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Kovacs Ernie Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
Kovacs Ernie Quizzes, Trivia

Ernie Kovacs Trivia

Ernie Kovacs Trivia Quizzes

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2 Ernie Kovacs quizzes and 25 Ernie Kovacs trivia questions.
1.
  Tribute to Ernie Kovacs   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Ernie Kovacs was a popular comedian and had his own TV show in the 1950s and acted in several movies. See how much you know about this comedic genius.
Average, 10 Qns, debodun, Jan 30 23
Average
debodun
Jan 30 23
317 plays
2.
  Ernie Kovacs    
Multiple Choice
 15 Qns
In the fifties, Ernie Kovacs redefined TV comedy with surreal sight gags that would influence such future shows as "Monty Python".
Difficult, 15 Qns, tjoebigham, Jun 15 21
Difficult
tjoebigham
Jun 15 21
347 plays

Ernie Kovacs Trivia Questions
1. Ernie was married twice, the second time to another celebrity. Who was his singing/acting wife?

From Quiz Tribute to Ernie Kovacs

Answer: Edie Adams

Ernie married Edie in September 1954 after he divorced his first wife. Edie appeared with him on his TV show. After Ernie's death, she had her own series "Here's Edie" (1963), which only ran for one season. She passed away in 2008 at age 81.

2. When and where was Ernie born?

From Quiz Ernie Kovacs

Answer: 1/19/19, Trenton, N.J.

Born to Hungarian parents in New Jersey's capital, Kovacs studied dramatics in high school as the first step to his legendary career.

3. Ernie was frequently seen with a prop that was used by many other comics. What was this trademark?

From Quiz Tribute to Ernie Kovacs

Answer: a cigar

Ernie was a habitual cigar smoker and was seldom seen without a cigar whether performing or not. He even did commercials for Dutch Masters brand cigars. Groucho Marx, George Burns and Milton Berle were also made cigars part of their personna.

4. Who was his first wife, and how many children did he have?

From Quiz Ernie Kovacs

Answer: Bette Wilcox, two girls

Heidi Abromowitz was created by Joan Rivers, Dagny Taggart was the fictional creation of Ayn Rand in her "Atlas Shrugged" and Margaret Cansino was Rita Hayworth! Kovacs' daughters were Bette Lee and Kippie, both kidnapped by their mother after a bitter divorce trial, but they were eventually found. It was dramatized in the TV-movie "Ernie Kovacs: Behind the Laughter".

5. What was his TV theme?

From Quiz Ernie Kovacs

Answer: Oriental Blues

Originally written by Jack Newton (though similar to an early Gershwin piece "Rialto Ripples"), musician Tony de Simone arranged it into the manic strain that would accompany all of Kovacs' shows.

6. A TV movie was made in 1984 about Ernie's life entitled "Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter". Who portrayed Ernie in this production?

From Quiz Tribute to Ernie Kovacs

Answer: Jeff Goldblum

Melody Anderson portrayed Edie Adams and Cloris Leachman played Ernie's mother, Mary, in this revealing biopic. The real Edie Adams also appeared in this movie - as Mae West!

7. A famous recurring skit on Ernie's TV show was a group of actors in overcoats and gorilla masks that moved in mechanical fashion to music. What was the name of this of this musical ape band?

From Quiz Tribute to Ernie Kovacs

Answer: The Nairobi Trio

The three "ape" actors consisted of a percussionist, the conductor, and a pianist. The conductor was always assumed to be Ernie and the piano player, Edie. It is rumored that different celebrities were behind the ape mask of the third member including Jack Lemmon and Frank Sinatra. They always performed the song "Solfeggio" written by Robert Maxwell.

8. Which composer was never featured on his shows?

From Quiz Ernie Kovacs

Answer: Miklos Rozsa

Rozsa was Hungarian as were Bartok and Kovacs. Kovacs gave a spoof of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" with gorillas, and also used Bartok's "Concerto for Orchestra" and Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F.

9. Ernie at one time had trouble with the Federal Government. What charges were brought against him by the Feds?

From Quiz Tribute to Ernie Kovacs

Answer: income tax evasion

Ernie firmly believed that paying taxes was wrong and simply did not pay them. In 1961, the IRS finally served him with a lien of $75,000 in unpaid taxes (over half a million in today's money). He was still paying it off at the time of his death, but Edie eventually managed to pay all Ernie's debts in full.

10. Among Kovacs' most popular skits was the ________ Trio, who were Kovacs and two others dressed as ________, performing to a recording titled "________".

From Quiz Ernie Kovacs

Answer: Nairobi gorillas Solfeggio & Nairobi, gorillas, Solfeggio

"Solfeggio" was an old vocal exercise set to modern music; you can hear it on the EarthStation1 website. Ernie and his companions would mime playing music to the recording but always managed to screw it up.

11. Tragically, Ernie's life ended in a one-car crash. What celebrity's home had he been visiting just prior to this?

From Quiz Tribute to Ernie Kovacs

Answer: Milton Berle

Both Ernie and Edie had been attending a baby shower given for Milton Berle and his wife, Ruth, on January 13, 1962. Ernie had driven there directly from work, so fortunately for Edie, she had driven her own car to and from the party. It is thought that Ernie was attempting to light one of his ubiquitous cigars when he lost control of his Chevrolet Corvair on a rain-slicked highway. He was just 10 days shy of his 43rd birthday.

12. Kovacs wrote one novel in 1957, about the world of television. What was its title?

From Quiz Ernie Kovacs

Answer: Zoomar

"Zoomar" got its title from the zoom lens, whch would soon appear in films as well. It was the story of a rising TV producer, and mirrored Kovacs' own television experiences. ("Switching Channels", by the way, was an inferior remake of the classic "His Girl Friday")

13. What cigar brand did he create ads for?

From Quiz Ernie Kovacs

Answer: Dutch Masters

Kovacs did the Dutch Masters ads in the style of his TV skits. Bill Cosby shilled for White Owl.

14. And when did Kovacs start on cigars?

From Quiz Ernie Kovacs

Answer: 14

Kovacs started young! Incidentally, his father smoked Dutch Masters!

15. What catchphrase is most associated with Kovacs?

From Quiz Ernie Kovacs

Answer: It's Been Real

The others belonged to Bill Cosby ("Fat Albert"), Jimmie Walker ("Good Times") and Dick Martin ("Laugh-In").

16. How many full-length films did Kovacs make?

From Quiz Ernie Kovacs

Answer: 10

Kovacs' 10 full-length films were: 1957's "Operation Madball", 1959's "Bell, Bok and Candle", 1959's "It Happened To Jane" and 1960's "Strangers When We Meet", all directed by Richard Quine, Carol Reed's "Our Man In Havana", Henry Hathaway's "North To Alaska" and Mervyn LeRoy's "Wake Me When It's Over", all 1960, 61's "Five Golden Hours" by Mario Zampi, 60's "Pepe" by Goerge Sidney and 62's "Sail a Crooked Ship" by Irving Brecher. Kovacs made his film debt, though, in a cameo as a man in a bar in "Showdown in Ulcer Gulch".

17. How did Kovacs die?

From Quiz Ernie Kovacs

Answer: car crash

A car crash took Kovacs' life on January 13, 1962, but his legacy lives on to this day.

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