I get that Ernie Kovacs isn’t for everyone–he was often referred to as ‘The Olive’, code for ‘acquired taste’. Actually I have a friend whose taste I usually am in agreement with who once said that Kovacs comedy was for him ‘like being told oatmeal is dessert’. Nonetheless I love him and consider one of his best and most representative video sequences the above one, which is a series of blackout sketch gags set to the Kurt Weill/Bertolt Brecht song “Mack the Knife” as sung by the late German comedian and actor Wolfgang Neuss. While running the audio through an oscilloscope, Kovacs had a television camera record its synchronized wave form display. It was a pioneering effort to combine an artistic, musical, and a comedic context to a technical aspect of video production. Appearing in this video are Kovacs regulars Bobby Lauher, who plays among others the Scottish character, and Joe Mikolas as the baritone. Jolene Brand makes an appearance as magician Matzoh Hepplewhite’s assistant. Ernie, of course, is costumed as Matzoh and he also makes a straightforward appearance as the carpenter driving the nail into Joe’s head. I’m enjoying these Kovacs videos so much that I’m thinking of posting one every Friday, thus making the last day of the working week ‘Ernie Day’ from this Friday forward. Do you like that idea? If you don’t, enjoy a bowl of oatmeal tonight before bed.