Date of Birth
23 January 1919,
Trenton, New Jersey, USA
Date of Death
13 January 1962, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA (road accident)
Birth Name
Ernest Edward Kovacs
Height
6' 2" (1.88 m)
Mini Biography
Author, actor, comedian, composer and producer. He was educated at the New York School of Theatre, and received the Sylvania Television Award. Joining the American Society of Composers and Publishers in 1957, he composed a number of songs and themes, a number of which were used in his famed television comedy sketches including "Mr. Question Man". His other popular-songs included "Ugly Duckling", "So Good to Me", "The Patty Cake", "The Irving Wong Song", and many more.
IMDb Mini Biography By:
Hup234!
Spouse
Trivia
Interred at Forest Lawn (Hollywood Hills), Los Angeles, California, USA.
Many of the kinescopes he made on the DuMont television network have been lost.
Created the first kaleidoscopic images on live television with a large metal can with two mirrors inside of it, taped to the lens of a television camera.
When he died, he owed the IRS several hundred thousand dollars in back taxes (he felt the tax system was unfair, and simply refused to pay it). His widow, Edie Adams, made television commercials and did other work to finally pay the back taxes, refusing help from her celebrity friends. She now owns all the rights to all of Ernie Kovacs' surviving television work.
It is suspected that his death in a car crash was caused by losing control of the steering as he was trying to light a cigar by striking a match against his shoe sole. He hated to use lighters, believing they ruined the taste of a cigar.
His father was a bootlegger during prohibition.
Married Edie Adams in Mexico City. The ceremony was presided over by former New York City mayor William O'Dwyer, and performed in Spanish, which neither Kovacs or Adams understood; O'Dwyer had to prompt each to say "Si" at the "I do" portion of the vows.
The car in which he was killed was a new 1962 Chevrolet Corvair.
Was chosen originally to play the character of Melville Crump in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963), but he died in a one-car accident before principal shooting. In real life he was married to Edie Adams, who played Melville Crump's newlywed wife, Monica Crump, in the movie. The role of Melville Crump was finally played by Sid Caesar.
Daughter actress Mia Kovacs died in an auto accident on 8 May 1982. Daughter Kippie Kovacs died after a long bout of ill health on 28 July 2001.
He had three daughters: Betty Kovac (b. 1947) and Kippie (4 January 1949 - 28 Jul 2001) with first wife Bette Wilcox and Mia Kovacs(20 June 1959 - 8 May 1982) with second wife Edie Adams.
Kovacs got custody of his oldest two daughters after his divorce, but in 1953 their mother kidnapped them and they were not returned to him until 1955. After Kovacs died, his widow successfully fought their mother for their custody.
His daughter Kippie was married to Burt Lancaster's son, screenwriter Bill Lancaster. She had one daughter, Keigh.
Portrayed by Jeff Goldblum in Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter (1984) (TV).
Personal Quotes
"It's appropriate that television is considered a medium, since it's rare if it's ever well done."
Some years ago I had a complete nervous breakdown, was dead broke and had to be put in a charity ward with 30 others. I was there 18 months and doctors didn't give me long to live. So now each day to me is a special dividend, so I live it to the hilt. - response to gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, who asked him why he was "trying to kill himself."
"Nothing In Moderation" - The epitaph on his tombstone
"There is currently a formula for success in the entertainment medium, that is -- beat it to death if it succeeds."
Salary
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