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Sunday, January 19 • 1:00pm - 2:30pm
Ernie Kovacs Centennial

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Known as “Television’s Original Genius,” comedian, actor, writer, and entertainer Ernie Kovacs was lauded for his cockeyed sense of humor, his surreal visual gags and his subversive, absurdist wit. Best known for his groundbreaking visual humor, Ernie Kovacs was posthumously nominated for a GRAMMY Award in 1977 for Best Comedy Album for The Ernie Kovacs Album. Reissued for the first time ever in celebration of his centennial by Omnivore Recordings, The Ernie Kovacs Album Centennial Edition collects many of Ernie’s best television work and adds six recently discovered bonus tracks to this collection.

Kovacs was a thrice nominated and posthumous winner of an Emmy Award, he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, was inducted into the Television Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame and won a Directors Guild award. Currently, the National Comedy Center is presenting the Ernie Kovacs Centennial Exhibition, a first-ever look at artifacts from Kovacs life and career from the Ernie Kovacs archive. His most famous quote was, “Television is often called a medium because it’s neither rare nor well done.”

Gone since 1962, Kovacs’ work has not only survived via the dogged efforts of his wife, entertainer Edie Adams but has had a second renaissance this past decade with the release of four DVD box sets from Shout! Factory, two audio releases, numerous live events and in 2020, a coffee-table book from Fantagraphocs Books on Kovacs writings, drawing, photographs and never-before-seen personal items from his archive.

SF Sketchfest is thrilled to bring together a wide array of innovators to discuss Kovacs’ influence on their careers as comedians, entertainers, and writers. The panel will consist of Dave Foley (“The Kids in the Hall,” Dana Gould (“Stan Against Evil,”) and Joshua Mills, the son of Edie Adams, who runs both her estate and that of Ernie Kovacs. The discussion will be moderated by comedian Wayne Federman (“The History of Standup) and will include clips of Kovacs’ audio and visual work shown throughout the program. ($30, 21+)
Artists
avatar for Dana Gould

Dana Gould

Dana Gould began his professional comedy career at the age of seventeen. Between ComedyCentral, HBO and Showtime, Dana has six solo stand-up comedy specials to his credit. He has appeared on "The Late Show with David Letterman, "Jimmy Kimmel Live," "CONAN," and much more.As an actor... Read More →
avatar for Dave Foley

Dave Foley

Dave Foley was born and raised in Toronto where he attended alternative high schools. While there, he began writing stand-up comedy for a creative writing project. His interest in improv led him to comedy workshops, where he met and teamed with Kevin McDonald. They became “The Kids... Read More →
avatar for Josh Mills

Josh Mills

Joshua Mills has run Ediad Productions, Inc. since 2008. Ediad has been a profession corporation since the mid-1960 and encompasses the physical archive and collection of both his mother, Actress/Comedian/”Songstress” Edie Adams (www.edieadams.com) and her first husband, lege... Read More →
avatar for Wayne Federman

Wayne Federman

Wayne Federman has been performing stand-up for over 35 years. He has his own Comedy Central special and recently appeared on "The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon." He co-produced the Emmy-winning HBO documentary, "The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling" and hosts the critically-acclaimed... Read More →


Sunday January 19, 2020 1:00pm - 2:30pm PST
Swedish American Hall
  Cinema + Television

Attendees (26)