Comedian Ernie Kovacs Centennial Comes To Trenton Wednesday

The New Jersey Department of State, New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission, City of Trenton, and the Ernie Kovacs estate will host The Ernie Kovacs Centennial: 1919 -2019 at the State Museum Auditorium in Trenton on Wednesday, May 22, 2019.

The event, which runs from 10:30 a.m. to noon, will feature remarks by Secretary of State Tahesha Way, a proclamation presentation by Trenton Mayor W. Reed Gusciora, comments from comedian Joel Hodgson and Josh Mills of Ediad Productions and the Ernie Kovacs estate, a video tribute and a Q&A session.

Later that evening, Kovacs will again be honored with a less formal event at 7pm at Randy Now's Man Cave in nearby Bordentown with a Kovacs Q&A with Joshua Mills.

"There's no better place to honor Ernie Kovacs than in his own hometown of Trenton, New Jersey," said Joshua Mills of the Ernie Kovacs Estate & Ediad Productions. "Trenton was where his unique brand of comedy formed and the response we've seen from locals who have stories about Ernie and his impact on their friends and families all these years later is tremendous. Trenton still loves and remembers Ernie as one of their own."

"New Jersey has given birth to some of the greatest entertainers in history, perhaps none more original and innovative than Ernie Kovacs," per Michael Uslan, Chairman of the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission. "He was a true genius who helped shape the future of the television medium."

Born Ernest "Ernie" Edward Kovacs on Jan. 23, 1919 to Hungarian immigrants, Kovacs grew up in the Clinton Street area on the south side of Trenton. He attended Trenton public schools and graduated from Trenton Central High School (scheduled to reopen its doors to students in the fall of 2019 complete with a Performing Arts Center).

In 2014, the Trenton school board voted to demolish the dilapidated Trenton Central High School. The original facility, which opened in 1932, just one year before Kovacs would enter the halls as a high school freshman, was torn down in 2016.

Though an unremarkable student, Kovacs excelled in the school's theater program, receiving scholarships to attend the John Drew Memorial Theater in Easthampton, Long Island, and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. After working with a ragtag theatrical troupe, Kovacs spent several years as a radio DJ for Trenton WTTM and as a columnist for the Trentonian before his breakthrough in television. Kovacs has been credited with influencing countless late-night entertainers and future programs, but unfortunately his talent was not fully recognized until after his death.
Trenton Central High School students will attend the event to learn about, and be inspired by, one of the true legends and innovative spirits of comedy.

The event is free and open to the public, but registration is requested at www.erniekovacs.eventbrite.com.

Additional events are planned throughout the year including the Ernie Kovacs Centennial Exhibit at the National Comedy Center in Jamestown New York premiering during festival week August 7th. A recently announced audio reissue of Kovacs Grammy-Nominated 1977 album The Ernie Kovacs Record: Centennial Edition is confirmed for release on July 5 with six bonus tracks. A coffee table Kovacs book is set for 2020 release via Fantagraphics Books.