Opening night panel on April 27 moderated by comedian
Robert Klein, with participants Harold Prince, Jeff Greenfield, David Bianculli
and Ben Model
Retrospective from April 27–May 27, 2012, marks Kovacs’s
60th anniversary on network television and the 50th anniversary
of Here’s Edie variety show
Museum
of the Moving Image and Ediad Productions, announced today a month-long
retrospective from April 27 through May 27, 2012, of one of television’s most
talented and beloved married couples, legendary comedian Ernie Kovacs (www.erniekovacs.com)
and Tony Award-winning entertainer Edie Adams (www.edieadams.com).
The retrospective, the first to feature the careers of both
Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams, will kick off at Museum of the Moving Image in New
York on Friday, April 27, with a celebrity panel discussion moderated by
comedian and actor Robert Klein, and featuring legendary Broadway producer
Harold Prince, newsman Jeff Greenfield, television critic David Bianculli, and
guest curator Ben Model, a film and television historian and archivist for the estates
of both Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams. The panel discussion will include rare
clips from both performers. Daily through May 27, compilations of both Kovacs
and Adams’s shows will play continuously in TV Lounge, an artwork by Jim
Isermann, in the Museum’s core exhibition Behind the Screen. On May 19 and 20,
a special compilation for children, “Kovacs for Kids,” will offer an
introduction for families to Ernie Kovacs’s playful and endlessly inventive
comedy, often filled with tricks and surprises, designed to delight audiences
of all ages.
Edie Adams’s son, Josh Mills, who controls rights to the
works of both his mother and Kovacs, provided the shows that will be screened
and will attend the retrospective’s opening on April 27.
This retrospective coincides with two milestones in the
performers’ careers. The year 2012 is the 60thanniversary of
Kovacs’s network television debut on Kovacs Unlimited on CBS, and is also the
50th anniversary of Edie Adams Here’s Edie pilot which debuted
on April 9, 1962 on ABC.
“Ernie Kovacs is one of the most admired and influential
comic artists ever to work in the television medium,” said the Museum’s Chief
Curator, David Schwartz. “His inventive, self-reflexive, boundary-breaking
humor has inspired countless performers, directors, and artists. We are
thrilled to present this month-long retrospective, and also thrilled that it
will put a spotlight on the underrated career of Edie Adams. She was a
brilliant singer, actress, and comedienne, with Kovacs and on her own.”
“Fans of Kovacs’s inventive comedy will be in for a real
treat as we screen episodes of his numerous shows alongside Edie Adams’s
Emmy-nominated series,” said Joshua Mills, President of Ediad Productions,
which runs the Estates of both Kovacs and Adams. “Our archive has many
treasures that have not been seen in 50 or more years. There should be
something new to discover for fans, historians, and academics.”
Ernie Kovacs was a comic genius and a television pioneer
whose inventive use of the medium inspired countless performers, directors, and
video artists. In addition to creating such indelible characters as Percy
Dovetonsils, Matzoh Hepplewhite, and Uncle Gruesome, Kovacs invented a
distinctly modern form of comedy that playfully subverted the television medium.
The gifted singer/performer Edie Adams was his on-screen partner and his wife.
Kovacs and Adams first performed together on the Kovacs-hosted WPTZ show “Three
to Get Ready” in Philadelphia in 1951, married in 1954, and appeared on screen
consistently—on all four networks—until Kovacs’s death in 1962. While
performing with her husband on television, Adams steadily built a career as a
Broadway entertainer, appearing on stage with Rosalind Russell in “Wonderful
Town” (1953) whose stage manager was Hal Prince. Edie’s second leading role on
Broadway won her a Tony Award for her role as Daisy Mae in “Li’l Abner” (1956).
After Kovacs’s death in 1962, Adams was given the
opportunity to host her own variety series Here’s Edie and later The Edie Adams
Show (1963). These were half-hour shows that alternated weeks with The Sid
Caesar Show and featured iconic jazz and classical performances from Duke
Ellington, Count Basie, Stan Getz and Andre Previn; popular singers Sammy
Davis, Jr., Bobby Darin, Johnny Mathis and Nancy Wilson; comedians such as
Buddy Hackett, Bob Hope, Dick Shawn and Rowan & Martin, as well as actors
Peter Falk, Sir Michael Redgrave and Zsa Zsa Gabor, among others.
About Museum of the Moving Image
Museum of the Moving Image advances the understanding,
enjoyment, and appreciation of the art, history, technique, and technology of
film, television, and digital media. In January 2011, the Museum reopened after
a major expansion and renovation that nearly doubled its size. Accessible,
innovative, and forward-looking, the Museum presents exhibitions, education
programs, significant moving-image works, and interpretive programs, and
maintains a collection of moving-image related artifacts. More
information at movingimage.us.
About Ediad Productions
Formed by the late entertainer and Muriel Cigar girl Edie
Adams, and currently run by her son Joshua Mills, Ediad Productions is home to
what is likely the largest independent archive of early American television in
existence. With more than 150 half-hours of content from legendary comedian
Ernie Kovacs, as well as two seasons of Edie Adams' prime time variety show
from the mid-1960s, Ediad Productions is a treasure trove of classic popular
entertainment. Titles in the archive include “The Ernie Kovacs Show,” “Ernie in
Kovacsland,” “Take A Good Look” (clues), the Kovacs specials for ABC, “The Edie
Adams Show,” “Here's Edie!” and much more. Ediad Productions is the go-to
archive for television, digital & mobile entertainment content and is based
in Los Angeles, California.
SCHEDULE FOR ‘ERNIE KOVACS AND EDIE ADAMS,’ APRIL
27–MAY 27, 2012
All programs take place at Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01
35 Avenue (at 37 Street), in Astoria, New York. Unless otherwise noted,
screenings are included with Museum admission.
Panel Discussion: Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams
With Robert Klein, Harold Prince, Jeff Greenfield, David
Bianculli, and Ben Model
Friday, April 27, 7:00 p.m.
Highlights of the retrospective and rare archival clips of
Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams will be shown during a celebrity panel discussion
featuring legendary Broadway producer Harold Prince, newsman Jeff Greenfield,
television critic David Bianculli, comedian and actor Robert Klein (moderator),
and Ben Model, film and television historian and archivist for the estates of
both Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams, who curated the series.
Tickets: $15 public / $9 Museum members and Free for Silver
Screen members and above.
Tickets also include admission to the Museum’s galleries
(which are open until 8:00 p.m.). Advance tickets are available online at
movingimage.us or by calling 718 777 6800.
Kovacs for Kids
Saturday, May 19, 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 20, 12:30 p.m.
Kovacs’s playful and endlessly inventive comedy, often
filled with tricks and surprises, was often designed to delight audiences of
all ages. This selection is a great introduction for families to the legendary
comedian’s work.
From April 27 through May 27, 2012, compilations of archival
material featuring Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams will play continuously in TV
Lounge, an artwork by Jim Isermann, in the Museum’s core exhibition Behind
the Screen.
MUSEUM INFORMATION
Hours: Tuesday-Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Friday, 10:30 to 8:00 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Closed
Monday except for the following holiday opening: April 9, 10:30 a.m. to 5:00
p.m.
Film Screenings: Friday evenings, Saturdays and
Sundays, and as scheduled. Unless otherwise noted, screenings are included with
Museum admission.
Museum Admission: $12.00 for adults; $9.00 for
persons over 65 and for students with ID; $6.00 for children ages 3-18.
Children under 3 and Museum members are admitted free. Admission to the
galleries is free on Fridays, 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. Tickets for special screenings
and events may be purchased in advance by phone at 718 777 6800 or online.
Location: 36-01 35 Avenue (at 37 Street) in Astoria.
Subway: M (weekdays only) or R to Steinway
Street. Q (weekdays only) or N to 36 Avenue.
The Museum is housed in a building owned by the City of New
York and its operations are made possible in part by public funds provided
through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York City
Economic Development Corporation, the New York State Council on the Arts, the
National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the
Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Natural Heritage Trust
(administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic
Preservation). The Museum also receives generous support from numerous
corporations, foundations, and individuals. For more information, please visit movingimage.us.
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