Ed Sullivan
Ed Sullivan | |
---|---|
Born | Edward Vincent Sullivan September 28, 1901 New York City, U.S. |
Died | October 13, 1974 New York City, U.S. | (aged 73)
Burial place | Ferncliff Cemetery |
Occupation(s) | Television host, reporter, newspaper columnist |
Years active | 1932–1974 |
Spouse |
Sylvia Weinstein Sullivan
(m. 1930; died 1973) |
Children | 1[1] |
Edward Vincent Sullivan (September 28, 1901 – October 13, 1974) was an American television host,
Sullivan was a broadcasting pioneer during the early years of
Early life and career
Sullivan was born on September 28, 1901, in
Sullivan landed his first job at The Port Chester Daily Item, a local newspaper for which he had written sports news while in high school and which he joined full-time after graduation. In 1919, he joined The Hartford Post, but the newspaper folded in his first week there. He next worked for The
In 1929, when
Throughout his career as a columnist, Sullivan had dabbled in entertainment, producing vaudeville shows with which he appeared as master of ceremonies in the 1920s and 1930s, directing a radio program over the original WABC and organizing benefit reviews for various causes.
Radio
In 1941, Sullivan became host of the Summer Silver Theater, a variety program on CBS, with Will Bradley as bandleader and a guest star featured each week.[11]
Television
In 1948, producer Marlo Lewis convinced CBS to hire Sullivan to host a weekly Sunday-night television variety show, Toast of the Town, which later became The Ed Sullivan Show. Debuting in June 1948, the show was originally broadcast from Maxine Elliott's Theatre on West 39th Street in New York. In January 1953, it moved to CBS-TV Studio 50 at 1697 Broadway, a former CBS Radio playhouse that in 1967 was renamed the Ed Sullivan Theater (and was later the home of the Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert).[12]
Television critics gave the new show and its host poor reviews.[13] Harriet Van Horne alleged that "he got where he is not by having a personality, but by having no personality." (The host wrote to the critic, "Dear Miss Van Horne: You bitch. Sincerely, Ed Sullivan.") Sullivan had little acting ability; in 1967, 20 years after his show's debut, Time magazine asked, "What exactly is Ed Sullivan's talent?" His mannerisms on camera were so awkward that some viewers believed the host suffered from Bell's palsy.[14] Time in 1955 stated that Sullivan resembled
a cigar-store Indian, the Cardiff Giant and a stone-faced monument just off the boat from Easter Island. He moves like a sleepwalker; his smile is that of a man sucking a lemon; his speech is frequently lost in a thicket of syntax; his eyes pop from their sockets or sink so deep in their bags that they seem to be peering up at the camera from the bottom of twin wells.[15]
"Yet," the magazine concluded, "instead of frightening children, Ed Sullivan charms the whole family." Sullivan appeared to the audience as an average guy who brought the great acts of show business to their home televisions. "Ed Sullivan will last", comedian Fred Allen said, "as long as someone else has talent."[15] Frequent guest Alan King said, "Ed does nothing, but he does it better than anyone else in television."[16] A typical show would feature a vaudeville act (such as acrobats, jugglers or magicians), one or two popular comedians, a singing star, a figure from the legitimate theater, an appearance by puppet Topo Gigio or a popular athlete. The bill was often international in scope, with many European performers appearing along with the American artists.
Sullivan had a healthy sense of humor about himself and permitted and even encouraged impersonators such as John Byner, Frank Gorshin, Rich Little and especially Will Jordan to imitate him on his show. Johnny Carson also performed a fair impression, and even Joan Rivers imitated Sullivan's unique posture. The impressionists exaggerated his stiffness, raised shoulders and nasal tenor phrasing, along with some of his commonly used introductions, such as "And now, right here on our stage ...", "For all you youngsters out there ..." and "a really big shew" (his pronunciation of the word "show"). The latter phrase was in fact in the exclusive domain of his impressionists, as Sullivan never actually spoke the phrase "really big show" during the opening introduction of any episode in the entire history of the series. Jordan portrayed Sullivan in the films I Wanna Hold Your Hand, The Buddy Holly Story, The Doors, Mr. Saturday Night, Down with Love and in the 1979 television movie Elvis.
Sullivan played himself, parodying his mannerisms as directed by Jerry Lewis, in Lewis' 1964 film The Patsy.
Sullivan inspired a song in the musical .
In 1954, Sullivan appeared as a cohost on the television musical special General Foods 25th Anniversary Show: A Salute to Rodgers and Hammerstein.[18]
Legacy
Sullivan was quoted as saying: "In the conduct of my own show, I've never asked a performer his religion, his race or his politics. Performers are engaged on the basis of their abilities. I believe that this is another quality of our show that has helped win it a wide and loyal audience."[19] Although Sullivan was wary of Elvis Presley's image and initially said that he would never book him, Presley became too big a name to ignore; in 1956, Sullivan signed him for three appearances.[17][20] Six weeks earlier in August 1956, Sullivan and his son-in-law, the producer of the show, Robert Precht, were in a near fatal car accident near Sullivan's country home in Southbury, Connecticut, and missed Presley's first appearance on September 9, when Charles Laughton introduced Presley.[21] After Sullivan came to know Presley personally, he made amends by telling his audience, "This is a real decent, fine boy."[22]
Sullivan's failure to scoop the TV industry with Presley made him determined to book the next big sensation first. In November 1963, while at Heathrow Airport, Sullivan witnessed the Beatlemania spectacle as the band returned from Sweden and the terminal was overrun by screaming teens. At first Sullivan was reluctant to book the Beatles because the band did not yet have a commercially successful single in the U.S., but at the behest of his friend Sid Bernstein, Sullivan signed the group. Their initial Sullivan show appearance on February 9, 1964, was the most-watched program in TV history to that point.[23] The Beatles appeared three more times in person and submitted filmed performances afterwards. The Dave Clark Five, who claimed a "cleaner" image than the Beatles, made 13 appearances on the show, more than any other UK group.
Unlike many shows of the time, Sullivan asked that most musical acts perform their music live, rather than lip-synching to their recordings.[
Sullivan had an appreciation for black entertainers. According to biographer
Sullivan defied pressure to exclude black entertainers or to avoid interacting with them on screen. "Sullivan had to fend off his hard-won sponsor, Ford's Lincoln dealers, after kissing Pearl Bailey on the cheek and daring to shake Nat King Cole's hand," Nachman wrote.[27] According to biographer Jerry Bowles, "Sullivan once had a Ford executive thrown out of the theatre when he suggested that Sullivan stop booking so many black acts. And a dealer in Cleveland told him 'We realize that you got to have niggers on your show. But do you have to put your arm around Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson at the end of his dance?' Sullivan had to be physically restrained from beating the man to a pulp."[28] Sullivan later raised money to help pay for Robinson's funeral.[29] He said: "As a Catholic, it was inevitable that I would despise intolerance, because Catholics suffered more than their share of it. As I grew up, the causes of minorities were part and parcel of me. Negroes and Jews were the minority causes closest at hand. I need no urging to take a plunge in and help."[30]
At a time when television had not yet embraced country and western music, Sullivan featured Nashville performers on his program. This in turn paved the way for shows such as Hee Haw and variety shows hosted by Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell and other country singers.[31]
The Canadian comedy duo Wayne and Shuster made the most appearances of any act throughout the show's run with 67 appearances between 1958 and 1969.
Sullivan appeared as himself on other television programs, including an April 1958 episode of the Howard Duff and Ida Lupino CBS situation comedy Mr. Adams and Eve. On September 14, 1958, Sullivan appeared on What's My Line? as a mystery guest. In 1961, Sullivan substituted for Red Skelton on The Red Skelton Show. Sullivan took Skelton's roles in the various comedy sketches, with Skelton's hobo character Freddie the Freeloader renamed Eddie the Freeloader.
Personality
Sullivan was quick to take offense if he felt that he had been crossed, and he could hold a grudge for a long time. As he told biographer Gerald Nachman, "I'm a pop-off. I flare up, then I go around apologizing."[32] "Armed with an Irish temper and thin skin," wrote Nachman, "Ed brought to his feuds a hunger for combat fed by his coverage of, and devotion to, boxing."[33] Bo Diddley, Buddy Holly, Jackie Mason, and Jim Morrison were parties to some of Sullivan's most storied conflicts.
On November 20, 1955,
Buddy Holly and the Crickets first appeared on the Sullivan show in 1957 to an enthusiastic response. For their second appearance in January 1958, Sullivan considered the lyrics of their chosen number "Oh, Boy!" too suggestive, and ordered Holly to substitute another song. Holly responded that he had already told his hometown friends in Texas that he would be singing "Oh, Boy!" for them. Sullivan, unaccustomed to having his instructions questioned, angrily repeated them, but Holly refused to back down. Later, when the band was slow to respond to a summons to the rehearsal stage, Sullivan commented, "I guess the Crickets are not too excited to be on The Ed Sullivan Show." Holly, still annoyed by Sullivan's attitude, replied, "I hope they're damn more excited than I am." Sullivan retaliated by cutting them from two numbers to one, then mispronounced Holly's name during the introduction. He also saw to it that Holly's guitar amplifier volume was barely audible, except during his guitar solo. Nevertheless, the band was so well-received that Sullivan was forced to invite them back; Holly responded that Sullivan did not have enough money. Archival photographs taken during the appearance show Holly smirking and ignoring a visibly angry Sullivan.[35]
During
When the Byrds performed on December 12, 1965, David Crosby got into a shouting match with the show's director. They were never asked to return.[42][43]
Sullivan decided that "Girl, we couldn't get much higher", from the Doors' signature song "Light My Fire", was too overt a reference to drug use, and directed that the lyric be changed to "Girl, we couldn't get much better" for the group's September 1967 appearance.[44] The band members "nodded their assent", according to Doors biographer Ben Fong-Torres, then sang the song as written.[45] After the broadcast, producer Bob Precht told the group, "Mr. Sullivan wanted you for six more shows, but you'll never work the Ed Sullivan Show again." Jim Morrison replied, "Hey, man, we just did the Ed Sullivan Show."[46]
The Rolling Stones famously capitulated during their fifth appearance on the show, in 1967, when Mick Jagger was told to change the titular lyric of "Let's Spend the Night Together" to "Let's spend some time together". "But Jagger prevailed," wrote Nachman, by deliberately calling attention to the censorship, rolling his eyes, mugging, and drawing out the word "t-i-i-i-me" as he sang the revised lyric. Sullivan was angered by the insubordination, but the Stones did make one additional appearance on the show, in 1969.[47][2]
Moe Howard of the Three Stooges recalled in 1975 that Sullivan had a memory problem of sorts: "Ed was a very nice man, but for a showman, quite forgetful. On our first appearance, he introduced us as the Three Ritz Brothers. He got out of it by adding, 'who look more like the Three Stooges to me'."[48] Joe DeRita, who worked with the Stooges after 1959, had commented that Sullivan had a personality "like the bottom of a bird cage."[49]
Diana Ross, who was very fond of Sullivan, later recalled Sullivan's forgetfulness during the many occasions the Supremes performed on his show. In a 1995 appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman (taped in the Ed Sullivan Theater), Ross stated, "he could never remember our names. He called us 'the girls'."[50]
In a 1990 press conference, Paul McCartney recalled meeting Sullivan again in the early 1970s. Sullivan apparently had no idea who McCartney was. McCartney tried to remind Sullivan that he was one of the Beatles, but Sullivan obviously could not remember, and nodding and smiling, simply shook McCartney's hand and left. In an interview with Howard Stern around 2012, Joan Rivers said that Sullivan had been suffering from dementia toward the end of his life.[51]
Politics
Sullivan, like many American entertainers, was pulled into the
After the Draper incident, Sullivan began to work closely with Theodore Kirkpatrick of the anti-Communist Counterattack newsletter. He would consult Kirkpatrick if any questions came up regarding a potential guest's political leanings. Sullivan wrote in his June 21, 1950, Daily News column that "Kirkpatrick has sat in my living room on several occasions and listened attentively to performers eager to secure a certification of loyalty."[52]
Cold War repercussions manifested in a different way when Bob Dylan was booked to appear in May 1963. His chosen song was "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues", which poked fun at the ultraconservative John Birch Society and its tendency to see Communist conspiracies in many situations. No concern was voiced by anyone, including Sullivan, during rehearsals; but on the day of the broadcast, CBS's Standards and Practices department rejected the song, fearing that lyrics equating the Society's views with those of Adolf Hitler might trigger a defamation lawsuit. Dylan was offered the opportunity to perform a different song, but he responded that if he could not sing the number of his choice, he would rather not appear at all. The story generated widespread media attention in the days that followed; Sullivan denounced the network's decision in published interviews.[53]
Sullivan butted heads with Standards and Practices on other occasions, as well. In 1956, Ingrid Bergman—who had been living in "exile" in Europe since 1950 in the wake of her scandalous love affair with director Roberto Rossellini while they were both married—was planning a return to Hollywood as the star of Anastasia. Sullivan, confident that the American public would welcome her back, invited her to appear on his show and flew to Europe to film an interview with Bergman, Yul Brynner, and Helen Hayes on the Anastasia set. When he arrived back in New York, Standards and Practices informed Sullivan that under no circumstances would Bergman be permitted to appear on the show, either live or on film. Sullivan's prediction later proved correct, as Bergman won her second Academy Award for her portrayal, as well as the forgiveness of her fans.[21]
Personal life
Sullivan was engaged to champion swimmer Sybil Bauer, but she died of cancer in 1927 at the age of 23.[54]
In 1926, Sullivan met and began dating Sylvia Weinstein. Initially she told her family that she was dating a Jewish man named Ed Solomon, but her brother discovered it was Sullivan, who was Catholic. Both their families were strongly opposed to interfaith marriage, which resulted in a discontinuous relationship for the next three years. They were finally married on April 28, 1930, in a City Hall ceremony. Eight months later Sylvia gave birth to Elizabeth ("Betty"), named after Sullivan's mother, who had died that year. In 1952, Betty Sullivan married the Ed Sullivan Show's producer, Bob Precht.[1]
The Sullivans rented a suite of rooms at the
The Sullivans regularly dined and socialized at New York City's best-known clubs and restaurants including the Stork Club, Danny's Hide-A-Way, and Jimmy Kelly's. His friends included celebrities and U.S. presidents. He also received audiences with popes.[3]
Sylvia Sullivan was a financial advisor for her husband. She died on March 16, 1973, at Mount Sinai Hospital from a ruptured aorta.[56]
Later years and death
In the fall of 1965, CBS began televising its weekly programs in color. Although the Sullivan show was seen live in the Central and Eastern time zones, it was taped for airing in the Pacific and Mountain time zones. Excerpts have been released on home video, and posted on the official Ed Sullivan Show YouTube Channel.
By 1971, the show's ratings had plummeted. In an effort to refresh the CBS lineup, CBS cancelled the program in March 1971, along with some of its other long-running shows throughout the 1970–1971 season (later known as the rural purge). Angered, Sullivan refused to host three more months of scheduled shows. They were replaced by reruns, and a final program without him aired in June. He remained with the network in various other capacities and hosted a 25th anniversary special in June 1973.
In early September 1974, Sullivan was diagnosed with an advanced stage of
Sullivan has a star on the
References
- ^ a b "Elizabeth 'Betty' Sullivan Precht". Missoulian. Missoula, Montana. June 9, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
- ^ a b Maguire 2006, p. 222.
- ^ a b "Ed Sullivan Biography". www.edsullivan.com. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
- ^ Nachman 2009, Kindle location 7662–7670.
- ^ Nachman 2009, Kindle location 7670.
- ASIN B0061QIQ6C.
- ^ "About Ed Sullivan". Ed Sullivan Show. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
- ^ Block, Maxine; Rothe, Anna Herthe; Candee, Marjorie Dent (1953). Current Biography Yearbook. H. W. Wilson Company.
- ^ Harris 1968, p. [page needed].
- ^ Nachman 2009, Kindle location [page needed].
- ^ "Sunday". Radio and Television Mirror. 16 (5): 41. September 1941. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ "Ed Sullivan Theater". Ed Sullivan Show. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ Time 1955, p. 6.
- ^ Time 1967, p. 1.
- ^ a b Time 1955, p. 2.
- ^ Time 1967, p. 3.
- ^ a b Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 7 – The All American Boy: Enter Elvis and the rock-a-billies. [Part 1]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
- ^ General Foods 25th Anniversary Show: A Salute to Rodgers and Hammerstein (TV special). 1954.
- ^ Sullivan, Ed (1952). "My Story". Colliers Magazine. 1 of 3 part series (September 14, 1952).
- ^ "Elvis on the Ed Sullivan Show". History1900s.about.com. Archived from the original on November 18, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
- ^ a b Merwin, Gregory (May 1957). Fifty Million People Can't Be Wrong (PDF). TV-Radio Mirror. pp. 32–33. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 2, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2012.(PDF)
- ^ "Elvis Presley | Ed Sullivan Show". EdSullivan.com. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ Nachman 2009, Kindle location 6021.
- ^ Nachman 2009, 6022.
- ^ Leonard 1992, p. 146.
- ^ Nachman 2009, Kindle edition 6031.
- ^ Bowles 1980, pp. 131–2.
- ^ Nachman 2009, Kindle location 5875.
- ^ Sullivan, Ed (September 14, 1956). "My Story". Colliers Magazine. 1 of 3 part series.
- ^ Morris, Edward (April 18, 2012). "The First Families of Country Music". CMT News. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
- ^ Nachman 2009, Kindle location 5681.
- ^ Nachman 2009, Kindle location 5690.
- ^ Hairgrow, CW (November 26, 1955). "Ed Sullivan Rock As Bo Diddley Rolls". New Amsterdam News. New York. p. 2.
- ^ Moore 2011, p. 128.
- ^ Nachman 2009, Kindle location 5878.
- ^ "Vince Calandra Interview | Archive of American Television". Emmytvlegends.org. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
- ^ The Very Best of the Ed Sullivan Show (TV Special). CBS. 1991.
- ^ Nachman 2009, Kindle location 5940.
- ^ Nachman 2009, Kindle location 5950.
- ^ Nachman 2009, Kindle location 5966.
- ^ "Byrds video". Video.google.com. Archived from the original on January 31, 2011. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
- ^ "The Byrds | Ed Sullivan Show". Edsullivan.com. December 12, 1965. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
- ^ "The Doors | Ed Sullivan Show". Edsullivan.com. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
- ^ Fong-Torres 2006, p. 144.
- ^ Nachman 2009, p. 373.
- ^ Nachman 2009, p. 372.
- ^ Howard 1979, p. 165.
- ^ Lenburg, Howard Maurer & Maurer 1982, p. [page needed].
- ^ "The Supremes | Ed Sullivan Show". Edsullivan.com. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
- ^ "March 1971…The End Of An Era: Ed Sullivan Canceled By CBS – Eyes Of A Generation…Television's Living History". Archived from the original on January 28, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
- ^ a b Barnouw 1990, pp. 117–21.
- ^ "Bob Dylan walks out on The Ed Sullivan Show". History.com archive. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
- ^ Sisson, Zacher & Cayton 2007, p. 901.
- ^ "Ed Sullivan Is Dead at 73; Charmed Millions on TV". The New York Times. October 14, 1974. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
- ^ Mrs Ed Sullivan Dies, Lubbock-Avalanche-Journal (Lubbock, TX), March 17, 1973, page 5
- ^ "Beame Leads 2,000 Mourners At Sullivan Rites in St. Patrick's". The New York Times. October 17, 1974. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
- ^ Liebson, Richard (July 19, 2018). "Famous people buried or cremated at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale: list". The Journal News. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
Cited sources
- "Current Biography Yearbook". H. W. Wilson Company. 1953.
- "Radio: Big As All Outdoors". Time. October 17, 1955. ISSN 0040-781X.
- "Variety Shows: Plenty of Nothing". Time. October 13, 1967.
- Barnouw, Erik (May 31, 1990). Tube of Plenty: The Evolution of American Television. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-987917-5.
- Bowles, Jerry G. (1980). A Thousand Sundays: The Story of the Ed Sullivan Show. Putnam. ISBN 978-0-399-12493-8.
- Fong-Torres, Ben (2006). The Doors (1st ed.). Hyperion. ISBN 1-4013-0303-X.
- Harris, Michael David (1968). Always on Sunday: Ed Sullivan: an Inside View. Meredith Press.
- Howard, Moe (October 1, 1979). Moe Howard and the Three Stooges. Carol Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-8065-0666-1.
- Lenburg, Greg; Howard Maurer, Joan; Maurer, Norman (1982). The Three Stooges Scrapbook. Citadel Press. ISBN 978-0-8065-0946-4.
- Leonard, John (1992). A Really Big Show: A Visual History of the Ed Sullivan Show. Viking Studio Books. ISBN 978-0-670-84246-9.
- Maguire, James (2006). Impresario : the life and times of Ed Sullivan. New York: Billboard Books. ISBN 0823079627.
- Moore, Gary W. (January 20, 2011). Hey Buddy: In Pursuit of Buddy Holly, My New Buddy John, and My Lost Decade of Music. Savas Beatie. ISBN 978-1-61121-063-7.
- Nachman, Gerald (2009). Right Here on our Stage Tonight! Ed Sullivan's America. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520258679.
- Sisson, Richard; Zacher, Christian K.; Cayton, Andrew R. L. (2007). The American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34886-9.
- White, George R. (1998). Bo Diddley: Living Legend. Castle Communications. ISBN 978-1-86074-130-2.
Further reading
- Leonard, John, The Ed Sullivan Age, American Heritage, May/June 1997, Volume 48, Issue 3
- Nachman, Gerald, Ed Sullivan, December 18, 2006.
- Barthelme, Donald, "And Now Let's Hear It for the Ed Sullivan Show!" in Guilty Pleasures, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1974
External links
- Official website
- Ed Sullivan Papers at the Wisconsin Historical Society Archives
- Ed Sullivan documentary at the Wayback Machine (archived April 13, 2020)
- Ed Sullivan at IMDb
- Ed Sullivan at Find a Grave