Background: Ernest Edward "Ernie" Kovacs (January 23, 1919 - January 13, 1962) was an American comedian, actor, and writer. Kovacs's visually experimental and often spontaneous comedic style influenced numerous television comedy programs for years after his death. Many individuals and shows, such as Johnny Carson, David Letterman, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, Saturday Night Live, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Jim Henson, Max Headroom, Chevy Chase, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Captain Kangaroo, Sesame Street, The Electric Company, Dave Garroway, Uncle Floyd, and many others have credited Kovacs as an influence. Chevy Chase thanked Kovacs during his acceptance speech for his Emmy award for Saturday Night Live.
Context: He also did several television specials, including the famous Silent Show (1957), featuring his character, Eugene, the first all-pantomime prime-time network program. After the end of the Dean Martin-Jerry Lewis partnership, NBC offered Lewis the opportunity to host his own 90-minute color television special. Lewis opted to use only 60 minutes, leaving the network 30 minutes to fill; no one wanted this time slot, but Kovacs was willing to have it. The program contained no spoken dialogue and contained only sound effects and music. Featuring Kovacs as the mute, Charlie Chaplin-like character "Eugene", the program contained surreal sight gags. Kovacs developed the Eugene character during the autumn of 1956 when hosting the television series The Tonight Show. Expectations were high for the Lewis program, but it was Kovacs's special that received the most attention; Kovacs received his first movie offer, had a cover story in Life magazine, and received the Sylvania Award that year. In 1961, Kovacs and his co-director, Joe Behar, were recipients of the Directors Guild of America Award for a second version of this program broadcast by the American Broadcasting Company network. A series of monthly half-hour specials for ABC during 1961-62 is often considered his best television work. Produced on videotape using new editing and special effects techniques, it won a 1962 Emmy Award. Kovacs and co-director Behar also won the Directors Guild of America award for an Ernie Kovacs Special based on the earlier silent "Eugene" program. Kovacs's last ABC special was broadcast posthumously, on January 23, 1962. The Dutch Masters cigar company became well known during the late 1950s and early 1960s for its sponsorship of various television projects of Ernie Kovacs. The company allowed Kovacs total creative control in the creation of their television commercials for his programs and specials. He produced a series of non-speaking television commercials for Dutch Masters during the run of his television series Take A Good Look which was praised by both television critics and viewers. While praised by critics, Kovacs rarely had a highly rated show. The Museum of Broadcast Communications says, "It is doubtful that Ernie Kovacs would find a place on television today. He was too zany, too unrestrained, too undisciplined. Perhaps Jack Gould of The New York Times said it best for Ernie Kovacs: 'The fun was in trying'." Other shows had greater success while using elements of Kovacs's style. George Schlatter, producer of the later television series Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, was married to actress Jolene Brand, who had appeared in Kovacs's comic troupes over the years and had been a frequent participant in his pioneering sketches. Laugh-In made frequent use of the quick blackout gags and surreal humor that marked many Kovacs projects. Another link was a young NBC staffer, Bill Wendell, Kovacs's usual announcer and sometimes a sketch participant. From 1980-1995, Wendell was the announcer for David Letterman, whose show and style of humor were greatly influenced by Kovacs.
Question: What else was known about Ernie
Answer: Ernie Kovacs Special based on the earlier silent "Eugene" program.

Problem: Background: The Smashing Pumpkins (or Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago, Illinois. Formed in 1988 by frontman Billy Corgan (lead vocals, guitar) and James Iha (guitar), the band included D'arcy Wretzky (bass guitar) and Jimmy Chamberlin (drums) in its original incarnation. It has undergone many line-up changes over the course of its existence, with the current lineup being Corgan, Chamberlin, Iha and guitarist Jeff Schroeder. Disavowing the punk rock roots of many of their alt-rock contemporaries, they have a diverse, densely layered, and guitar-heavy sound, containing elements of gothic rock, heavy metal, dream pop, psychedelic rock,progressive rock, shoegazing, and electronica in later recordings.
Context: With the breakthrough of alternative rock into the American mainstream due to the popularity of grunge bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam, the Smashing Pumpkins were poised for major commercial success. At this time, the Smashing Pumpkins were routinely lumped in with the grunge movement, with Corgan protesting, "We've graduated now from 'the next Jane's Addiction' to 'the next Nirvana', now we're 'the next Pearl Jam'." Amid this environment of intense internal pressure for the band to break through to widespread popularity, the band relocated to Marietta, Georgia in late 1992 to begin work on their second album, with Butch Vig returning as producer. The decision to record so far away from their hometown was motivated partly by the band's desire to avoid friends and distractions during the recording, but largely as a desperate attempt to cut Chamberlin off from his known drug connections. The recording environment for Siamese Dream was quickly marred by discord within the band. As was the case with Gish, Corgan and Vig decided that Corgan should play nearly all of the guitar and bass parts on the album, contributing to an air of resentment. The contemporary music press began to portray Corgan as a tyrant. Corgan's depression, meanwhile, had deepened to the point where he contemplated suicide, and he compensated by practically living in the studio. Meanwhile, Chamberlin quickly managed to find new connections and was often absent without any contact for days at a time. In all, it took over four months to complete the record, with the budget exceeding $250,000. Despite all the problems in its recording, Siamese Dream debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200 chart, and sold over four million copies in the U.S. alone. Alongside the band's mounting mainstream recognition, the band's reputation as careerists among their former peers in the independent music community was worsened. Indie rock band Pavement's 1994 song "Range Life" directly mocks the band in its lyrics, although Stephen Malkmus, lead singer of Pavement, has stated, "I never dissed their music. I just dissed their status." Former Husker Du frontman Bob Mould called them "the grunge Monkees", and fellow Chicago musician/producer Steve Albini wrote a scathing letter in response to an article praising the band, derisively comparing them to REO Speedwagon ("by, of and for the mainstream") and concluding their ultimate insignificance. The opening track and lead single of Siamese Dream, "Cherub Rock", directly addresses Corgan's feud with the "indie-world". In 1994 Virgin released the B-sides/rarities compilation Pisces Iscariot which charted higher than Siamese Dream by reaching number four on the Billboard 200. Also released was a VHS cassette titled Vieuphoria featuring a mix of live performances and behind-the-scenes footage. Following relentless touring to support the recordings, including headline slots on the 1994 Lollapalooza tour and at Reading Festival in 1995, the band took time off to write the follow-up album.
Question: Were they well followed by the public?
Answer:
band's mounting mainstream recognition,