An inspiration to generations of comedians, including Johnny Carson, Chevy Chase, David Letterman, and Jimmy Kimmel, Kovacs was a comedian, actor, and writer known for his visually experimental and often spontaneous comedic style. Some of his quirky behaviors included having pet marmosets, wrestling a jaguar on his live Philadelphia television show, and hiring a taxi cab driver to enter his apartment with his own key, cook the two of them breakfast, and then drive Kovacs to the WABC studios so that he didn’t have to eat breakfast alone. While he received Emmy nominations during his lifetime, it wasn’t until after his tragic death in a car accident that he was formally recognized – the 1962 Emmy for Outstanding Electronic Camera Work and the Directors Guild Award came shortly after. Kovacs was inducted posthumously into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame and awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in television.