Singer Edie Adams passed away yesterday at the age of 81. If you’re my age or thereabouts, you might remember her for appearing in TV commercials for Muriel Cigars:
I do remember the Muriel ads, particularly the one where she sang a version of “Hey Big Spender”. She did those commercials up until the late 1970s, when she was replaced by Susan Anton (remember her?)
If you’re a little bit older, though, you might remember her for being the wife of comedic legend Ernie Kovacs and appearing on his several television series. Ernie’s sponsor for many years was Dutch Masters Cigars and the commercials were performed live, often indistinguishable from the other sketches in the show. When Ernie died in a car accident in 1962, Edie had to keep working to pay off some tax obligations to the IRS that he’d left unsettled, so I suppose she could be forgiven changing brands to keep a buck coming in.
And if you’re even older than that, you might remember that Edie Adams first became famous playing Daisy Mae in the Broadway musical adaptation of “Li’l Abner”.
Any way you might choose to remember her, she was a sexy, talented performer.
For those of you who are interested in television and show business history like me, you might enjoy this extended interview with her which is available on YouTube in several segments. I’ve seen parts of it included in a number of documentaries about early television, but the longer version includes much more material about her own career before and after Ernie Kovacs.
I remember Edie very well. My dad had a major boner for her. I thought she was cool.