Gorilla Mask used in Ernie Kovacs' Nairobi Trio sketch
date: label: Date made
content: 1952 - 1956
name: label: user
content: Kovacs, Ernie
notes: label: Description
content: Rubber gorilla mask worn by one of the performers in Ernie Kovacs' Nairobi Trio sketch, which was staged several times on Kovacs' television series and specials in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The mask is made of grey rubber molded to the shape of a gorilla head, with prominent wrinkles, holes and red coloring applied at eyes, nose, and mouth, and blonde synthetic hair in a human wig style at the back of the head. This mask was likely made by Topstone, a manufacturer of costumes and novelty products frequently used in low-budget television and film productions in the 1950s and 60s.
label: Description
content: In the Nairobi Trio sketch, three performers appear wearing overcoats with fur collars, bowler hats, white gloves, and rubber gorilla masks with attached shoulder-length wigs. A recording of the song "Solfeggio" by harpist Robert Maxwell and The Ray Charles Singers plays while the characters begin to move mechanically, as would figures atop a wind-up music box, usually playing instruments or performing repetitive tasks. The middle gorilla, played by Kovacs with his signature cigar in its mouth, inevitably gets in a fight with one or both of the others over the course of the song. The sketch became one of Kovacs' best-known routines and its popularity led MGM Records to reissue "Solfeggio" as "Song of the Nairobi Trio" in 1957.
label: Description
content: Ernie Kovacs (1919-1962) was an innovative popular entertainer who explored the boundaries of television as a medium for visual and comedic art. His early use of special visual effects, blending of genres, creation of memorable recurring characters, experimental and creative spirit, and staging of surreal and absurd situations earned him a reputation as an avant-garde, experimental comedian and television pioneer. Best-known for his eponymous television series and specials that aired on all four American television networks (CBS, NBC, ABC, and Dumont) in the late 1950s and early 60s, Kovacs also appeared on radio and in film. His career was cut short when he died in a car accident in 1962 at the age of 42. After his death Kovacs' widow, entertainer Edie Adams, worked to preserve his work and legacy.
topic: label: Subject
content: Comedy
label: general subject association
content: Television
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
label: See more items in
content: Popular Entertainment
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Edie Adams
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1989.0173.03
label: accession number
content: 1989.0173
label: catalog number
content: 1989.0173.03
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Mask
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: rubber (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: hair, synthetic (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 13 in x 10 in x 6 in; 33.02 cm x 25.4 cm x 15.24 cm