Ernie Kovacs was an early television personality who was known for an uninhibited, often ad-libbed, and visually experimental comedic style. He directly influenced numerous TV comedy programs and hosts for years after his untimely death from an automobile crash in 1962. Kovacs' shows were products of a time when television was still in its infancy and such experimentation was still acceptable. He was one of the first to use elements of a style that would later come to underline his reputation. This included video superimpositions, reverse image polarities, and quick "blackout" scenes. These are TV production elements which are still used over fifty years later! Besides the wielding of his ever present cigar, he was also noted for his sense of comedic abstraction, carefully timed non sequitur gags, and for allowing the "fourth wall" to be breached. As a true music aficionado, Ernie would inevitably incorporate that love into his work. It is doubtful that Ernie would find a place on network television today. He was too zany, unrestrained, undisciplined and anarchistic. Perhaps columnist Jack Gould of The New York Times descibed it best: "The fun was in trying".