Kovacs, Ernie, 1919-1962

Biography

Kovacs was born in Trenton, New Jersey, on January 23, 1919; acted in stock companies and wrote for The Trentonian ; was a disc jockey and special-events announcer for Trenton's radio station WTTM; began his television career at Philadelphia's WPTZ in 1950 and was one of the leading innovators of comedy in the new medium; his first network television program was It's Time for Ernie (1951); continued to work on radio while doing television; wrote all of his own material; married singer Edie Adams in 1954, and she frequently starred in his television shows; won 3 Emmy awards during 1956-1957 season; published a novel, Zoomar, in 1957; began his film career with Operation Mad Ball (1957); during 1961-1962, he concentrated most of his efforts on his monthly television specials; died in an auto accident in Beverly Hills, California, in 1962.

From the guide to the Ernie Kovacs Papers, 1940-1962, (University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.)