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Ernie Kovacs
Ernest Edward Kovacs (January 23, 1919 – January 13, 1962) was an American comedian, actor, and writer. Kovacs's visually experimental and often spontaneous comedic style influenced numerous television comedy programs for years after his death. Kovacs has been credited as an influence by many individuals and shows, including Johnny Carson, '' Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In'', ''Saturday Night Live'', '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', Jim Henson, '' Max Headroom'', Chevy Chase, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, '' Captain Kangaroo'', ''Sesame Street'', '' The Electric Company'', '' Pee-wee's Playhouse'', ''The Muppet Show'', Dave Garroway, Andy Kaufman, ''You Can't Do That on Television'', '' Mystery Science Theater 3000'', and Uncle Floyd, among others. Chase even thanked Kovacs during his acceptance speech for his Emmy Award for ''Saturday Night Live''. While Kovacs and his wife Edie Adams received Emmy nominations for Best Performances in a Comedy Series during 1957, his ta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until December 24, 1784.New Jersey County Map , New Jersey Department of State. Accessed July 10, 2017. Trenton and Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton are the two principal cities of the Trenton–Princeton metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses those cities and all of Mercer County for statistical purposes and constitutes part of the New York metropolitan area#Combined statistical area, New York combined statistical area by the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Max Headroom (character)
Max Headroom is a fictional character played by actor Matt Frewer. Advertised as "the first computer-generated TV presenter", Max was known for his biting commentary on a variety of topical issues, arrogant wit, stuttering, and pitch-shifting voice. The character was created by George Stone, Annabel Jankel, and Rocky Morton. Max was advertised as "computer-generated", and some believed this, but he was actually actor Frewer wearing prosthetic makeup, contact lenses, and a plastic moulded suit, and sitting in front of a blue screen. Harsh lighting and other editing and recording effects heighten the illusion of a CGI character. According to his creators, Max's personality was meant to be a satirical exaggeration of the worst tendencies of television hosts in the 1980s who wanted to appeal to youth culture, yet were not a part of it. Frewer proposed that Max reflected an innocence, largely influenced not by mentors and life experience but by information absorbed from televis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mystery Science Theater 3000
''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on WUCW, KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. It then moved to nationwide broadcast, first on The Comedy Channel (American TV channel), The Comedy Channel for two seasons, then Comedy Central for five seasons until its cancellation in 1996. Thereafter, it was picked up by Syfy, The Sci-Fi Channel and aired for three more seasons until another cancellation in August 1999. A 60-episode Broadcast syndication, syndication package titled ''The Mystery Science Theater Hour'' was produced in 1993 and broadcast on Comedy Central and syndicated to TV stations in 1995. In 2015, Hodgson led a crowdfunding, crowdfunded revival of the series with 14 episodes in its eleventh season, first released on Netflix on April 14, 2017, with another six-episode season following on November 22, 2018. A second successf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
You Can't Do That On Television
''You Can't Do That on Television'' is a Canadian sketch comedy television series that aired locally in 1979 before airing in the United States in 1981. It featured adolescent and teenage actors performing in a sketch comedy format similar to America's ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' and Canada's ''Second City Television''. Each episode had a specific theme, typically relating to the popular culture of the time. The series was produced by and aired on Ottawa's CTV Television Network, CTV station CJOH-DT, CJOH-TV. Initially a local program, it was marketed specifically for a North American-wide audience from its third season on. It was staple on the early years of the American cable network Nickelodeon, becoming most famous for introducing the network's iconic green slime. The channel aired reruns through 1994, when they were replaced with the similarly-themed domestic sketch comedy variety program ''All That''. The show was notable for launching the careers of many performers, inc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andy Kaufman
Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman ( ; January 17, 1949 – May 16, 1984) was an American entertainer and performance artist. He has sometimes been called an "anti-humor, anti-comedian". He disdained telling jokes and engaging in comedy as it was traditionally understood, once saying in an interview, "I am not a comic, I have never told a joke. The comedian's promise is that he will go out there and make you laugh with him. My only promise is that I will try to entertain you as best I can." After working in small comedy clubs in the early 1970s, Kaufman came to the attention of a wider audience in 1975, when he was invited to perform portions of his act on the first season of ''Saturday Night Live''. His Foreign Man character was the basis of his performance as Latka Gravas on the television show Taxi (TV series), ''Taxi'' from 1978 until 1983. During this time, he continued to tour comedy clubs and theaters in a series of unique performance art/comedy shows, sometimes appearing as h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dave Garroway
David Cunningham Garroway (July 13, 1913 – July 21, 1982) was an American Celebrity, television personality. He was the founding host and anchor of NBC's ''Today (American TV program), Today'' from 1952 to 1961. His easygoing and relaxing style belied a lifelong battle with depression (mood), depression. Garroway has been honored for his contributions to radio and television with List of stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame#G, a star for each on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the St. Louis Walk of Fame, the city where he spent part of his teenaged years and early adulthood. Early life Born in Schenectady, New York, Garroway was of Scottish descent. By the time he was 14, he had moved with his family 13 times, finally settling in St. Louis, Missouri, where he attended University City High School (St. Louis), University City High School and Washington University in St. Louis, from which he earned a degree in abnormal psychology. Before going into broadcasting, Garroway worked as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Muppet Show
''The Muppet Show'' is a variety sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and starring the Muppets. It is presented as a variety show, featuring recurring sketches and musical numbers interspersed with ongoing plot-lines with running gags taking place backstage and in other areas of the venue. ''The Muppet Show'' is known for its uniquely designed characters, burlesque nature, slapstick, sometimes absurdist and surreal humour, and parodies. Within its context, Kermit the Frog (performed by Henson) acts as showrunner and host, who tries to maintain control of the overwhelming antics of the other Muppet characters as well as appease the rotating slate of guest stars. As ''The Muppet Show'' became popular, many celebrities were eager to perform with the Muppets on television and in subsequent films. Henson produced two pilot episodes for ABC in 1974 and 1975, but neither went forward as a series. While other networks in the United States rejected Henson's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pee-wee's Playhouse
''Pee-wee's Playhouse'' is an American comedy children's television series starring Paul Reubens as the childlike Pee-wee Herman that ran from 1986 to 1990 on Saturday mornings on CBS, and airing in reruns until July 1991. The show was developed from Reubens's popular stage show and the TV special '' The Pee-wee Herman Show'', produced for HBO, which was similar in style but featured much more adult humor. In 2004 and 2007, ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'' was ranked No. 10 and No. 12 on ''TV Guide''s Top Cult Shows Ever, respectively. It was also named to ''Time''s list of the 100 Best TV Shows in 2007. Development The Pee-wee Herman character was developed by Reubens into a live stage show titled '' The Pee-wee Herman Show'' in 1980. It features many characters that would go on to appear in ''Playhouse'', including Captain Carl, Jambi the Genie, Miss Yvonne, Pterri the Pterodactyl, and Clocky. While enjoying continuous popularity with the show, Reubens teamed with young director Tim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Electric Company
''The Electric Company'' is an American educational children's television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW, now known as Sesame Workshop). It was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett. The series aired on PBS for 780 episodes over the course of its six seasons from October 25, 1971, to April 15, 1977. The program continued in reruns until October 4, 1985. ''The Electric Company'' later reran on Noggin, a channel co-founded by the CTW, from 1999 to 2003. Noggin also produced a compilation special for the show. The Workshop produced the show at Reeves Teletape Studios in Manhattan. ''The Electric Company'' employed sketch comedy and various other devices to provide an entertaining program to help elementary school children develop their grammar and reading skills. Since it was intended for children who had graduated from CTW's flagship program, ''Sesame Street'', the humor was more mature than what was seen there. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) and was created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett. It is known for its images communicated through the use of Jim Henson's The Muppets, Muppets, and includes short films, with humor and cultural references. It premiered on November 10, 1969, to positive reviews, some controversy, and high viewership. It has aired on the United States national Public broadcasting, public television provider PBS since its debut, with its first run moving to Pay television, premium channel HBO on January 16, 2016, then its sister streaming service Max (streaming service), HBO Max in 2020, and most recently Netflix in 2025. The show's format consists of a combination of Commercial broadcasting, commercial television production element ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Captain Kangaroo
''Captain Kangaroo'' is an American children's television series that aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for 29 years, from 1955 to 1984, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television program of its day. In 1986, the American Program Service (now American Public Television, Boston) integrated some newly produced segments into reruns of past episodes, distributing the newer version of the series to PBS and independent public stations until 1993. Conception The show was conceived by Bob Keeshan, who also played the title character "Captain Kangaroo", and who based the show on "the warm relationship between grandparents and children". Keeshan had portrayed the original Clarabell the Clown on NBC's ''The Howdy Doody Show'' during the network's early years. Show structure ''Captain Kangaroo'' had a loose structure, built around life in the "Treasure House" where the Captain (the name "kangaroo" came from the bigger pockets in hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jimmy Kimmel
James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967), known professionally as Jimmy Kimmel, is an American television host, comedian, writer, voice actor, and producer. He has been the host and executive producer of '' Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-night talk show, since 2003. Kimmel has hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards three times, in 2012, 2016 and 2020, and the Academy Awards four times, in 2017, 2018, 2023, and 2024. Before hosting ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', Kimmel was the co-host of Comedy Central's '' The Man Show'' and '' Win Ben Stein's Money''. Kimmel has also produced several TV shows, including '' Crank Yankers'', '' Sports Show with Norm Macdonald'', and '' The Andy Milonakis Show''. In 2018, ''Time'' named him as one of " The World's 100 Most Influential People". Kimmel has hosted a late-night talk show the longest of all current late-night television hosts in the United States, after Conan O'Brien's retirement from hosting a late-night program. Early life and fam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
