LIVE EVENTS IN SUPPORT OF ERNIE KOVACS CAREER RETROSPECIVE ERNIE IN KOVACSLAND COFFEE TABLE BOOK CONFIRMED FOR ENGLAND AND HUNGARY THIS NOVEMBER

Screenings, Conversation, Q&A and Book Signings Confirmed for Coventry, London and Budapest With Co-Author Josh Mills & Guests

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOS ANGELES, CA (MONDAY NOVEMBER 16, 2023) – The Estate of Ernie Kovacs and Fantagraphics books announced today that European in-person dates in support of a new career retrospective Ernie in Kovacsland: Writings, Drawings and Photographs from Television’s Original Genius are confirmed in November in England and Hungary. Fans can order the book from Turnaround Publisher Services here.

Since the book’s release on July 25, a renewed interest in the work of Ernie Kovacs has taken hold with a rave review in NPR’s Fresh Air who called the book “…a combination art museum and treasure chest”, the Los Angeles Times, the Saturday Evening Post and more. A recent UCLA Film & Television Archive in-person event in Los Angeles on July 22 sold out the 285 capacity venue.

Upcoming dates include:

*Tuesday November 7, 7pm Coventry, England

Josh Mills, co-author of Ernie in Kovacsland along with proprietor & co-founder of The British Phil Silvers Appreciation Society Steve Everitt from Sgt. Bilko’s Vintage Emporium in Coventry, England includes a screening, discussion & book signing here.

*Wednesday November 8, 8:30pm, London, England

We will be presenting a night of screenings, panel discussion, Q&A and book signing at the Museum of Comedy in Leicester Square. Join Ernie in Kovacsland co-author, moderator/writer Ron Fogelman, British Comedy Historian Robert Ross & a perhaps a few additional guests. Details soon! Get your tickets here!

*Thursday November 9, 6:30pm Budapest, Hungary

This will be a discussion, Q&A and book signing at Massolit Books in Budapest with Ernie in Kovacsland co-author, Josh Mills and the Delle Foundation’s Adrienne Dorsanski discussing all things Ernie and Edie Adams.

*Friday November 10, 6pm Budapest Hungary

We’ll be presenting a night of clips, discussion, Q&A and book signing at ISBN Books & Gallery in Budapest. Join Ernie in Kovacsland co-author, Josh Mills and the Delle Foundation’s Adrienne Dorsanski discussing all things Ernie and Edie Adams.

*Tuesday November 21, 6pm EST – Online

Join Ernie in Kovacsland co-authors Josh Mills and Pat Thomas on Talkshoplive for a discussion and please ask us questions as we celebrate the relaunch and repressing of our book where you can order an autographed copy of the cook! More details soon!

The 284-page Ernie in Kovacsland coffee table book celebrates the cockeyed genius and prolific career, life and creative output of never-before-seen material from the Ernie Kovacs archive. Kovacs fans, including entertainer Ann Magnuson and musician Ron Mael of Sparks both contributed new essays for the book.

Best known for his wildly imaginative, gleefully absurdist television show in the 1950s, Ernie Kovacs (1919 – 1962) was also a notorious illustrator, novelist, essayist, newspaper columnist, and poet. In celebration of this off-kilter genius and his prolific creative output, Fantagraphics presents a career retrospective featuring never-before-seen photos from Kovacs’ archive; excerpts of his magazine articles, columns and books, hand-notated TV scripts: a smattering of his “illustrated profuselies,” the wacky improvisational sketches he drew on air; and more. Curated by Josh Mills (son of Edie Adams, Kovacs’ wife and a performer on his show), Edie/Ernie archivist Ben Model, and counterculture historian Pat Thomas, the book offers a unique glimpse into the mind of a pioneering comedian.

“Ernie Kovacs brilliant “high” meets “low” hijacking of mid-century television programming ignited a spark in my teenage brain and the fire spread fast,” said Devo co-founder Gerald V. Casale. “Could Devo have ever existed without the Nairobi Trio? I think everyone knows the answer.”

Ernie Kovacs inspired countless comedians, musicians, humorists, and writers in the latter half of the 20th century and beyond. He is cited as a direct influence by the creators and stars of such innovative comedy series as Saturday Night Live, Monty Python, and Mystery Science Theater 3000. An award in his name has been granted to uproarious humorists like Amy Sedaris (Strangers with Candy) and Harry Shearer (This is Spinal Tap) at the Dallas VideoFest. A true visionary, Kovac’s iconoclastic approach has forever made its mark on the world of comedy.

Ernie Kovacs was an influential figure for late night entertainers like Steve Allen, David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel and Conan O’Brien, whose work has been cited appreciatively by Martin Scorsese, Harold Prince, Matt Groening (The Simpsons), Robert Smigel (Saturday TV Funhouse, Triumph: The Insult Comic Dog), Joel Hodgson (Mystery Science Theater 3000), Paul Reubens (Pee-wee Herman), Andrea Martin (SCTV), Alec Guinness and author Jonathan Lethem, among others.

A pioneer in early television whose inventive use of the medium inspired countless performers, directors, and video artists, Ernie Kovacs created  indelible characters such as Percy Dovetonsils, Matzoh Hepplewhite, and Uncle Gruesome, Kovacs invented a distinctly modern form of comedy that playfully subverted the television medium. Edie Adams was his on-screen partner as well as his wife. After his death in 1962 Adams was instrumental in not only saving but also preserving Kovacs’ body of work during the 1960s when she bought all existing Kovacs materials – including the masters that the television networks were planning to destroy them due to cost and storage issues. It is through her efforts that this book exists.

For More Information, please contact

Twitter, Instagram & Facebook: RealErnieKovacs, Info@Erniekovacs.com

Publicity:  Joshua Mills, It’s Alive! Media, josh@itsalivemedia.com

323-464-6314 It’s Alive! Media