Illustrated Profuselies
Here's a list of cool vintage (and recent) Kovacs memorabilia to add
to your collection, as you go through antique shops, flea markets, garage
sales and relative's attics. If I've overlooked something, let me know
what it is and where's a good place to find it, and I'll add it to the
list.
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E.E.F.M.S. membership card -- Ernie created this fan club during
the run of one of his early live television shows in Philly. Ernie's show
was a wake-up show and began quite early in the morning, and so he called
this secret club the Early Eyeball Fraternal and Marching Society.
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E.E.F.M.S. paraphernalia -- I seem to remember seeing a necktie
with the logo on it in a book. There may be other stuff out there.
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"Oriental Blues" -- Ernie's theme song (partially lifted from a
Gershwin piano piece called Rialto Ripples) was released as a 45
rpm record by MGM Records. The flip side is something called "Hey, Taxi!",
and I think has Ernie on it. I almost got a chance to hear the record at
the Performing Arts Library in NY, but some fan who worked there at one
time had permanently borrowed it.
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Percy's Specs -- The eyes-and-glasses Ernie used for Percy Dovetonsils
were a dimestore novelty item, with sleepy-looking eyelids drawn in. I've
found similar items, but nothing with the half-ping-pong ball eyes.
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"Silents Please" -- This is not so much a collectible as it is something
to be on the lookout for. In 1960, Ernie hosted this TV show, a summer
replacement, in which he did wraparounds for a half-hour program of silent
films. The show was produced by Paul Killiam in New York, and ran on ABC,
then again on WOR-TV. No footage of the show is known as of yet, according
to Kovacs fan and former head of the Killiam archive Bruce Lawton. Keep
your eyes peeled, fans; according to Edie, it's the only footage ever shot
in Ernie's den.
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The Ernie Kovacs Album -- Columbia Records released this compilation
album on vinyl in the late '70s, around the time the PBS "Best of" series
was running.
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The Life Magazine Cover -- After the huge success of the Silent
Show in 1957, Life Magazine put Ernie on its cover, and on the map, with
a big feature story. The cover is a beautiful color shot of Ernie in a
TV studio, and the article has a great deal of info from the man himself
on his theory of television comedy. I found a copy -- twice -- at a street
vendor in NYC who's usually on Broadway just a couple of blocks below Lincoln
Center.
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Show Business Illustrated Magazine -- the October 17, 1961 issue
of Show Business Illustrated (a Hugh Hefner publication) featuring a six
page story/photo spread that includes shots of Ernie's underwater Dutch
masters commercial and several Jolene Brand tub scenes. This one was brought
to my attention by fan James Stover.
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Music To Listen to Records BY -- this is an album that Ernie and
Edie did with Henry Mancini during the 50s. I was alerted to this by Edie's
son Josh.
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TV Guide, et al. -- I'm sure there are many TV Guides and similar
TV listing weeklies out there with ads and photos of Ernie.