Edie Adams

Adams was initially uncertain about marrying Kovacs. She went on a six week European cruise, hoping to come to a decision. After three days away and many long distance phone calls, Adams returned home with an answer-it was "yes". Read Less

Kovacs was a noted cigar smoker, and Adams did a long-running series of TV commercials for Muriel cigars. She remained the pitch-lady for Muriel well after Kovacs' death, intoning in a Mae West style and sexy outfit, "Why don't you pick one up and smoke it sometime?" Another commercial for Muriel cigars, which cost ten cents, showed Adams singing, "Hey, big spender, spend a little dime with me" (based on the song, "Hey Big Spender" from the musical Sweet Charity). Adams' cigar commercials made her one of the top three recognizable television celebrities. In subsequent years, Adams made sporadic television appearances, including on Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote, and Designing Women.

Adams starred on Broadway in Wonderful Town (1953) opposite Rosalind Russell (winning the Theatre World Award), and as Daisy Mae in Li'l Abner (1956), winning the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She played the Fairy Godmother in Rodgers and Hammerstein's original Cinderella broadcast in 1957. Adams was to play Daisy Mae in the film version of Li'l Abner, but was unable, due to the late arrival of her daughter, Mia Susan Kovacs. Read Less

She was also a successful nightclub headliner. Shortly after her husband's death, Adams won a "nasty custody battle" with Kovacs' ex-wife over her stepdaughters, Kip Raleigh "Kippie" Kovacs (1949–2001) (married Bill Lancaster, (1947–1997) son of Burt Lancaster) and Elizabeth ("Bette"). His ex-wife had previously kidnapped the girls during a visit; Adams and Kovacs worked tirelessly to locate his daughters and return them to their father's custody.

Another court battle began for Adams in the same year; this time with her mother-in-law, who refused to believe there were more debts than assets in her son's estate. Mary Kovacs accused her daughter-in-law of mismanaging the estate and petitioned for custody of her granddaughters. The dispute lasted for years with Edie remaining the administrator of her husband's estate and guardianship of the three girls. She worked for years to pay her late husband's tax debt to the IRS. The couple's celebrity friends planned a TV special benefit for Edie and her family, but she declined, saying, "I can take care of my own children." She spent the next year working practically non-stop. Read Less