Ernie Kovacs - in Print

In Print

Kovacs wrote a novel, Zoomar: A Sophisticated Novel about Love and TV (Doubleday, 1957), based on television pioneer Pat Weaver; it took Kovacs only 13 days to write. In a 1960 interview, Edie Adams related that the novel was written after Kovacs' experiences with network television while he was preparing to air the Silent Show. The 1961 British edition was retitled T.V. Medium Rare by its London based publisher, Transworld.

While he worked on several other book projects, Kovacs' only other published title was How to Talk at Gin, published posthumously in 1962. He intended part of the book's proceeds to benefit Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. During 1955–58, he wrote for Mad (his favorite humor magazine), including the feature "Strangely Believe It!" (a parody of Ripley's Believe It or Not! that was a regular feature on his TV shows) and "Gringo," a board game with ridiculously complicated rules that was renamed "Droongo" for the TV show. Kovacs also wrote the introduction to the 1958 collection Mad For Keeps: A Collection of the Best from Mad Magazine.