Ernie Kovacs & Early TV Comedy: Nothing in Moderation

by Andrew Horton

Among the pioneers of television, Ernie Kovacs was one of the most original and imaginative comedians. His zany, irreverent, and surprising humor not only entertained audiences throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, but also inspired a host of later comedies and comedians, including Monty Python, David Letterman, much of Saturday Night Live, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, Captain Kangaroo, and even Sesame Street. Kovacs created laughter through wildly creative comic jokes, playful characterizations, hilarious insights, and wacky experiments. "Nothing in moderation," his motto and epitaph, sums up well Kovacs's wholehearted approach to comedy and life.In this book, Andrew Horton offers the first sustained look at Ernie Kovacs's wide-ranging and lasting contributions to the development of TV comedy. He discusses in detail Kovacs's work in New York, which included The Ernie Kovacs Show (CBS prime time 1952-1953), The Ernie Kovacs Show (NBC daytime variety 1956-1957), Tonight (NBC late-night comedy/variety 1956-1957), and a number of quiz shows. Horton also looks at Kovacs's work in Los Angeles and in feature film comedy. He vividly describes how Kovacs and his comic co-conspirators created offbeat characters and zany situations that subverted expectations and upended the status quo. Most of all, Horton demonstrates that Kovacs grasped the possibility for creating a fresh genre of comedy through the new medium of television and exploited it to the fullest.

141 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rambling and almost impossible to follow thre author's numerous threads

[Dave Schwensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a card carrying baby boomer, I remember Ernie Kovacs for being outrageous, unpredictable and funny. His shows were considered don’t miss viewing and his characters were… well, different. As it says in this book, the early television pioneers such as Milton Berle and Jack Benny just took their Vaudeville schtick from the live theaters to live television. They were the same acts and characters they had been doing for decades. But Kovacs came along and changed it all. He used television for laughs.

Rather than television simply broadcasting his antics, the medium became his comedy partner. Upside down visuals, off-screen noises, using the camera to make it seem he was talking directly to YOU in your living room, and way more. He was truly an innovative comic genius.

When you think about it, he had us laughing at the simplistic humorous nature of The Nairobi Trio. Could that happen today? I doubt it. But when the apes came on the TV screen everyone in my household and extended family would run into the living room to watch – and laugh.

If he had lived, Kovacs would have been honored by every award show that ever hit prime time – network and cable. He deserves numerous books and praises.

But this book misses that. Yes, it praises Kovacs and his talent, but it reads like a text book. Rather than the fun and joy you would expect from discussing Kovacs’ career and comedy, or the spontaneity he probably would’ve used to personally describe what he did, it delves into the background of too many humor theories (for lack of a better term). There are numerous quotes attributed to other works and very few photos.

You can analyze humor and personal creativity in many different ways. The problem I had with this book was the lack of humor and creativity in doing that.