edie adams

Edie Adams was born Edith Elizabeth Enke on Wyoming Avenue in Kingston in 1927. Throughout her childhood, her family moved in and out of Luzerne County — including Nanticoke and Shavertown — as well as Tenafly, New Jersey. The Enkes also owned a cabin on Lily Lake, where they would vacation frequently. Before becoming a star, Adams picked up a number of skills that would go on to define her career. She learned to play piano from her mother, learned to sew from her aunt, sang in her church choir, and was a baton twirler in high school. In short, she was a true performer and enjoyed the spotlight.

Adams attended The Juilliard School and received a vocal degree while also attending the Columbia School of Drama. She was also a student at the Traphagen School of Fashion in New York, and studied under Lee Strasberg at the famed Actors Studio in the early 1950s. Adams herself was an instructor at the Barbizon School of Modeling, and became a well-known and highly sought-after figure in New York’s café society and Brill Building scenes. Wanting to be at the forefront of her own career, Adams rejected offers to be an understudy in the traveling production of South Pacific, a film player with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and go on the road with big band leader Vaughn Monroe.

Rather than compromising, Adams tirelessly auditioned for stage parts, competed in vocal contests, and performed in nightclubs. Her hard work paid off when she won the Miss U.S. Television beauty and talent contest in 1950. Winning the contest opened the door for Adams to sing on television on a show hosted by Milton Berle. In 1953, she made her Broadway debut, appearing opposite Rosalind Russell in Wonderful Town. Her biggest break came a few years later when she played the title character’s love interest, Daisy May, in the 1956 production of Li’l Abner. Adams garnered rave reviews for her performance and won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

Adams began regularly appearing on television with Ernie Kovacs in 1951, first on Three to Get Ready, and later on The Ernie Kovacs Show. When Kovacs, her professional partner and husband, became a household name, Adams was right there with him. Both partners received Emmy nominations for their on-screen roles in The Ernie Kovacs Show. Kovacs’ tragic death in 1962 left Adams grief-stricken and in an enormous amount of debt. Frank Sinatra offered to host a benefit show to aid his family, but Adams turned down the financial assistance. She instead opted to pay off the debt herself, just as her father had done for her family during the Great Depression.

Following Kovacs’ death, Adams hosted her own variety show, Here’s Edie, and a television special of the same name. Adams received the second and third Emmy nominations of her career for Here’s Edie, and she continued to appear on several television shows over the next two decades, such as The Carol Burnett Show, Vegas, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, and Murder, She Wrote. She also appeared in a number of popular films throughout the years, including The Apartment, The Best Man, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, The Honey Pot, and Up in Smoke.

Utilizing her Juilliard training, Adams continued performing on the nightclub circuit during the 1960s and 1970s, and she even made her opera debut in 1972 in the Seattle Opera Company’s production of La Périchole. Adams’ voice was lent to several albums on major record labels, including her own Showtime on Broadway and Behind Those Swinging Doors, and the cast albums to the Broadway and television productions of which she was a part.

Adams was a spokeswoman for Muriel Cigars for close to twenty years, which allowed her to use her comedic gifts and classy persona to elevate the brand’s national attention. She also pitched for Sun Giant Nuts and founded Edie Adams Cosmetics, Edie Adams Cut ‘n’ Curl, and Ediad Productions, the latter of which has protected much of her and Kovacs’ work from destruction. She later wrote a biography called Sing a Pretty Song, which detailed her life before and after Kovacs.

Throughout her career, Adams served as an inspiration to many women, and was also an early advocate for civil rights in the entertainment industry. Most famously, Adams sang with Sammy Davis Jr. on Here’s Edie and sat next to him rather than in front of him during their performance, bucking the racist industry standard of the time.

Adams was on record as stating her love for Pennsylvania and its people, and even made a few stops to the Lily Lake cabin later in life before her passing in 2008. In addition to the acting and vocal work for which she is best known, Edie Adams added businesswoman, comedian, preservationist, and mother to her long list of titles.