Friday, May 14, 2021

The Man Who Invented Television Comedy - May 14, 2007

The 20th century saw numerous artists who broke the rules of what had gone before. 

In art, there was Pablo Picasso; in music, it was Igor Stravinsky; and in television, Ernie Kovacs changed the medium forever. 

Kovacs began his all-too-short career in the early 1950s, and soon saw opportunities for the new technology that no one else did. His style was eclectic, mixing sophisticated references with quick sight gags

Kovacs would try anything, whether it was spending $50,000 for a 6-second sight gag, doing an entire show with no dialogue, or inventing performance art with the Nairobi Trio

Even though he began appearing in movies, he never abandoned television, innovating and expanding what could be done. 

He was killed in a car crash in 1962, just days before his 43rd birthday, but his influence has been seen in the work of such personalities as Steve Allen, David Letterman, and the many casts of Saturday Night Live.

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