A pleasant combination of craziness and genius, thank you.

Absolutely hands down, flat-out fantastic! You must give kudos to Dutch Masters Cigars, who sponsored these specials, and let Kovacs do anything that he wanted. So, light up a Dutch Masters, sit back and enjoy the single most creative person ever on commercial television.

People that dont get brilliance only get photo shop. Thamk you for veilliance and true talent.

From 1961, made for Ernie's monthly specials on ABC. They ran at 10:30 PM and were not highly rated, but Dutch Masters bought the half-hour because their sales went way up and that's all that counted. Ernie was also allowed to create his own commercials which were lifted out and played elsewhere, too. It was early videotape, but it WAS edited (directed by Ernie). There was no electronic editing then, so you carefully cut the tape around the image. You can see some of the jumps. A genius.

It's amazing to see how much he paved the way for modern cinemotography.

Ernie Kovacs...the sly genius of TV.

If you think it's a bit odd today you should have seen it when it was live. All of his stuff was so far out and so unique. Unlike anything in entertainment. He really had a far fetched creative brain. There certainly was not anything else on TV like his show at that time and you couldn't wait to see what wild and crazy things he was going to do next. TV was new and anything, bad westerns, wresting, old movies. You watched it all. You didn't have to get dressed up to go watch a movie.

Kovacks was an original.

This is Cherokee, the old Ray Noble tune, as done by Esqivel. It is available on some of the cd issues of Esquivel's music. EK also used Esquivel's interpretations of Jealousy & Sentimental Journey on another video of animated office equipment.

Kovacks was a genius before his time

Kovacs said in the future the number one TV show will be a guy on stage trying to start a lawn mower. We are getting close to that now.

Before technology was substituted for creativity. I would rather watch this then anything new on the tube

Thanks for the info. In the past year I've gotten into Esquivel & I've heard of Ernie, on specials, for years. How he was ahead of his time on things. This really blew me away. As far as Esquivel, how can you even discribe his influence.

And this was done LIVE...right? No editing - no retakes. One take. Brilliant! Thanks for posting.

it's esquivel,fromthesidelines,another innovator of that era...and i hope this comment goes in the right place

He was such a genius...

I have to write an essay on this guy, lol, he was extremely creative for his time.

Amen, brother.

I must have been only a few years old when I saw this on live TV, and it had me pretty freaked out--especially the dancing turkey. I just couldn't figure out why all these things were happening.

Actually, Ernie was on ABC, with his series of monthly specials for Dutch Masters, in 1961, 'gt'. He and NBC parted company in 1959.

Ernie Kovacs was a guy who created surprises on his show. He made a bowl a salad explode like from the chemistry set which I don't think chefs would be able to do that because it's not quite what they had in mind. You know, I see some people like Ernie Kovacs. But I always prefer Disney's Fantasia even better!

Ernie, I absolutely adore you.

I heard his widow, Edie Adams, say once in an interview that the television medium at that time was still so new that nobody really knew what it WAS, but Kovacs had the genius to eliminate what he knew it was NOT, and start trying things from that point. You might also want to note that this is not film, it's videotape, which meant, at that time, that there were no cuts, the entire scene had to be choreographed and shot live (on tape), from beginning to end. Make a mistake? You start over.

wow, i have been reading KOVACSLAND by Diana Rico, halfway thru i HAD to jump up & check youTube and Sure Enuff!! here are some of the things i have been reading about!! this show had my on the floor laffing back when i was a kid. And the book has been Great.

the fragmnets parts of the kovak show that have been preserved on its original video tape the cigar commersials and the artys stuff only

I believe this is from his final show. It was taped one month before his tragic death, and was aired about one week after his death.

He had an amazing imagination.

This was a segment from one of his 1961 videotaped specials...Ernie loved collecting records, and had a huge library at one point. The musical background- "Cherokee"- came from one of his favorite "percussion in stereo" albums (which one, I don't know).

how weird is this?! Man,i have to find more out about Ernie Kovacs!

I lament my movie education that I learned about Švankmajer before Ernie Kovacs. But I did appreciate Buster Keaton before Cocteau, so that's something... All hail American surrealism! The Europeans can get famous and acclaimed for copying what "naive" artists did years before them. Let them have the glory. Kovacs was a true genius.

Sort of like kitchen nightmares to that overblown music of the day.

given the tech of the time, one has to give ernie credit for the speical effects he used! He was one of the master's of what i think is called the "sight gag". In that respect the only one who i think could come close was the late Benny Hill albeit his were more on the vulgar side and not as wholesome as ernie's. On a sad note, this day that i am posting is also the anniversary of his fatal car accident in 1962 RIP Ernie!! you are missed

:47 shows the genius of Kovacs

bryan kovacs / multi-media artist / inventor / rockstar /...kovXXX,,,

I can't help thinking that this is where *Hardware Wars* came from ...

Check that early video tape.

Caution! Do NOT watch this on LSD!

Yes, it would be someone like Juan Esquivel to come up with that kind of arrangement, 'reno'...

Oh my god I must be so fucking high right now

@eastportland OK, I watched the closing credit scenes. Watch that video at about 2 min, 43 sec., shortly after the flames.

@novatodave no, this was not live. although much of his stuff was

@baldric55 I don't know but I wish I have a piece of it. Absolute genius.

Because of the elaborate special effects and extra hours used in videotaping and editing these specials- the famous 10 second "blackout" of used car salesman Kovacs slapping the top of the car, only to see it fall through the asphalt, cost him $10,000 to produce- Ernie often went over budget, adding to his already precarious financial situation at the time, 'tux'. Yet, he and his production crew were willing to spend that extra time and money to make sure his comedy ideas came though on TV...

@lrd9999 No, the hands holding the oil and vinegar are the creepiest!

Esquivel's recording of "Cherokee" starts the segment off.

Just curious: Which song was this done to, and who recorded it?

I know, these are early-television special effects, but why were the water drops falling 'up' at 0:47?

Is this esquivel's music?

Good, but the animated office is much better.

thumbs up if your here bc of NPR

this is a symphony? what about a pop hit?

@backsidefloater321 you need big help bro. better get it, its a matter of survival

What the hell was going on in Kovac's head?

Puts Letterman to shame.

@592010 EK was brilliant, no doubt about it, but I tire of hearing, over and over again, that contemporary television is nothing but dreck. It isn't. Shows like the Wire, Breaking Bad, Louis (Louis CK) and the Daily Show are just a few of the that will undoubtedly stand the test of time and be looked back upon as breaking new ground. Maybe not so far ahead of their time as EK, but certainly not asinine or brainless.

60 years ago it was funny Today, just boring 😞

Wow, you gotta be pretty insecure to have your sexuality threatened by Ernie Kovacs.