{"id":498,"date":"2013-03-10T23:47:57","date_gmt":"2013-03-11T03:47:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/blog\/?page_id=498"},"modified":"2020-12-07T05:25:01","modified_gmt":"2020-12-07T10:25:01","slug":"the-ernie-kovacs-collection","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/?page_id=498","title":{"rendered":"The Ernie Kovacs Collection"},"content":{"rendered":"
By ED<\/a> \u2013\u00a008\/10\/2011 <\/abbr>FIND OTHERS:\u00a0<\/strong>DVD<\/a>,\u00a0REVIEW<\/a>,\u00a0TV SHOW<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n
GET MORE:<\/strong>\u00a0CLASSIC<\/a>,\u00a0COMEDY<\/a>,\u00a0SHOUT FACTORY <\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n
STUDIO:<\/strong>\u00a0Shout! Factory\u00a0| DIRECTOR:<\/strong>\u00a0Barry Shear and others\u00a0| STARS:<\/strong>\u00a0Ernie Kovacs, Edie Adams, Bill Wendell, Joe Mikolas, Jolene Brand, Bobby Lauher<\/div>\n

RELEASE DATE:\u00a0<\/strong>4\/19\/2011\u00a0| PRICE:<\/strong>\u00a0DVD<\/a>\"\"\u00a0$69.95
\nBONUSES:<\/strong>\u00a0interview with actor Jolene Brand and friend George Schlatter, home movies, additional sketches, movie trailers created by Kovacs, Kovacs and Edie Adams TV commercials
\nSPECS:<\/strong>\u00a0NR\u00a0|<\/strong>\u00a0780 min.\u00a0|<\/strong>\u00a0Comedy\u00a0|<\/strong>\u00a01.33:1 fullscreen video|<\/strong>\u00a0Dolby Digital mono audio<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a>The Ernie Kovacs Collection<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is an invaluable addition to the small number of DVD box sets devoted to seminal 1950s TV.<\/p>\n

It also offers further evidence that, while Milton Berle was the first popular variety show host, Sid Caesar was the all-around funniest, Steve Allen the wittiest and Jackie Gleason the most durable, Kovacs was the only television comedian of his era who crafted sketches and visual images designed explicitly for the medium of television. Thus, his best material seems eternally fresh and also incredibly familiar \u2014 thanks to its having influenced shows from Laugh-In\u00a0<\/em>to NBC\u2019s\u00a0Late Night With Conan O\u2019Brien<\/em>.<\/p>\n

This six-DVD box is structured chronologically and is without question a feast for Kovacs fans, supplying as it does some of the rarest material that has survived. The reason such a sizable library of material exists is because it was admirably archived by Kovacs\u2019 widow and talented costar, Edie Adams.<\/p>\n

The set starts in 1951 with his first network daytime show\u00a0It\u2019s Time for Ernie<\/em>\u00a0and ends with the strikingly innovative specials he made for ABC before his premature death by auto accident at the age of 42 in 1962. We therefore encounter three Ernies: the local DJ looking to creatively fill local TV broadcasts; the talented character comedian who hosted network variety shows; and the video artist who devised gorgeous ways to innovatively \u201cvisualize\u201d pieces of music, from classical to \u201clounge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those unfamiliar with Kovacs\u2019 work should start with the last three discs, as they represent his best work in the medium. Diehard fans should be aware that Shout! Factory has made a seventh disc (featuring equally rare material) available, but in a somewhat unique marketing move,\u00a0only\u00a0<\/em>through purchases of the box on the Shout! Factory website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By ED \u2013\u00a008\/10\/2011 FIND OTHERS:\u00a0DVD,\u00a0REVIEW,\u00a0TV SHOW GET MORE:\u00a0CLASSIC,\u00a0COMEDY,\u00a0SHOUT FACTORY STUDIO:\u00a0Shout! Factory\u00a0| DIRECTOR:\u00a0Barry Shear and others\u00a0| STARS:\u00a0Ernie Kovacs, Edie Adams, Bill Wendell, Joe Mikolas, Jolene Brand, Bobby Lauher RELEASE DATE:\u00a04\/19\/2011\u00a0| PRICE:\u00a0DVD\u00a0$69.95 BONUSES:\u00a0interview with actor Jolene Brand and friend George Schlatter, home movies, additional sketches, movie trailers created by Kovacs, Kovacs and Edie Adams TV commercials SPECS:\u00a0NR\u00a0|\u00a0780 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":217,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"templates\/template-sidebar-none.php","meta":{"saved_in_kubio":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-498","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"kubio_ai_page_context":{"short_desc":"","purpose":"general"},"yoast_head":"\nThe Ernie Kovacs Collection - Media Funhouse<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/?page_id=498\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Ernie Kovacs Collection - Media Funhouse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By ED \u2013\u00a008\/10\/2011 FIND OTHERS:\u00a0DVD,\u00a0REVIEW,\u00a0TV SHOW GET MORE:\u00a0CLASSIC,\u00a0COMEDY,\u00a0SHOUT FACTORY STUDIO:\u00a0Shout! Factory\u00a0| DIRECTOR:\u00a0Barry Shear and others\u00a0| STARS:\u00a0Ernie Kovacs, Edie Adams, Bill Wendell, Joe Mikolas, Jolene Brand, Bobby Lauher RELEASE DATE:\u00a04\/19\/2011\u00a0| PRICE:\u00a0DVD\u00a0$69.95 BONUSES:\u00a0interview with actor Jolene Brand and friend George Schlatter, home movies, additional sketches, movie trailers created by Kovacs, Kovacs and Edie Adams TV commercials SPECS:\u00a0NR\u00a0|\u00a0780 […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/?page_id=498\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Media Funhouse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ed.grant.378\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-07T10:25:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=B004IB04NU&camp=217145&creative=399373\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@mediafunhouse\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediafunhouse.com\\\/?page_id=498\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediafunhouse.com\\\/?page_id=498\",\"name\":\"The Ernie Kovacs Collection - Media Funhouse\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediafunhouse.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediafunhouse.com\\\/?page_id=498#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediafunhouse.com\\\/?page_id=498#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.assoc-amazon.com\\\/e\\\/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=B004IB04NU&camp=217145&creative=399373\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-03-11T03:47:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-07T10:25:01+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediafunhouse.com\\\/?page_id=498#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/mediafunhouse.com\\\/?page_id=498\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediafunhouse.com\\\/?page_id=498#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.assoc-amazon.com\\\/e\\\/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=B004IB04NU&camp=217145&creative=399373\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.assoc-amazon.com\\\/e\\\/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=B004IB04NU&camp=217145&creative=399373\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediafunhouse.com\\\/?page_id=498#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediafunhouse.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Writings\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediafunhouse.com\\\/?page_id=217\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"The Ernie Kovacs Collection\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediafunhouse.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediafunhouse.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Media Funhouse\",\"description\":\""From high art to low trash and back again!"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediafunhouse.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediafunhouse.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediafunhouse.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Media Funhouse\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediafunhouse.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediafunhouse.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediafunhouse.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/Funhouse-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediafunhouse.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/Funhouse-logo.jpg\",\"width\":453,\"height\":267,\"caption\":\"Media Funhouse\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediafunhouse.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/ed.grant.378\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/mediafunhouse\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Ernie Kovacs Collection - Media Funhouse","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/?page_id=498","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Ernie Kovacs Collection - Media Funhouse","og_description":"By ED \u2013\u00a008\/10\/2011 FIND OTHERS:\u00a0DVD,\u00a0REVIEW,\u00a0TV SHOW GET MORE:\u00a0CLASSIC,\u00a0COMEDY,\u00a0SHOUT FACTORY STUDIO:\u00a0Shout! Factory\u00a0| DIRECTOR:\u00a0Barry Shear and others\u00a0| STARS:\u00a0Ernie Kovacs, Edie Adams, Bill Wendell, Joe Mikolas, Jolene Brand, Bobby Lauher RELEASE DATE:\u00a04\/19\/2011\u00a0| PRICE:\u00a0DVD\u00a0$69.95 BONUSES:\u00a0interview with actor Jolene Brand and friend George Schlatter, home movies, additional sketches, movie trailers created by Kovacs, Kovacs and Edie Adams TV commercials SPECS:\u00a0NR\u00a0|\u00a0780 […]","og_url":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/?page_id=498","og_site_name":"Media Funhouse","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ed.grant.378","article_modified_time":"2020-12-07T10:25:01+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=B004IB04NU&camp=217145&creative=399373","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@mediafunhouse","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/?page_id=498","url":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/?page_id=498","name":"The Ernie Kovacs Collection - Media Funhouse","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/?page_id=498#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/?page_id=498#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=B004IB04NU&camp=217145&creative=399373","datePublished":"2013-03-11T03:47:57+00:00","dateModified":"2020-12-07T10:25:01+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/?page_id=498#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/?page_id=498"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/?page_id=498#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=B004IB04NU&camp=217145&creative=399373","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=B004IB04NU&camp=217145&creative=399373"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/?page_id=498#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Writings","item":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/?page_id=217"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The Ernie Kovacs Collection"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/","name":"Media Funhouse","description":""From high art to low trash and back again!"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/#organization","name":"Media Funhouse","url":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Funhouse-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Funhouse-logo.jpg","width":453,"height":267,"caption":"Media Funhouse"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ed.grant.378","https:\/\/x.com\/mediafunhouse"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=498"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1895,"href":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/498\/revisions\/1895"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediafunhouse.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}