TWO NEW ERNIE KOVACS CENTENNIAL EVENTS CONFIRMED FOR CHICAGO AND MINNEAPOLIS ON OCTOBER 24 AND 25, 2019

Columbia College in Chicago and The Parkway Theater in Minneapolis (Presented by Stand Up! Records) to Screen Classic Kovacs Clips, Host Panel Events and Q&A Session Around Television’s Original Genius

2019 Reissues of The Ernie Kovacs Album Centennial Edition on CD and the Nine-DVD Box Set of The Ernie Kovacs Collection Round Out a Busy Centennial Year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOS ANGELES, CA (WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 9, 2019) –The Ernie Kovacs estate has confirmed two new live events around the comedy of Television’s Original Genius as part of The Ernie Kovacs Centennial year this Thursday October 24 in Chicago and Friday October 25 in Minneapolis. Details are:

*Thurs., October 24 – Chicago, IL @ Film Row Cinema (1104 S. Wabash Ave, 8th Floor) hosted by Columbia College, 7pm. Free!

*Fri., October 25 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Parkway Theater (4814 Chicago Ave., Presented by Stand Up! Records, 7pm doors, 8pm show (Tix available here)

The Chicago evening will feature a screening of Kovacs’ iconic television work, followed  by a panel discussion moderated by Eric Scholl, Chair CTVA with Anne Libera, Director of Comedy Studies and Assistant Professor Columbia College Chicago and Kelly Leonard, Executive Director of Insights and Applied Improvisation, The Second City & is free & open to the public.

The Minneapolis event will feature a screening of Kovacs’ television work and will feature a panel moderated by writer, musician and filmmaker Chris Strouth and including best-selling author & comedy historian Neal Karlen, Grammy Award-winning comedy producer Dan Schlissel, actor & cult icon Rich Kronfield and a musical interlude from the Nairobi Trio! The first 100 attendees will receive a limited edition signed and numbered 11×17 commemorative poster. Both events will feature Josh Mills of Ediad Productions and the Ernie Kovacs & Edie Adams estates.

“We have been trying to lock down events in the Midwest to celebrate the Centennial of Ernie Kovacs for quite a while now and it’s great to finally bring Television’s Original Genius’ work to Chicago and Minneapolis,” said Joshua Mills of the Ernie Kovacs Estate & Ediad Productions. “There has been such enthusiasm for the comedy of Ernie Kovacs in his centennial year through these live events and Centennial CD and DVD releases this year, it’s great to see it continue throughout the entire year.”

Born Ernest “Ernie” Edward Kovacs on Jan. 23, 1919 to Hungarian immigrants, Kovacs grew up in Trenton, NJ. Though an unremarkable student, Kovacs excelled in the school’s theater program, receiving scholarships to attend the John Drew Memorial Theater in Easthampton, Long Island, and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.

After working with a ragtag theatrical troupe, Kovacs spent several years as a radio DJ for Trenton WTTM and as a columnist for the Trentonian before his breakthrough in television. Kovacs has been credited with influencing countless late-night entertainers including David Letterman Jimmy Kimmel and Chevy Chase as well as comedians like Joel Hodgson,  Paul Reubens and Amy Sedaris as well as future programs like Laugh-In, Monty Python’s Flying Circus and Kids in the Hall, but unfortunately his talent was not fully recognized until after his death.

This past year has seen a revival of Ernie Kovacs’ work in comedy with events such as a retrospective on TCM, the UCLA Film and Television Archive, the Library of Congress, the Anthology Film Archive, the British Film Institute, the Ernie Kovacs Centennial Exhibit at the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, New York & the Hungarian University of Fine Art among others. A recently released audio reissue of Kovacs Grammy-Nominated 1977 album The Ernie Kovacs Record: Centennial Edition is available now with six bonus tracks as well as a 9 DVD set, the Ernie Kovacs Collection. A coffee table Kovacs book is set for 2020 release via Fantagraphics Books.

Minneapolis Contact info: Patrick Marschke, patrick@theparkwaytheater.com

For more information on Ernie Kovacs, please contact Joshua Mills, It’s Alive! Media, 323-464-6314, josh@itsalivemedia.com