Screenings, Conversation, Q&A and Book Signings Confirmed for Bay Area, Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle With Co-Authors Josh Mills & Pat Thomas
NPR’s “Fresh Air “Rave Review Calls Ernie in Kovacsland “..A Combination Art Museum and Treasure Chest”
LOS ANGELES, CA (THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023) – The Estate of Ernie Kovacs and Fantagraphics books announced today that West Coast in-person dates in support of a new career retrospective Ernie in Kovacsland: Writings, Drawings and Photographs from Television’s Original Genius are confirmed for August and September. Fans can order the book here.
Since the book’s release on July 25, a renewed interest in the work of Ernie Kovacs has taken hold with a rave review in NPR’s “Fresh Air” who called the book “…a combination art museum and treasure chest”, the Los Angeles Times, the Saturday Evening Post and more. A recent UCLA Film & Television Archive in-person event on July 22 sold out the 285 capacity venue.
Upcoming dates include:
- Wed. August 9 – “Ernie in Kovacsland” @ Christopher B. Smith San Rafael Film Center conversation & TV clips w/ guests Joshua Mills (co-author of Ernie in Kovacsland & son of Edie Adams) & Dan Rusanowsky, Voice of the San Jose Sharks. San Rafael, CA. Ticket here.
- Thurs. August 10. – Screening of “Bell, Book & Candle” @ Christopher B. Smith San Rafael Film Center co-starring Ernie Kovacs w/ Jimmy Stewart, Jack Lemmon, Kim Novak & Elsa Lanchester & conversation & TV clips w/ guests Joshua Mills (co-author of Ernie in Kovacsland & son of Edie Adams) & Dan Rusanowsky, Voice of the San Jose Sharks, San Rafael, CA. Tickets here.
- Wed. August 16 – “Ernie in Kovacsland: Josh Mills & Pat Thomas” @ Los Angeles Breakfast Club. Tickets here. Los Angeles, CA. 7am
- Wed. August 16. – Skylight Books “Pat Thomas and Josh Mills present Ernie in Kovacsland”, Los Angeles, CA. 7pm
- Thurs. August 24 – Reading: “Pat Thomas and Josh Mills: Ernie in Kovacsland” in conversation w/ author Shawn Levy. Annie Bloom Books, Portland, OR. 7pm
- Sat. August 26 – Ernie in Kovacsland with Pat Thomas and Josh Mills, in conversation w/Fantagraphics Founder Gary Groth. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, Seattle, WA. 7pm.
- Labor Day Weekend – Ernie in Kovacsland with author Josh Mills, Screening and Book Signing. Details TBD. More here.
The 284-page Ernie in Kovacsland coffee table book celebrates the cockeyed genius and prolific career, life and creative output of never-before-seen material from the Ernie Kovacs archive. Kovacs fans, including entertainer Ann Magnuson and musician Ron Mael of Sparks both contributed new essays for the book.
Best known for his wildly imaginative, gleefully absurdist television show in the 1950s, Ernie Kovacs (1919 – 1962) was also a notorious illustrator, novelist, essayist, newspaper columnist, and poet. In celebration of this off-kilter genius and his prolific creative output, Fantagraphics presents a career retrospective featuring never-before-seen photos from Kovacs’ archive; excerpts of his magazine articles, columns and books, hand-notated TV scripts: a smattering of his “illustrated profuselies,” the wacky improvisational sketches he drew on air; and more. Curated by Josh Mills (son of Edie Adams, Kovacs’ wife and a performer on his show), Edie/Ernie archivist Ben Model, and counterculture historian Pat Thomas, the book offers a unique glimpse into the mind of a pioneering comedian.
“Ernie Kovacs brilliant “high” meets “low” hijacking of mid-century television programming ignited a spark in my teenage brain and the fire spread fast,” said Devo co-founder Gerald V. Casale. “Could Devo have ever existed without the Nairobi Trio? I think everyone knows the answer.”
Ernie Kovacs inspired countless comedians, musicians, humorists, and writers in the latter half of the 20th century and beyond. He is cited as a direct influence by the creators and stars of such innovative comedy series as Saturday Night Live, Monty Python, and Mystery Science Theater 3000. An award in his name has been granted to uproarious humorists like Amy Sedaris (Strangers with Candy) and Harry Shearer (This is Spinal Tap) at the Dallas VideoFest. A true visionary, Kovac’s iconoclastic approach has forever made its mark on the world of comedy.
Ernie Kovacs was an influential figure for late night entertainers like Steve Allen, David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel and Conan O’Brien, whose work has been cited appreciatively by Martin Scorsese, Harold Prince, Matt Groening (The Simpsons), Robert Smigel (Saturday TV Funhouse, Triumph: The Insult Comic Dog), Joel Hodgson (Mystery Science Theater 3000), Paul Reubens (Pee-wee Herman), Andrea Martin (SCTV), Alec Guinness and author Jonathan Lethem, among others.
A pioneer in early television whose inventive use of the medium inspired countless performers, directors, and video artists, Ernie Kovacs created indelible characters such as Percy Dovetonsils, Matzoh Hepplewhite, and Uncle Gruesome, Kovacs invented a distinctly modern form of comedy that playfully subverted the television medium. Edie Adams was his on-screen partner as well as his wife. After his death in 1962 Adams was instrumental in not only saving but also preserving Kovacs’ body of work during the 1960s when she bought all existing Kovacs materials – including the masters that the television networks were planning to destroy them due to cost and storage issues. It is through her efforts that this book exists.
