Event

ERNIE KOVACS CENTENNIAL

Anthology Film Archives and the Estate of Ernie Kovacs join forces to celebrate the centennial of this comic genius and pioneer of televisual experimentation, with an evening featuring a program of highlights from his career as well as a very special panel of Kovacs experts, aficionados, and admirers.

The influence of Kovacss highly visual and often patently surreal comedic aesthetic can be seen not only in his offbeat sensibility but also in his radical editing and special effects techniques. Kovacss mark is apparent in everything from SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, MONTY PYTHONS FLYING CIRCUS, MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER, PEE-WEES PLAYHOUSE, KIDS IN THE HALL, and TIM AND ERIC AWESOME SHOW, GREAT JOB!, as well as in the work of experimental film- and video-makers such as Owen Land, William Wegman, Michael Smith, Trisha Baga, and many, many others.

Ernie Kovacs and his on-screen partner and wife Edie Adams first appeared on television together in 1951. From then on, they appeared consistently on all four networks until Kovacss death in 1962. His career was cut short when he died in a car crash at age 42, but his impact remains immeasurable across the realms of television, comedy, and experimental media.

For the Anthology evening, well be focusing on some of the more experimental dimensions of Kovacss work. The panelists will include Josh Mills, executor of the Kovacs estate and son of Edie Adams; Ben Model, the archivist of the Ernie Kovacs/Edie Adams collection; Rebecca Cleman, Distribution Director at Electronic Arts Intermix; filmmaker, artist, and archivist Andrew Lampert; Chris Stein (Blondie); and music producer Hal Willner; among others (for more details, check anthologyfilmarchives.org in early July).