Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter (1984)

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(5 ratings)

Physically, the gangling, long-necked Jeff Goldblum is all wrong for the role of fabled TV comedian Ernie Kovacs (1919-1962) but you tend to forget this as Goldblum expertly reenacts some of Kovacs' most famous comic bits. No Kovacs bio would be complete without such scenes as the mustachioed,… More Physically, the gangling, long-necked Jeff Goldblum is all wrong for the role of fabled TV comedian Ernie Kovacs (1919-1962) but you tend to forget this as Goldblum expertly reenacts some of Kovacs' most famous comic bits. No Kovacs bio would be complete without such scenes as the mustachioed, cigar-chomping Ernie delivering a radio broadcast while lying on a railroad track with a train rapidly approaching, or Kovacs "celebrating" the cancellation of his TV series by smashing up the set in full view of the home audience. As the title indicates, much of the film takes place between the laughs, as Kovacs desperately struggles to reclaim his children, who have been kidnapped by his emotionally disturbed ex-wife (Madolyn Smith) in the midst of an acrimonious custody battle. Melody Anderson plays Kovacs' second wife, singer Edie Adams, while the real Edie appears in a cameo as Mae West. Cloris Leachman tears a passion to tatters in the role of Ernie's outrageous Hungarian mother. Our favorite bit: Jeff Goldblum and Melody Anderson recreating Ernie's lisping, perpetually soused poet Percy Dovetonsils. Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter was first telecast May 14, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 35 min.
Directed By: Lamont Johnson
Genres: Drama, Television

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Cast

            Edie Adams as Mae West

            Melody Anderson as Edie Adams

            Fran Bennett as Miss Deal

            Jordan Charney as Harry Ascot

            Lois De Banzie as Mrs. Enke

            Murphy Dunne as Leon Lane

            Bryan Englund as Cab Driver

            Soleil Moon Frye as Elizabeth #2

            David Garrison as Dick Eisenback

            John Glover as Pierre Lafitte

            Jeff Goldblum as Ernie Kovacs

            Gary Grubbs as Nigel Edmunds

            Michael Higgins as William Spear

            Cloris Leachman as Mary Kovacs

            Walter Mac Neil as Mr. Warren

            Joe Mascolo as Richards

            Frank McCarthy as Judge

            Tom Middleton as Station Manager

            Tom Ormeny as MacIntyre

            Elsa Raven as Mrs. Shotwell

            Sue Rihr as Witness #1

            Madolyn Smith Osborne as Dorothy Kovacs

            Liam Sullivan as George Abbott

            Steven M. Porter as Rusty

            Robina Suwol as Witness #2

            Arthur Taxier as Detective #2

            Mike Genovese as Detective #1

            Mary Alan Hokanson as Gossip Columnist
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