Pioneer television comedian Ernie Kovacs was killed in an automobile accident in
Los Angeles in the early morning hours of January 13, 1962. After a light southern California rainstorm, Kovacs apparently lost control of his Chevrolet Corvair Station wagon while negotiating a turn, and crashed into a power pole located at the corner
of Beverly Glen and Santa Monica Boulevards. He died almost instantly from chest
and head injuries. Kovacs was 42.
I was only six when he died, but I remember the news as if it were yesterday. I’ll never forget the TV skit when Ernie was in the bathtub holding the cigar. He was a comedian’s comedian.