Weekend festivities include a screening of Chris Smith’s Documentary Film DEVO

Dallas VideoFest is proud to present the Ernie Kovacs Award to musician, artist, and music video director Gerald Casale, best known for his work in DEVO, at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29, at the Texas Theatre (231 W. Jefferson Blvd. – Oak Cliff/Dallas). A VIP meet-and-greet reception with Gerald Casale will take place upstairs at the Texas Theatre before the award ceremony, while the event and film screening will be downstairs. The DEVO documentary (2024), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January this year, will play the night before, Saturday, Sept. 28. 

To purchase tickets, go to https://kovacs.eventive.org.

Casale will receive the award from Bart Weiss, founder and artistic director. Joshua Mills, son of Kovacs' wife Edie Adams and the author of new book "Ernie in Kovacsland," will attend. 

The award has been a key component of the Dallas VideoFest since the festival began in 1987. Kovacs was an American comedian, writer and actor known for a visually experimental and often spontaneous style that influenced many television comedy programs. He died in 1962.

As a primary force behind DEVO's creative vision, Jerry Casale is responsible for designing the band's visually striking concert stage shows and Dadaist costumes, including their signature red "Energy Dome" hats. 

Casale's innovative approach to music videos and short films (starting in 1973) led him to direct nearly 100 music videos for notable bands such as Rush, Silverchair, and The Cars. Casale also has the distinction of directing both the first Foo Fighters video and the final video for Soundgarden.

“Gerald Casale from DEVO has said, ‘I don’t think DEVO exists without the Nairobi Trio,’ referring to the recurring Ernie Kovacs sketch that featured a trio of (quite famous) performers in gorilla masks, trench coats and white gloves, attempting to play music as the sketch goes off the rails.”

“It completely blew my mind learning that Gerald Casale and DEVO were not only fans of Ernie Kovacs but were influenced by him as well,” Mills said. “Clearly, we are all DEVO.”

“I remember a stern nun telling me I had reached ‘the age of reason' when I turned 7. Luckily, it was also the year I first watched the Ernie Kovacs Show with my parents huddled close to our black and white TV," Casale stated after learning he would receive the award. "That was the best antidote to ‘reason’ a boy could hope for. I was hooked. I watched, smiling and laughing, as Kovacs and his cohorts executed a Smorgasbord of absurdist comedy, combining high and low culture seamlessly to innovative, comedic ends. I can honestly say it inspired my visual aesthetic and set me on a satiric creative path sustained for a lifetime."

Weiss on the importance of Ernie Kovacs

”The very first program of our festival in 1987 showcased Edie Adams (Ernie’s widow) expounding on the work of Ernie Kovacs. Ernie’s innovative spirit has been with us these 37 years. The Kovacs Award became the perfect way to honor those who changed how we look at TV/Video much like Kovacs did. 

 “Just as Ernie Kovacs set the aesthetic and for the template for late night and most TV comedy, Jerry Casale’s iconic music videos set the paradigm for how a band could define their image and tell their story through music video.” 

 In 1980, new wave band DEVO scored a hit with "Whip It" and gained mainstream success with their message of societal "de-evolution," formed in response to the 1970 Kent State shootings.

The new documentary traces the band's music, its videos, its roots in the embers of the counterculture, its freak success, and its big message, which remains prophetic and often misunderstood.

About Casale

Casale is a Grammy-nominated and multi-award-winning composer, singer, musician, and music video director. He is the co-founder of DEVO and the architect of the band’s most iconic hit songs, such as 'Whip It,' 'Freedom of Choice,' and 'Beautiful World.'  

At age 76, Casale continues to push the boundaries of music and art with his latest projects, including a trio of new music videos/records since 2021 and an upcoming full-length album titled 'Wetiko,' which he is producing with Oingo Boingo alumni Steve Bartek and drummer Josh Freese of The Foo Fighters. 

The Ernie Kovacs Award recognizes the careers and talents of some of television’s greatest visionaries. Kovacs' work in the 1950s and early 1960s summed up the spirit of innovation and the development of the language of television as art. 

The Dallas VideoFest and the Video Association of Dallas announced the first Ernie Kovacs Award at the 1997 festival. Comedian Joel Hodgson of "Mystery Science 3000" was the first recipient and subsequent honorees have included - last recipient in 2022 - Al Franken; Terry Gilliam and John Cleese, both of "Monty Python;" Robert Smigel, writer/performer of "Saturday Night Live" and "Late Night with Conan O’Brien;" Paul "Pee-wee Herman" Reubens; Martin Mull; Mike Judge; George Schlatter, creator of "Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In;" Harry Shearer, "This is Spinal Tap" and "The Simpsons;" Michael Nesmith; Dave Foley and Kevin McDonald of "The Kids in the Hall,” in 2017; and Amy Sedaris, the first woman to receive the Ernie Kovacs Award in 2018.

 Actress Edie Adams (http://edieadams.com/), Kovacs’ widow, came to Dallas to host the awards program annually until her death in 2008. Today, Edie's son, Joshua Mills, runs Ediad Productions, the video and audio archive of both Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams. As the official archivist for the Ernie Kovacs/Edie Adams (Ediad) Collection, Ben Model curated the Ernie Kovacs Collection DVD box sets for Shout! Factory, as well as the box set of "Here's Edie" shows for MVD.