cover image Kovacsland: A Biography of Ernie Kovacs

Kovacsland: A Biography of Ernie Kovacs

Diana Rico. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt P, $19 (388pp) ISBN 978-0-15-647250-0

This straightforward portrait of Kovacs (1919-1962), creator of such mid-'50s TV characters as Percy Dovetonsils and the Nairobi Trio, details his first wife's kidnapping of his children, his compulsive gambling and his abundant generosity. According to PW , ``Rico falters . . . in her attempt to describe what it was about Kovacs's weekly shows that so delighted viewers.'' Photos. (Oct.)