Here's Edie: The Edie Adams Television Collection

This four-disc set rekindles a powerful childhood crush on Edie Adams, wife of Ernie Kovacs and an accomplished actress, singer, comedienne, and entertainer in her own right. I remembered little of the variety show, which alternated weekly with The Sid Caesar Show, but Adams' commercials for Muriel Cigars (“Why don't you pick one up and smoke it sometime?”) left an imprint on my adolescent libido. Here's Edie (later The Edie Adams Show) was an unconventional variety series that while not nearly as groundbreaking or subversive as her husband's TV forays was still engagingly off-center. One indelible bit: Adams does a striptease to David Rose's well-known tune “The Stripper”—intercut with Weegee photographs that make it appear as if his subjects are reacting to her sultry dance. The home video release of vintage variety shows is always welcome, especially in the case of a long-buried treasure such as Here's Edie. Compiling the complete 1962-64 run of all 21 episodes, the series features time capsule glimpses of legendary musicians and entertainers (Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Sammy Davis, Jr., Bob Hope, Bobby Darin), as well as stars of their time (Allan Sherman, Eddie Fisher), and even baseball great Maury Wills. Among the more uniquely compelling moments here are a clip of Sir Michael Redgrave performing the “St. Crispin's Day” speech from Henry V, and another featuring Peter Falk as a New York cab driver who reflects on how much the president is worth. Extras include musical numbers from several of Kovacs' TV shows (including Adams' signature Marilyn Monroe impression, in which the blonde bombshell performs “The Ballad of Davy Crockett”), a 1965 Muriel promotional film, and a booklet. Recommended. (D. Liebenson)