It’s fitting that this year’s Ernie Kovacs Award will go to Fred Armisen, whose offbeat satirical comedy on SNL and Portlandia owes a major debt to the late comedian and TV pioneer.
In the ’50s, Kovacs unleashed all sorts of ground-breaking zaniness on American TV, but he never lived to see his influence mushroom. He died in a car crash in 1962 at age 42.
Armisen will receive the award Nov. 22 at the Texas Theatre, where he’ll sit down with Dallas Video Fest director Bart Weiss to discuss his wide-ranging career, including the release of his new album 100 Sound Effects. Past Kovacs winners include John Cleese, Amy Sedaris and Paul Reubens, creator of Pee Wee Herman.
The evening is co-hosted by Kovacs archivist Josh Mills, son of Kovacs’ widow, the late actress Edie Adams. The program will include video clips of both Kovacs and Armisen at work.
DETAILS
An Evening with Fred Armisen, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd., Dallas, $28. Prekindle.com
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