1953
Search results
The Nairobi Trio was a sketch comedy skit that Ernie Kovacs performed many times for his TV shows. It combined several existing concepts and visuals in a novel and creative way. People in gorilla suits had long been a comedy staple.
Whether Kovacs intended to or not, The Nairobi Trio would be completely unacceptable by today’s standards due to the way he uses gorillas as what seems to be stand-ins for racial caricatures and stereotypes. Their mechanical movements, too, mimicked the minstrel-type mannerisms of blackface actors, who offensively stereotyped Black people as ...
A collection of guest essays, some highly informative, some merely personal, includes one by Ron Mael of the pop duo Sparks, on the Nairobi Trio — three “musicians” in ape masks, trench ...
He was a comic genius from Trenton. But wait until the politically correct see the “Nairobi Trio” or “Percy Dovetonsils” skits he did. I can hear it now. Bigot, racist, homophobe. – A reader
[54] [55] A popular recurring skit was The Nairobi Trio, three derby-hatted apes (Kovacs, his wife, Edie Adams in gorilla suits; and frequently, the third ape was Kovacs' best friend Jack Lemmon) miming mechanically and rhythmically to the tune of Robert Maxwell's "Solfeggio".
The central image in Quitting the Nairobi Trio is a famous sketch by Ernie Kovacs. Knipfel was accused of being one of the monkey men in the sketch; the accusation came from his fellow inmates in a locked psychiatric ward.
Those who knew, insisted that Kovacs was always one of the three silly and senseless entertainers known as the "Nairobi Trio." These performers were disguised as monkeys and appeared as a weekly segment on the Kovacs television program for many years.
