Kovacs in Print

Just Outside the Bookends

There are three really good books on Ernie Kovacs. They are:

Kovacsland, by Diana Rico, published by Morrow Books
The Ernie Kovacs Phile, by David Walley, published by Fireside/S&S
Sing a Pretty Song, by Edie Adams, published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich

Kovacsland is chock full of well-researched facts, and provides a good, fairly objective look at Kovacs' life and work. This provides a good balance to the other two books. The Phile is important because it was the first book on Kovacs, and Walley brings a unique flavor often writing in the style of Ernie's unique vernacular. Sing is written by Edie. Reading all three provides a good all-around picture of the man. All 3 books are out of print. Try Amazon or, better yet, eBay to pick up a copy.

The MT&R published a companion book in conjunction with its huge Kovacs exhibition 1986, and that's available at the Museum's gift shop. The book contains a complete TV videography as well as some well-written, loving critical essays of Ernie's work.

And, of course there is the novel Ernie wrote, Zoomar. I acquired a hardcover copy through a used book place (Gryphon Books) in New York. There's also the book Ernie wrote called How to Talk at Gin. Some libraries may have either of these on their shelves (if some fan hasn't permanently borrowed it). If you're library doesn't have them, you can borrow them via inter-library loan. And of course, eBay is the best place to find copies of these as well as of the many issues of MAD Magazine Ernie contributed to.