Somebody's missing from this "Tonight Show" roster ...

Longtime reader C.D. Thomas brought to my attention the new "Tonight Show Experience" page at NBC's website devoted to the four hosts of "The Tonight Show" -- and the one who hopefully will be, starting in June.

Except there weren't four hosts. There were five.

Quoth Brooks and Marsh, "When Allen's primetime series premiered in the summer of 1956, he cut back his Tonight appearances to Wednesday through Friday. A series of guest hosts filled in on Mondays and Tuesdays until October 1st, when Ernie Kovacs took over as permanent Monday-Tuesday host. Kovacs had his own complete cast: Bill Wendell as announcer, and Peter Hanley, Maureen Arthur, and Barbara Loden as regulars. Ernie's format was very similar to that of his various primetime shows, with most of the same characters, as well as blackouts, satires, and slapstick humor." He also had his own theme.

Reader Bill Mullins sent me news clips confirming that Kovacs left in late January 1957, when Allen ended his run on "Tonight."

Twice a week for four months -- and yet, the omission of Ernie Kovacs is not trivial. It was, in fact, the last time Kovacs was allowed to do his style of humor as host of his own program. From then until his death in 1962, Kovacs would be reduced to hosting quiz shows and a silent-film anthology.

Though never a hit with 1950s TV audiences, Kovacs' unhinged brand of comedy, his innovative uses of TV and his discovery of metahumor in the medium itself would all prove hugely influential with later television comics. Indeed, another late-night host, David Letterman, has often cited Kovacs, and critics agreed. When Dave became fascinated with gadgetry some 30 years later, strapping a camera to a monkey on roller skates and other stunts, most of us immediately knew we'd entered Kovacsland. NBC executive Rick Ludwin surely knows this, but someone forgot to run this bit of late-night history by him before creating this site.

This omission can and should be fixed. How hard would it be? Add a couple of plot points to the timeline, find (or license) some video of Ernie at his best, and get him back in the history of late-night television entertainment where he belongs.

Here's a short clip of Kovacs that made me laugh.

And here's an entire episode of the primetime Ernie Kovacs Show:

And here's someone paying tribute to Kovacs, whose clips are mostly housed at the Paley Center.