you end up in the audience of "Kovacs On The Corner?" I believe you were sick at the time and being home schooled?

A: I was out of school at that time with rheumatic fever and was being taught at home. One day I asked my mother if I could go down to the show; she said yes. Believe it or not you did not need tickets then. Back then mothers were homemakers and fathers worked so television stations were hoping someone would show up to be a part of their audience.

Q: What did you think of Ernie when you met him? How about Edie and the rest of the cast members?

A: Ernie stays in my memory more than anything or anyone else but I do remember Edie Adams eyes and were taken aback by their beauty. Ernie was what he was, that is he was Ernie Kovacs on television as well as in person; likable and lovable.

Q: Tell us about the bit you did with Ernie. I know you guys exchanged some really "valuable" gifts with each other!

A: At that time Ernie had what I remember as what was called a "trading corner" as a part of his show and asked his viewing audience to bring something to the show for a trade.

One morning at home I got out of bed and went to the hall closet where the family's coats were kept and I spotted a "derby hat". It seems that the night before my parents had some of my relatives in for a party and the drinking got heavy and so it seems someone forgot their derby hat. When my mother got up that morning I asked if she knew who owned the derby hat? She stated that she did not.

That's when I decided to go to Ernie's show and trade the derby hat. I might add two weeks later my uncle Sam called and asked my mother if he had left his derby hat there. My mother responded that she did not see it and of course she was not lying; she didn't because it was now in Ernie Kovacs' possession. I might add I half remember Ernie cutting the top off of the derby hat and gluing a piece of paper on its inside that said "Hi ya doll!" It was, he said, "an easy way to pick a up a girl."

I received block of ice as a trade for the derby. Who else but Ernie could come up with that? I do not know if it shows on my face but when I received the block of ice I was disappointed. I wanted something that I could keep for years such as an old fashioned 1890's shoe that was on the set to be traded; in it was a single flower. I couldn't keep the ice but I was able to keep the plastic apron it was wrapped in and I was happy to be a part of TV history!

Q: Peter Boyle Sr. was an icon of Philly TV in the 1950s and played Officer Pete Boyle on "KOTC". He was the father of the late actor Peter Boyle Jr., most recently famous for his portrayal of Frank Barone on the CBS sitcom ""Everybody Loves Raymond." You got to watch the shows of both Ernie and Pete growing up at that time and I know you attended high school with Pete Jr. Tell us a bit about those two Philly icons.

A: Pete Sr. was the weatherman at WPTZ and also had a show where he was called "Chuck Wagon Pete" it was a kids show. Pete Sr. was an artist and used that talent for his kids show.

Peter Boyle Jr. was in high school at the time I was given the OK to return to high school. Both Peter Boyle and I attended the same high school; at that time Peter was a senior and I a freshman. Peter Boyle was in the school plays but not top billing. I still have the play bill that has a picture of Peter Boyle with hair when he was just another senior. Sadly both Pete Sr. and Peter died suddenly.

Q: Did you continue watching Ernie's shows after he left Philly and as you matured into adulthood?

A: Yes, I followed his career until he entered films. Movies just were not Ernie's vehicle.

Q: How did you feel when Ernie died? I believe you were about 25 years old at the time.

A: I was outside doing something to the car then and had the car radio on when they announced his death. I was stunned; it was like losing a friend. I often think about him and the pleasure he brought to those who watched his style of comedy. Yes, I was twenty five then and if I remember right he was killed in January, the same month as my birthday.

EDITOR'S NOTE: ERNIE WAS KILLED ON JANUARY 13, 1962.

When Jack answered these questions he had not had a chance to see the episode he appeared on; he answered completely from his own memories of that time. I can tell you this Kovacsians; he did a great job!

Since that time he's had a chance to see the episode on which he appeared:

I never did see it because I was on the program at the time and these shows weren't re-run as in those days programs of this type were broadcast live. I was surprised that it was on national television and that a kinescope copy was made but the more I think about it, I believe that the kinescope copy was probably made just for the west coast.

It is hard to describe seeing yourself 56 years later as a kid. I often have wondered how the likes of Shirley Temple felt, when she watched her self grow up on the screen? I do wish my parents were here to see it. I just want to thank you for your knowledge and assistance in providing me with ability to obtain this little piece of personal history about myself.

Thank you Jack for answering my questions and for being a part of Kovacsian history!

I will leave you with a quick link to an interesting article from September 1955 about Ernie's genius for special effects.

Until next time, my friends, "Its Been Real!!"

Mr. Question Man & Dr. Stroehmann

Good day my fellow Kovacsians. I have a very special assignment for your this week.

The folks who answer the trivia questions I post here are really hard to stump. I mean REALLY hard to stump. And I've also found that the posts featuring trivia are the most popular ones on this blog.

So for this week, I've created a 20 question multiple choice quiz about Ernie Kovacs and some of the folks close to him. Its in PDF format which requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Almost every computer in the world has this but if you don't, you can get it for free by clicking the link above.

You can get the QUIZ by left clicking the link (it will then open in a separate browser window) or by right clicking the link and choosing "Save Target As," at which point you can save it to your hard drive and open it that way. My suggestion is that you then print it out to work on the questions; its a doozy and I don't want you to go blind staring at your screen!

There are three ways to send me the answers:

1. Post them here in the comments section
2. Send them to me through the Ernie Kovacs My Space Fan Page
3. Email them to me by clicking HERE.

Please put the question number with the letter answer next to it. In the next couple of weeks I will announce the answers and present the following awards of dubious distinction:

All 20 Correct: A genius or someone with way too much time on their hands.

17-19 Correct: An Honorary Kovacsian Scholar

13-16 Correct: A Senior Professor Of Kovacsian History

9-12 Correct: A Junior Observer Of Kovacsian Lore

5-8 Correct: Lay off the Harry Potter films and crack out those Kovacs books, tapes and DVDs!

1-4 Correct: Matzoh Hepplewhite gets to saw you in half as part of his next "trick."

Get to it folks!!

The Ernie Kovacs My Space Fan Page is up to 445 friends this week, an increase of 8 from last week. As always we thank everyone who requested an add or accepted a request from us.

Our My Space friend Rob sent me a note about his Granddad, who had a recurring part on Ernie's first morning show "3 To Get Ready:"

He was the actual Stroehmann's Bread delivery guy for the show. Ernie liked him and always invited him to watch the show. During one show he was live on camera and invited him onto camera and he addressed him as 'Dr Stroehmann'. Apparently his mother was watching the show and told Ernie that 'she liked that young man' and it became a recurring bit.

And now, some interesting Kovacsian articles from the news and posts from the blogosphere:

Artist Rob Smith Jr. has a great drawing of Ernie

"Smoldering Embers In A Mohawk Campfire" talks about Edie Adams for Muriel Cigars

An article on performance artist Dan Carbone who's work is influenced by Ernie

Until next week, "Its Been Real!!"

A Reminiscence From "Goldbug"

Let me start off by saying that Ernie's MySpace Fan Page is up to 269 friends. Once again (and I can't say it enough) a profound thanks to all the folks who accepted our invitation. Please let your friends know about us as well.

One of those friends is a great guy who goes by the name of "Goldbug" on MySpace and is a devout Ernie-phile, "Kovacs-phile" or as I like to say "Kovacsian" which I guess is sort of an Armenian term. Here he remembers the first time he ever saw the great Ernie Kovacs:

I was always "blamed" for the fact that my family became the third on our block to own a television set. (When did they stop calling them "sets"?)

The second set belonged to the family of the only other little kid on the block. She had recently turned five. I was three-and-a-half. We were playmates; and she'd introduced me to the Howdy Doody Show. It aired just as her family were preparing to sit down to dinner; and I had to be removed– kicking and screaming– to my own television-less home. My Father always claimed that he bought the damned thing just to shut me up...

On the last Saturday morning of 1950, a truck from the local appliance store pulled into our driveway. It was bitter cold outside, with wind-driven snow flurries. Two men in coveralls manhandled an enormously heavy Westinghouse table-top black-and-white– with a HUGE 17-inch screen– up the front steps and into the corner of the living room that had been vacated, the day before, by the Christmas tree which by then had served its purpose. They set up the TV, then left my Father in charge of its operation. He twiddled its knobs, and twisted its rabbit-ears, as a test-screen came into focus. I wanted to watch Howdy Doody then and there, and couldn't understand why that wasn't possible. In his most imperious tone, the Old Man warned me that I was never to touch his television without a grownup in attendance. It had cost him six hundred dollars. (And those were 1950 dollars!)

I did I was told through Sunday. But by Monday morning, I couldn't resist any longer. Immediately after breakfast– while nobody was looking, I turned it on. To my disappointment, Howdy Doody was a no-show. Instead, there appeared a man with a moustache and a cigar. The picture flickered and rolled. I whined. Somebody came into the living room; and after scolding me for messing with the television unattended, adjusted the picture, and left me alone to watch. Thus came my first introduction to Ernie Kovacs.

The show, of course, was 3 To Get Ready. I don't remember any details of what Ernie did that day, but it was sufficiently zany and infectious that from that moment forward, Howdy Doody was eclipsed. I still watched him, of course. Religiously. As did my friend Karin. Our set was newer than theirs, the screen was larger, and the picture sharper. But for me, the real thrill of the day was Ernie. I never missed him. I considered myself very privileged not to have to go to work or school, as my Father and sisters did. I stayed tuned for the whole show.

I remember the clock in the corner, the Kapusta Kid, Gertrude the giant rag-doll, and Norman Brooks, the news-man. I remember watching the test screen, knowing that at any moment, the fun would begin. And it always did. I recall Ernie running down a corridor, toward the camera, calling "I'm coming! I'm coming!" One morning, when he wasn't there, an announcer introduced "The star of our show" and Gertrude came flying into view from off-camera, to the shrill sound of a siren-whistle. She landed head-first, and sprawled across the floor. Another time, Ernie climbed out of the ceiling...

Forty years later, I relived those days in the pages of "Kovacsland." Once, in an admiring imitation of Ernie, I flung a cold pancake across the kitchen. Instead of a laugh, I got a spanking. I distinctly remember the hands of the clock behind Norm Brooks spinning in fast-motion. And I remember water dripping on the hapless newsman from above, while he maintained his composure and continued reading the news with a straight face. I laughed myself silly.

Ernie kept popping up during the day. At less than four years of age, I wasn't big on cooking shows. I remember "plugs" for Deadline for Dinner on the station breaks, but the show never interested me– until the day Ernie showed up, and made a shambles of the kitchen while appearing to have the time of his life. And there was "Kovacs on the Corner" with Pete Boyle (who, several years later, introduced my generation of Philadelphia kids to The Little Rascals) and Al the Dog. Supposedly, Al was invisible to grownups. Somebody played along with the gag one day, and I became a true believer.

Then Edith Adams joined the fun. I thought her name was "Eat-It." She wasn't on "Deadline for Dinner" but Ernie was. I thought maybe she "ate" the zany concoctions Ernie cooked up in the afternoon. But I never saw her eat. She sang; and laughed; and was pretty...

"Ernie in Kovacsland" came on shortly before my bedtime. I laughed so hard I couldn't fall asleep. His humor seemed specially designed to appeal to little kids. I'd seen his daughters on TTGR. They were mine and Karin's ages. He knew how to make us laugh; and seemed to take great pleasure in doing so.

Then one day, to my horror, he was gone. By sheer coincidence, he left WPTZ at just about the same time that the grand steam locomotives of the Pennsylvania and the Reading Railroads were replaced by those boxy, boring diesels. In my young mind, I always equated the disappearance of Ernie and the steam trains, and thought there was a connection. Now, in his place on Channel 3 was some bespectacled guy with a boring voice and a chimpanzee. I cried and whined until the grownups warned me that if I didn't desist, they'd give me something to cry about.

I don't remember "Kovacs Unlimited" at all. Either it wasn't on in Philadelphia; or it came on past my bedtime. Fortunately, by the time the ill-fated Ernie Kovacs Show aired, my parents were bored of Uncle Miltie. Plus, they too had enjoyed Ernie in his local Philadelphia days. I don't think I ever missed the show during its short run. In fact, for the rest of his lifetime, I don't think I missed anything that Ernie Kovacs appeared in. Today, I own the DVD's; the videotapes; a copy of a circa-1988 special from the Classic Movie Channel; A&E's Biography of Ernie; a copy of "Between the Laughter" with Jeff Goldblum; and "Kovacsland" by Diana Rico.

One Saturday morning in January 1962, I awoke to the horrifying news that Ernie had died in a car crash the night before. I was fourteen-and-a-half by then, and had been a fan for eleven years. That coming week, I was to give an oral report in English class, on my favorite television show. Naturally, I had chosen the Ernie Kovacs Dutch Masters Specials. That Saturday, I closed myself in my room and cried all day. It was the first time in my life that I'd ever cried over someone's death. By Tuesday, I had prepared a "substitute" report on "The Flintstones" because I was afraid I'd cry in front of my English class, if I tried to do the one on Ernie.

Today, I'm into my 57th year as an Erniephile. And I'm sure I'll continue to be one, until I draw my final breath...

Thanks, Goldbug, for a great story! And, my friend, for saving me from having to write a lot today!

I like to end every post with some relevant Ernie links which I've found during the previous week either on blogs or on the web. Here's one that was nice enough to link to my site, http://www.erniekovacs.net/ without me having to ask. Its talks about the ending credits for Ernie's show:

http://themoderatevoice.com/entertainment/11996/classic-comedy-ernie-kovacs-final-shows-opening-credits/

And, I found this blog entry about the Nairobi Trio from fellow blogger "Sisysphus:"

http://hoosierinva.blogspot.com/2007/04/more-friday-fun.html

That's all for this week. Thanks folks. Its been real!