Edie Adams

Edie Adams

Adams in 1958
Born Edith Elizabeth Enke
(1927-04-16)April 16, 1927
Kingston, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died October 15, 2008(2008-10-15) (aged 81)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other names Edythe Adams
Edith Adams
Edith Candoli
Alma mater Juilliard School
Columbia University
Actors Studio
Years active 1951–2004
Spouse(s) Ernie Kovacs (1954–1962) (his death)
Martin Mills (1964–1971)
Pete Candoli (1972–1988) (div.)
Children 2

Edie Adams (April 16, 1927 – October 15, 2008)[1] was an American businesswoman, singer, Broadway, television and film actress, and comedian. Adams, an Emmy and Tony Award winner, "both embodied and winked at the stereotypes of fetching chanteuse and sexpot blonde".[2]

She was well known for her impersonations of sexy stars on stage and television, especially Marilyn Monroe.[3][4][5] She was the wife and frequent television partner of Ernie Kovacs until his death in a 1962 car accident.

Early years

Adams was born as Edith Elizabeth Enke[2] in Kingston, Pennsylvania,[2] the only daughter of Sheldon Alonzo Enke and his wife, Ada Dorothy (née Adams). She had an elder brother, Sheldon Adams Enke (June 28, 1922 – July 9, 2001). The family moved to nearby areas such as Shavertown, Grove City and Trucksville and spent a year in New York City before settling in Tenafly, New Jersey, where she finished high school. Ada Enke taught her daughter singing and piano; mother and daughter were members of the Grove City Presbyterian church choir.[6] Adams' grandmother, a seamstress, taught her how to sew. She made her own clothing beginning in the sixth grade and Adams would later have her own designer line of clothing, called Bonham, Inc.[7]

She earned a vocal degree from Juilliard, then graduated from Columbia School of Drama. She studied at the Actors Studio in New York and at the Traphagen School of Fashion Design, where she became adept at designing.[6] Initially, Adams could not decide whether to pursue a career in fashion design or music, so she tossed a coin, and music won.[8]

Kovacs as "Leena, Queen of the Jungle" with Adams in 1956.[9]
With Ernie Kovacs in Take a Good Look

In 1949-50, she appeared in the early live television show Bonnie Maid's Versatile Varieties as one of the original "Bonnie Maids" doing live commercials for the sponsor.

In 1950, she won the "Miss U.S. Television" beauty contest,[10] which led to an appearance with Milton Berle on his television show.[2] Her earliest television work billed her as Edith Adams.[11] One of her early appearances was on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. She was seen by the producer of the Ernie Kovacs show Three To Get Ready (in Philadelphia), who invited her to audition. Edie, who was well-trained in classical music, had very little experience with popular music and could perform only three songs. She later stated: "I sang them all during the audition, and if they had asked to hear another, I never would have made it." She became part of the show in July 1951.[12][13][14] Adams had never seen the program she was hired for. When he saw his daughter on the show, Adams' father was upset to find her role involved trying to avoid pies in the face.[15] In one of his last interviews, Ernie Kovacs looked back on the early days, saying, "I wish I could say I was the big shot that hired her, but it was my show in name only—the producer had all the say. Later on I did have something to say and I said it, 'Let's get married.'".[16]

Career

Adams and Kovacs (1956)

Adams began working regularly on television with comedian Ernie Kovacs and talk show pioneer Jack Paar.[17] After a courtship that included mariachi bands and an unexpected diamond engagement ring, Adams and Ernie Kovacs eloped; they were married on September 12, 1954, in Mexico City.[18][19][20][21] Adams was initially uncertain about marrying Kovacs. She went on a six week European cruise, hoping to come to a decision. After three days away and many long distance phone calls, Adams returned home with an answer - it was "yes".[21][22] It was Kovacs' second marriage, and lasted until his death in a car accident on January 13, 1962. Adams and Kovacs received Emmy nominations for best performances in a comedy series in 1957.[12] In 1960, she and Kovacs played themselves in the final Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour television special on CBS.[2][23]

After Kovacs' death, his network, ABC, gave Adams a chance with her own show, Here's Edie, which received five Emmy nominations but lasted one season, in 1963.[12] Kovacs was a noted cigar smoker, and Adams did a long-running series of TV commercials for Muriel cigars.[24] She remained the pitch-lady for Muriel well after Kovacs' death, intoning in a Mae West style and sexy outfit, "Why don't you pick one up and smoke it sometime?"[2] Another commercial for Muriel cigars, which cost ten cents, showed Adams singing, "Hey, big spender, spend a little dime with me" (based on the song, "Hey Big Spender" from the musical Sweet Charity). Adams' cigar commercials made her one of the top three recognizable television celebrities.[25] In subsequent years, Adams made sporadic television appearances, including on Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, McMillan and Wife, Murder, She Wrote, and Designing Women.[2]

Adams as Daisy Mae in "Li'l Abner", 1956.

Adams starred on Broadway in Wonderful Town (1953) opposite Rosalind Russell[17] (winning the Theatre World Award), and as Daisy Mae in Li'l Abner (1956),[4][26][27] winning the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She played the Fairy Godmother in Rodgers and Hammerstein's original Cinderella broadcast in 1957.[28] Adams was to play Daisy Mae in the film version of Li'l Abner, but was unable, due to the late arrival of her daughter, Mia Susan Kovacs.[3]

Adams played supporting roles in several films in the 1960s, including the embittered secretary of two-timing Fred MacMurray in the Oscar-winning film The Apartment (1960). She was the wife of a presidential candidate (played by Cliff Robertson) in 1964's The Best Man and was reunited with Robertson for a 1967 comedy, The Honey Pot. In 2003, as one of the surviving headliners from the all-star comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, she joined actors Marvin Kaplan and Sid Caesar at a 40th anniversary celebration of the movie. She was also a successful nightclub headliner.[29]

Shortly after her husband's death, Adams won a "nasty custody battle" with Kovacs' ex-wife over her stepdaughters,[29][30] Kip Raleigh "Kippie" Kovacs (1949–2001)[31] (married Bill Lancaster, (1947–1997)[32] son of Burt Lancaster) and Elizabeth ("Bette").[12] His ex-wife had previously kidnapped the girls during a visit; Adams and Kovacs worked tirelessly to locate his daughters and return them to their father's custody.[33][34]

Another court battle began for Adams in the same year; this time with her mother-in-law, who refused to believe there were more debts than assets in her son's estate. Mary Kovacs accused her daughter-in-law of mismanaging the estate and petitioned for custody of her granddaughters.[35][36] The dispute lasted for years with Edie remaining the administrator of her husband's estate and guardianship of the three girls.[37][38] She worked for years to pay her late husband's tax debt to the IRS.[29][38][39] The couple's celebrity friends planned a TV special benefit for Edie and her family, but she declined, saying, "I can take care of my own children." She spent the next year working practically non-stop.[12]

Starting over

Edie Adams in a Muriel Cigars commercial, 1965–1966.

Adams started her own businesses: Edie Adams Cosmetics, which were sold door to door, and Edie Adams Cut 'n' Curl beauty salons, which she began in 1967.[40][41][42] She once owned a 160 acre California almond farm and was the spokeswoman for Sun Giant nuts.[43] Because of her 20 years of commercials for Muriel cigars and her successful business ventures, Adams went from being mired in debt after Kovacs' fatal accident in 1962 to being a millionaire in 1989.[44]

Personal life

After Kovacs' death, Adams was married two more times. In 1964, Adams married photographer Martin Mills. In 1972, Adams married trumpeter Pete Candoli, with whom she appeared in a touring production of the Cole Porter musical Anything Goes. In addition to raising stepdaughters Bette and Kippie from her marriage to Kovacs, Adams gave birth to daughter Mia Susan Kovacs (killed, like her father, in an automobile accident, in 1982), and son Joshua Mills.[2][45][46]

Death

Grave of Edie Adams, at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills

Edie Adams died in Los Angeles, California on October 15, 2008, aged 81, from cancer and pneumonia.[2] She was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills between her daughter, Mia, and her stepdaughter, Kippie.[31][47]

Kovacs' legacy

Adams archived her husband's television work, which she described during a 1999 video taped interview with the Archive of American Television.[48] She later testified on the status of the archive of the short lived DuMont Television Network, where both she and husband Kovacs worked during the early 1950s. Adams claimed that so little value was given to the film archive that the entire collection was loaded into three trucks and dumped into Upper New York Bay.[49]

Upon discovering that her husband's work was disappearing through being discarded and re-use of the tapes, Edie Adams initially used the proceeds of his insurance policy to purchase the rights to as much footage as possible. She also used her own earnings for this purpose.[39][50]

Filmography

Television
  • Cop on the Beat (1975)
  • The Practice (episode "Carlotta") (1976)
  • Superdome (1978)
  • The Eddie Capra Mysteries (episode "How Do I Kill Thee?") (1978)
  • Fast Friends (1979)
  • The Seekers (1979)
  • Kate Loves a Mystery (1979)[22]
  • Make Me an Offer (1980)
  • Portrait of an Escort (1980)
  • A Cry for Love (1980)
  • The Haunting of Harrington House (1981)
  • As the World Turns (cast member in 1982)
  • Shooting Stars (1983)
  • Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter (1984)
  • Murder, She Wrote (1984)
  • Adventures Beyond Belief (1987)
  • Jake Spanner, Private Eye (1989)
  • Tales of the City (1993 miniseries)
  • Great Performances: Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'Cinderella' (2004) (TV series)

References

  1. ↑ Lucy E. Cross. "Edith Adams". Masterworks Broadway. Retrieved October 20, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Weber, Bruce (October 16, 2008). "Edie Adams, Actress and Singer (and Flirt With a Cigar), Dies at 81". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 17, 2011. Retrieved October 16, 2008.
  3. 1 2 Thomas, Bob (February 15, 1960). "Edie Adams Explains Why She Does Satire Acting". Reading Eagle. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  4. 1 2 Toomey, Elizabeth (August 22, 1956). "Dogpatch Queen Is Edith Adams". Schenectady Gazette. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  5. ↑ Wilson, Earl (March 13, 1956). "TV Lipstick Model Gets the Kiss-Off". The Milwaukee Journal. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  6. 1 2 Apone, Carl (July 9, 1967). "Daisy Mae From Grove City, PA". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
  7. ↑ Crane, Leila (September 2, 1983). "Edie Gets Recharge From Her Audience". The Hour. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Edie Tossed Coin To Decide Career". The Sumter Daily Item. February 6, 1970. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Video-YouTube-Leena Queen of the Jungle". 1956. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  10. ↑ Dudek, Duane (June 16, 1986). "'Vision of Ernie Kovacs' honors first video artist". Milwaukee Journal. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
  11. ↑ Kleiner, Dick (May 30, 1954). "The Marquee". Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 "Tony-Winning Actress Edie Adams Dead At 81". CBS News. October 16, 2008. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  13. ↑ Thurber, Jon (October 17, 2008). "Tony award-winning actress, TV star". LA Times. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  14. 1 2 3 "Kovacs in Philly". Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia. Retrieved August 18, 2010.
  15. ↑ Humphrey, Hal (6 April 1968). "TV Show on Ernie Kovacs Scheduled on ABC" (PDF). Record Newspapers. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  16. ↑ Ryan, Jack (January 21, 1962). "Ernie Kovacs:Serious-Minded Clown". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
  17. 1 2 Wilson, Earl (February 18, 1954). "Edith Adams Does Her Sleeping In Afternoon". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
  18. ↑ Kleiner, Dick (January 30, 1954). "The Marquee: About Edith Adams". Gazette and Bulletin. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
  19. ↑ Nachman, Gerald (2003). Seriously Funny The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s. New York, NY: Pantheon Books. p. 200. ISBN 9780375410307. OCLC 50339527. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
  20. ↑ Wilson, Earl (September 17, 1954). "Nasty Old Civilian Food". Miami News. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
  21. 1 2 Adir, Karin, ed. (2001). The Great Clowns of American Television. McFarland & Company. p. 270. ISBN 0-7864-1303-4. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
  22. 1 2 Kovacs, Edie Adams (July 20, 1958). "Ernie Kovacs-what a husband!". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  23. ↑ Kanfer, Stefan, ed. (2004). Ball of fire: the tumultuous life and comic art of Lucille Ball. Alfred A. Knopf. p. 384. ISBN 0-375-72771-X. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
  24. ↑ "Altadis USA Company History". Altadis USA.
  25. ↑ "Edie's No. 3 Personality On Tube". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. June 18, 1972. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  26. ↑ "They Reduce In Fast Musical". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. December 22, 1956. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
  27. ↑ Li'l Abner-Broadway and Dogpatch. Life. January 14, 1957. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
  28. ↑ Vallance, Tom (October 18, 2008). "Edie Adams: Actress, singer and comedienne and widow of Ernie Kovacs". The Independent. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
  29. 1 2 3 Bunzel, Peter (April 5, 1963). Edie Wins A Big One. Life. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
  30. ↑ "Edie Adams Wins Custody Of Children". The Dispatch. September 15, 1962. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
  31. 1 2 "Kippie Kovacs Lancaster grave-Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills, CA". Find A Grave. Retrieved June 27, 2010.
  32. ↑ "William Henry Lancaster". Find A Grave. Retrieved June 27, 2010.
  33. ↑ "Grandmother Again Held On Kidnapping". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. January 28, 1954. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
  34. ↑ "Edie Adams has part in Kovacs revival". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. May 14, 1984. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
  35. ↑ "Ernie Kovacs Estate Causes Family Dispute". The Montreal Gazette. December 26, 1962. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  36. ↑ "Survivors Tilt Over Kovacs' Will". The Spokesman-Review. March 16, 1963. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  37. ↑ "Bits of Show Business". The Milwaukee Journal. December 19, 1966. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  38. 1 2 Wilson, Earl (July 30, 1963). "Edie Pays Off Ernie's Debts". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
  39. 1 2 Roddy, Dennis (August 1, 1998). "Edie Hits a High Note". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  40. ↑ "Edie Adams: She's Out There Pitchin'". The Palm Beach Post. May 20, 1972. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  41. ↑ "Ad for Edie Adams Cut 'n' Curl salon". Schenectady Gazette. November 23, 1968. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  42. ↑ "House-to-House Selling Benefits From Recession". St. Petersburg Times. March 29, 1971. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  43. ↑ Clark, Kenneth R. (September 2, 1982). "Edie Adams Narrates Kovacs Special". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  44. ↑ "Edie Adams Pens Memoirs". Schenectady Gazette. 12 October 1989. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
  45. ↑ "Littlest Star for the Kovacs". The Miami News. June 29, 1959. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  46. ↑ "Crash Kills Daughter Of Late Ernie Kovacs". The Pittsburgh Press. May 10, 1982. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
  47. ↑ Edie Adams at Find a Grave
  48. ↑ Edie Adams Interview|Archive of American Television. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  49. ↑ Adams, Edie (March 1996). "Television/Video Preservation Study: Los Angeles Public Hearing" (PDF). National Film Preservation Board. Library of Congress. Retrieved September 24, 2007. (PDF)
  50. ↑ Thomas, Bob (March 27, 1968). "Edie Adams Arranges Ernie Kovacs' Special". Sumter Daily Item. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
  51. ↑ "Ernie in Kovacsland". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
  52. ↑ "Eddie's Back And Full Of Guest Stars". The News and Courier. November 11, 1958. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  53. ↑ Humphrey, Hal (July 20, 1958). "Edie Adams:Songs Before Laughter". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  54. ↑ "Edie Adams, Miss Umeki Join Guests". The Modesto Bee. September 18, 1959. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  55. ↑ "Edie Adams Gets Role". The Montreal Gazette. September 30, 1961. Retrieved November 7, 2010.

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