Gertrude the doll - Six-foot tall prop doll used by Ernie Kovacs in many of his skits on the comedy variety show ERNIE IN KOVACSLAND/NBC/1951 aired from Philadelphia on WPTZ. Gertrude looked like a very tall version of Betty Boop. She wore a white skirt and a dark blouse with a question mark over the chest area. The doll's face was broad and flat like a thick pancake. It was ringed by stringy black hair. The life-size rag doll had been sent to the show by a viewer when Kovacs mentioned that their total prop budget was $15 a week. Ernie's other mascot was a papier-mâchè dog (which he might place next to a fire hydrant) that looked like RCA Victor's Nipper.