"The Fun Was in Trying"

That's how New York Times columnist Jack Gould explained the wacky, twisted, and sometimes psychedelic world of Ernie Kovacs. A true pioneer, Kovacs saw television as a technology to be exploited for laughs. While other comedians simply took their old vaudeville sketches into the studio, Kovacs explored the vast possibilities of this new medium. He created elaborate sets for gags that lasted but a few seconds. He tilted backgrounds and cameras to create gravity defying visuals. Books sang, water flew upwards, and visuals and sounds were combined like never before (he even won an Emmy for a full show with no dialogue whatsoever). In Kovacs' world, there were no rules. Take the above clip, for instance. Three minutes of show-closing credits. The boring made visually interesting. And many of those fun techniques (live television, by the way) still feel fresh today. Sadly, Kovacs died in a car crash 45 years ago. If you're a creative professional (or aspire to be one), do yourself a favor and check out this original, creative master. And learn from his inventive, carefree methods. Sometimes the fun is in trying.