Ernie Kovacs (January 23, 1919 – January 13, 1962) was an American comedian and actor.
Biography from TMDB.
- January 23, 1919
- January 13, 1962 (aged 42)
- Trenton, New Jersey, USA
- Actor, also writer and producer
- 10 on MovieCove · 21 credits in all
What are Ernie Kovacs' films like?
Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 0 · Earnest 7
Light 7 · Serious 1 · Dark 0
Grounded 6 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 1
Gentle 5 · Charged 3 · Intense 0
Steady 7 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 4
Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 0
Casual 8 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 7 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 0
Resolved 8 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
Usually the Shadow: 4 of 7 analyzed roles.
Show the 7 rolesHide the roles
- Shadowas Capt. Paul Lock in Operation Mad Ball (1957)
- Heraldas Sidney Redlitch in Bell Book and Candle (1958)
- Shadowas Capt. Segura in Our Man in Havana (1959)
- Shadowas Harry Foster Malone in It Happened to Jane (1959)
- Tricksteras Frankie Cannon in North to Alaska (1960)
- Mentoras Roger Altar in Strangers When We Meet (1960)
- Shadowas Bugsy G. Foglemeyer in Sail a Crooked Ship (1961)
Moods and endings
- Happy5
- Bittersweet3
- Cyclical1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Ernie Kovacs' films?
As of October 24, 2026, 4 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (3).
Subscription and free streaming for Ernie Kovacs' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
21 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page; 11 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Sail a Crooked Ship(1961)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
Five Golden Hours (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
Pepe(1960)
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films
North to Alaska(1960)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
Strangers When We Meet(1960)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
Wake Me When It's Over(1960)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
Our Man in Havana(1959)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Shotgun Slade (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)
It Happened to Jane(1959)
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films
Kovacs on Music (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)
Bell Book and Candle(1958)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)
The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)
Topaze (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)
Operation Mad Ball(1957)
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films
Showdown at Ulcer Gulch (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)
General Electric Theater (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)
The Ernie Kovacs Show(1952)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all shows
Baseball Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)
The Jack Benny Program (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)
Career shape
Star power in the 89th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 21 titles from 1950 to 1961.
Biggest box office
Strangers When We Meet (1960)
Highest rated
Our Man in Havana (1959)
Most popular right now
Bell Book and Candle (1958)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.
How do Ernie Kovacs' films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 64th percentile, the median of all 9; across their 8 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 69th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up5
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th3
Shape of the crowd
8 of their 10 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Crowd Pleaser8
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the acting 71/100 in their films, across 8 reviewed titles; fans 78, detractors 50. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Ernie Kovacs work with?
People who share at least 2 of Ernie Kovacs' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; George Duning shares the most, 5.
Directors
- Richard QuineShared titles: Strangers When We Meet (1960), It Happened to Jane (1959), Bell Book and Candle (1958), Operation Mad Ball (1957)See all 4 shared titles with Richard Quine
Actors
- Jack LemmonShared titles: It Happened to Jane (1959), Bell Book and Candle (1958), Operation Mad Ball (1957)See all 3 shared titles with Jack Lemmon
- Kim NovakShared titles: Strangers When We Meet (1960), Bell Book and Candle (1958)See all 2 shared titles with Kim Novak
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- George DuningShared titles: Sail a Crooked Ship (1961), Strangers When We Meet (1960), It Happened to Jane (1959), Bell Book and Candle (1958), Operation Mad Ball (1957)See all 5 shared titles with George Duning
- Charles NelsonShared titles: Strangers When We Meet (1960), It Happened to Jane (1959), Bell Book and Candle (1958), Operation Mad Ball (1957)See all 4 shared titles with Charles Nelson
- Leon ShamroyShared titles: North to Alaska (1960), Wake Me When It's Over (1960)See all 2 shared titles with Leon Shamroy
- Charles Lawton Jr.Shared titles: It Happened to Jane (1959), Operation Mad Ball (1957)See all 2 shared titles with Charles Lawton Jr.
