Happy Birthday Ernie!

Today is Ernie Kovac’s birthday!

And to celebrate, we’re very excited to announce our partnership with Ediad Productions to release all audio material from the archive of the estates of legendary comedian Ernie Kovacs and Tony-Award winning singer/entertainer Edie Adams. This announcement comes as a birthday gift to Kovacs fans as today would have been his 93rd birthday. Post a birthday remembrance via social media and sign off with one of his signature phrases, “It’s Been Real.”

The first album to be released is titled Ernie Kovacs Presents: Percy Dovetonsils …thpeaks, a previously unreleased comedy album featuring Kovacs’ best-known and beloved character originally recorded in 1961. Full details and track listing will be announced shortly. Ernie Kovacs Presents: Percy Dovetonsils …thpeaks is a collection featuring bits from Kovacs gentle, martini drinking, lisping, fey poet who became ripe fodder for a comedy album in the late 1950s. A fan favorite on his television shows, this album was recorded for an independent record label before legal entanglements shelved the project until the 1970s. The reel had been mislabeled and was discovered recently by archivist Ben Model. After hearing Kovacs discuss the record in a CBC Canada television interview, Model was able to piece together the mislabeled tape and realized its current value.

The album will appeal to Kovacs fans who have demonstrated their continuing interest in the iconic comedian by purchasing large numbers of the recently released 6-DVD box set The Ernie Kovacs Collection.

Additional audio-only material from the archive includes a vast, never-before-heard collection of soundtracks from Ernie Kovacs shows of the early 1950s. This material survives on more than 150 audio airchecks. We are presently working through material from these recordings for release this year and beyond. Additional material in the archive includes audio selections from the career of Edie Adams, who was also Kovacs’ wife up until his passing in 1962.