The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show | |
---|---|
Also known as | Toast of the Town (1948–55) |
Genre | Variety Sketch comedy |
Presented by | Ed Sullivan |
Narrated by |
|
Theme music composer | Ray Bloch |
Opening theme | "Toast" |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 24 |
No. of episodes | 1,068 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Ed Sullivan |
Producers |
|
Camera setup | Multi-camera |
Running time | 50–53 minutes |
Production companies | Sullivan Productions CBS Productions |
Original release | |
Network | CBS |
Release | June 20, 1948 March 28, 1971 | –
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American
In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked No. 15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.[3] In 2013, the series finished No. 31 in TV Guide Magazine's 60 Best Series of All Time.[4]
History
From 1948 until its cancellation in 1971, the show ran on
Originally co-created and produced by Marlo Lewis, the show was first titled Toast of the Town, but was widely referred to as The Ed Sullivan Show for years before September 25, 1955, when that became its official name. In the show's June 20, 1948, debut, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis performed along with singer Monica Lewis and Broadway composers Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II previewing the score to their then-new show South Pacific, which opened on Broadway in 1949.
From 1948 through 1962, the program's primary sponsor was the Lincoln-Mercury Division of the Ford Motor Company; Sullivan read many commercials for Mercury vehicles live on the air during this period.
The Ed Sullivan Show was originally broadcast via
Background
Along with the new talent Sullivan booked each week, he also had recurring characters appear many times a season, such as his "Little Italian Mouse" puppet sidekick
The chief difference is mostly one of pace. In those days, we had maybe six acts. Now we have 11 or 12. Then, each of our acts would do a leisurely ten minutes or so. Now they do two or three minutes. And in those early days I talked too much. Watching these kines I cringe. I look up at me talking away and I say "You fool! Keep quiet!" But I just keep on talking. I've learned how to keep my mouth shut.
The show enjoyed phenomenal popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. As it had occurred with the annual telecasts of
In September 1965, CBS started televising the program in
In the late 1960s, Sullivan remarked that his program was waning as the decade went on. He realized that to keep viewers, the best and brightest in entertainment had to be seen, or else the viewers were going to keep on changing the channel. Along with declining viewership, Ed Sullivan attracted a higher median age for the average viewer (which most sponsors found undesirable) as the seasons went on. These two factors were the reason the show was cancelled by CBS on March 16, 1971, as part of a mass cancellation of advertiser-averse programming. While Sullivan's landmark program ended without a proper finale, Sullivan produced one-off specials for CBS until his death in 1974, including an Ed Sullivan Show 25th anniversary special in 1973.
In 1990, television documentary producer
Since acquiring the rights to The Ed Sullivan Show library, SOFA Entertainment has catalogued, organized and cleared performance rights for the original shows. Starting in 1991, SOFA Entertainment has re-introduced The Ed Sullivan Show to the American public by producing numerous network specials, syndicating a half-hour series (that also aired on TV Land,
The Ed Sullivan Show Orchestra
In the early years of television, both CBS and NBC networks had their own symphony orchestras. NBC's was conducted by Arturo Toscanini and CBS's by Alfredo Antonini. The Ed Sullivan Show (originally presented as: The Toast Of The Town) was basically a musical variety show, and thus members of the CBS orchestra were folded into the Ed Sullivan Show Orchestra, conducted by Ray Bloch. During the early days of television, the demands on studio musicians were many-tiered. They needed to be proficient in all genres of music, from classical, to jazz and to rock and roll. The Ed Sullivan Show would regularly feature singers from the Metropolitan Opera and the staff orchestra would accompany divas such as Eileen Farrell, Maria Callas or Joan Sutherland. The musicians needed to be prepared to switch gears for Ella Fitzgerald, Diahann Carroll or Sammy Davis, Jr. and then onto The Jackson Five, Stevie Wonder or Tom Jones or Itzhak Perlman. They also needed to perform with some of the greatest dancers and ballerinas of the time, from Gregory Hines, Juliet Prowse, Maria Tallchief[15] or Margo Fonteyn to the Peter Gennaro dancers. In the process, the musicians collaborated with several internationally recognized ballet troupes including:
Few musicians are capable of crossing over from one genre to another. However, each member of the Ed Sullivan Show Orchestra was a specialist and more than capable of covering the complete spectrum of music.The lead trumpet player is the "concert master" of a studio orchestra. Chris Griffin (formerly with the trumpet section of Harry James, Ziggy Elman and the Benny Goodman Band) was Ray Bloch's lead trumpet player for the many radio and television shows that he conducted, including the Ed Sullivan Show. Chris remained the lead trumpet player with The Ed Sullivan show from the first show in 1948 to the last show in 1971.
Band configuration
Trumpets: Chris Griffin, Bernie Privin, Jimmy Nottingham, and Thad Jones; Chris's son Paul Griffin was a regular substitute trumpeter
Trombones: Roland Dupont, Morton Bullman, Frank Rehak, and Cliff Heather
Saxophones: Toots Mondello, Hymie Schertzer, Ed Zuhlke, et al
Piano: Hank Jones
Drums: Specs Powell/Howard Smith
Percussion: Milton Schlesinger, who similarly played from the first to last show. John Serry Sr often augmented the orchestra as the lead accordionist during the 1950s. Unlike NBC's The Tonight Show, which celebrated the notoriety of their musicians in Skitch Henderson's or Doc Severinsen's "Tonight Show Band", the CBS producers of The Ed Sullivan Show decided to hide their famed musicians behind a curtain. Occasionally, CBS would broadcast specials and call upon the orchestra to perform. When Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated, music was hastily composed for the orchestra in a special tribute that also featured jazz pianist Bill Evans, who had recently composed an elegy to his father.
Notable performances and guests
The Ed Sullivan Show is especially known to the World War II and
The Canadian comedy duo Wayne and Shuster appeared on the program 67 times, a record for any performer.[17] Bill Haley & His Comets performed their hit "Rock Around the Clock" in early August 1955, later recognized as the first rock and roll song broadcast on a national television program.[18]
Itzhak Perlman
The American public's first exposure to Itzhak Perlman was on the show in 1958, when he was 13. This performance was a breakthrough not only for classical music, but also for Perlman, who rode the waves of admiration to new heights of fame lasting a generation.
Elvis Presley
Initial appearance
On September 9, 1956, Presley made his first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show (after earlier appearances on shows hosted by the Dorsey Brothers, Milton Berle, and Steve Allen), even though Sullivan had vowed never to allow Presley on the show.[19] According to Sullivan biographer Michael David Harris, "Sullivan signed Presley when the host was having an intense Sunday-night rivalry with Steve Allen. Allen had the singer on July 1 and trounced Sullivan in the ratings. When asked to comment, [Sullivan] said that he wouldn't consider presenting Presley before a family audience. Less than two weeks later he changed his mind and signed a contract."[20]
At the time, Presley was filming
For his first set, Elvis played "Don't Be Cruel" and "Love Me Tender".[21] According to writer Elaine Dundy, Presley sang "Love Me Tender" "straight, subdued and tender ... —a very different Elvis from the one on The Steve Allen Show three months before".[23] Elvis's second set consisted of "Ready Teddy" and a shortened version of "Hound Dog".[21] Popular mythology states that Sullivan censored Presley by shooting him only from the waist up, but in fact, Presley's whole body was shown in the first and second shows.[24][25]
Although Laughton was the main star and there were seven other acts on the show, Elvis was on camera for more than a quarter of the time allotted to all acts.[26] The show had a 43.7 rating, and was viewed by a record 60,710,000 people which at the time represented an 82.6% share of the television audience, and the largest single audience in television history. The latter percentage share, remains, to this date, the largest in the history of US television.[27]
Second and third appearances
Sullivan hosted a second appearance by Presley on October 28, 1956. For his first segment, Elvis performed "Don't Be Cruel", then "Love Me Tender". For the second segment, Elvis sang "Love Me", and for his third, he sang a nearly four-minute-long version of "Hound Dog".
For the third and final appearance on January 6, 1957, Presley performed a medley of "Hound Dog", "Love Me Tender", and "Heartbreak Hotel", followed by a full version of "Don't Be Cruel". For a second set later in the show he sang "Too Much" and "When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again". For his last set he sang "Peace in the Valley". For this third appearance, it was decided to shoot the singer only from the waist while he performed. Although much has been made of the fact that Elvis was shown only from the waist up, except for the short section of "Hound Dog", all of the songs on this show were ballads.[28]
Although Sullivan praised Elvis at the end of the show,[29] Elvis claimed in a 1969 interview that Sullivan had expressed a very different opinion backstage: "Sullivan's standing over there saying, 'Sumbitch.'"[30] The second and third appearances drew 57 and 54.6 million viewers, respectively. Years later, Sullivan tried to book Presley again, but declined after Presley's representatives presented a demanding rider.[20]
The Beatles
In late 1963, Sullivan and his entourage happened also to be passing through
The Beatles appeared on three consecutive Sundays in February 1964 to great anticipation and fanfare as "I Want to Hold Your Hand" had swiftly risen to No. 1 in the charts. Their first appearance on February 9 is considered a milestone in American pop culture, and furthermore the beginning of the British Invasion in music. The broadcast drew an estimated 73 million viewers, a record for US television at the time (broken three years later by the series finale of The Fugitive). The Beatles followed Ed's show opening intro, performing "All My Loving"; "Till There Was You", which featured the names of the group members superimposed on closeup shots, including the famous "SORRY GIRLS, HE'S MARRIED" caption on John Lennon; and "She Loves You". The act that followed the Beatles in the broadcast, magician Fred Kaps, was pre-recorded in order to allow time for an elaborate set change.[32] The group returned later in the program to perform "I Saw Her Standing There" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand".
The following week's show was broadcast from
They were shown on tape February 23 (this appearance had been taped earlier in the day on February 9 before their first live appearance). They followed Ed's intro with "Twist and Shout" and "Please Please Me" and closed the show once again with "I Want to Hold Your Hand".
The Beatles appeared live for the final time on August 14, 1965. The show was broadcast September 12, 1965, and earned Sullivan a 60-percent share of the nighttime audience for
Black artists
The Supremes
The group reappeared on the series in October 1967 as the newly rebilled "Diana Ross & the Supremes", with Ballard replacement Cindy Birdsong and Ross more prominently featured. The Supremes' final appearance on the show, shortly before it ended, served as the platform to introduce America to Ross's replacement, Jean Terrell, in March 1970.
Opportunity
In an era when few opportunities existed for black performers on national television, Sullivan was a champion of black talent. He launched the careers of many performers by presenting them to a nationwide TV audience and ignored the criticism.[35] In an NEA interview, Sullivan commented:
The most important thing [during the first ten years of the program] is that we've put on everything but
I said yes. They said I shouldn't, but I convinced them I wasn't going to change my mind. And you know something? We've gone over very well in the South. Never had a bit of trouble.
The show included entertainers such as
Before his death in a plane crash in December 1967, soul singer Otis Redding had been booked to appear on the show the following year. One telecast included African-American bass-baritone Andrew Frierson singing "Ol' Man River" from Kern and Hammerstein's Show Boat, a song that, at that time, was usually sung on television by white singers, although it was written for a black character in the musical.
However, Sullivan featured "rockers", and gave prominence to black musicians "not without censorship". For instance, he scheduled Fats Domino "at the show's end in case he had to cancel a guest". He presented Domino alone at his piano singing as if he were a young Nat 'King' Cole or Fats Waller, as he performed "Blueberry Hill".[38][39] On March 4, 1962, Sullivan presented Domino and his band, who did "Jambalaya", Hank Williams' "You Win Again", and "Let the Four Winds Blow". All seven of Domino's band members were visible to millions of viewers.[40] On December 1, 1957, Sam Cooke performed a complete version of "For Sentimental Reasons".[41] Cooke had been cut off four weeks earlier during a live performance of "You Send Me" as the show's allotted time expired, causing an outrage among television audiences. Sullivan rebooked Cooke for the December 1 show to overwhelming success.[42]
The Muppets
Between 1966 and 1971,
Henson's Muppets were introduced on The Ed Sullivan Show on September 18, 1966. Sullivan introduced the characters as "Jim, uh ... Newsom's puppets." The act featured a small ball of fur growing into the Rock and Roll Monster (performed by Jim Henson, Jerry Nelson, and Frank Oz) with three heads and six arms lip-syncing to the unreleased song "Rock It to Me" by the Bruthers. After the act was done, the Rock and Roll Monster shrunk back into the ball of fur which is then eaten by Sour Bird (who was previously used in a commercial for Royal Crown Cola).
Broadway
This section needs additional citations for verification. (March 2024) |
The show is also noteworthy for showcasing performances from numerous classic Broadway musicals of the era, often featuring members of the original Broadway casts. These include:
- Cool".
- My Fair Lady – Julie Andrews singing "I Could Have Danced All Night" and "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?"; Rex Harrison performing "Why Can't the English?"; Stanley Holloway performing "With a Little Bit of Luck; John Michael King singing "On the Street Where You Live"
- If Ever I Would Leave You" and "C'est Moi".[43]
- Bill".
- Carnival! – Anna Maria Alberghetti singing "Love Makes the World Go 'Round".
- Bye Bye Birdie – Dick Van Dyke singing "Put On A Happy Face", Chita Rivera singing "Spanish Rose", Paul Lynde singing "Kids" and "Hymn for a Sunday Evening (Ed Sullivan)".
- Davy Jones singing "Consider Yourself"; Georgia Brown, Davy Jones, Alice Playten, Bruce Prochnik, Clive Revill and the boys singing "I'd Do Anything". The performance was on February 9, 1964 – on the same telecast as The Beatles' first live performance.[44]
- ; Celeste Holm (from the original Broadway cast) performing "I Can't Say No".
- Sweet Charity – Gwen Verdon performing "I'm A Brass Band" and "If My Friends Could See Me Now".
- The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd – Anthony Newley singing "Who Can I Turn To?".
- Flora the Red Menace – Liza Minnelli singing "All I Need Is One Good Break" and "Sing Happy"
- I Enjoy Being a Girl".
- Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend".
- Hair – the cast (including Diane Keaton, Melba Moore, Paul Jabara and co-authors Gerome Ragni and James Rado) performing "Aquarius".
- Before the Parade Passes By" with the ensemble.
- A performance by Broadway dancer Wayne Lamb
- I Do! I Do! – Gordon MacRae and Carol Lawrence (Broadway replacements for Mary Martin and Robert Preston) singing the title song from the show, and MacRae singing "I Love My Wife" and "My Cup Runneth Over".
- Kiss Me, Kate – Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk, and Harold Lang singing "Another Op'nin' Another Show", "We Open In Venice", and "Wunderbar"
- Man of La Mancha – Richard Kiley singing the title song and "The Impossible Dream"; Joan Diener in a rare television appearance in her stage role as Aldonza/Dulcinea singing "What Does He Want of Me?", most of the cast singing the show's final reprise of "The Impossible Dream"
- Cabaret – Joel Grey singing part of "Wilkommen" and Jill Haworth in her stage role as Sally Bowles singing the title song
- Purlie – Melba Moore singing "I Got Love" and "Purlie".
- Wildcat – Lucille Ball and Paula Stewart singing "Hey, Look Me Over"
- You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown – Gary Burghoff, Reva Rose, Bob Balaban, Skip Hinnant, Karen Johnson, and Bill Hinnant singing the title song and "Happiness".
- .
- Hermione Gingold and Maurice Chevalier performed their duet "I Remember It Well" from the 1958 film Gigi, on the show.
Most of these artists performed in the same
Mental illness program
In a 1958 NEA interview, Sullivan noted his pride about the show's role in improving the public's understanding of
Sullivan took him up on the offer, and in retrospect believed that several advances in the treatment of mental illness could be attributed to the resulting publicity, including the repeal of a Pennsylvania law about the treatment of the mentally ill and the granting of funds for the construction of new psychiatric hospitals.
Film clips
Occasionally Sullivan would feature a Hollywood actor introducing a clip from a film in which he or she currently starred. Burt Lancaster made an appearance in 1962, speaking about Robert Stroud, the character he portrayed in Birdman of Alcatraz, and introducing a clip from the film. And although Sir Laurence Olivier personally did not appear on the show, in 1966 Sullivan showed a clip from the Olivier Othello, the film version of which was then currently showing in New York City.[citation needed]
Controversies
Bo Diddley
On November 20, 1955,
A reporter, who was present at the time, described what happened:[47]
Controversy raged for over an hour backstage at CBS Studios 57, last Sunday, immediately following Ed Sullivan’s signon on his coast to coast television show, "Toast of the Town.” In a verbal battle which started over one of the performers refusal to do a number on the telecast which Sullivan had requested. During the dress rehearsal, Bo Diddley listed as number “seven” in the lineups of stars participating in the show, agreed to do “16 Tons” as Marlo Lewis, Toast of the Town Executive Producer and Sullivan had requested. However, at 8:39 PM as Sullivan went into his commercial, the folk singer hurried to the side of Ray Block, musical director, to announce that he had “changed his mind” and was going to do “Diddley Daddy.“ [sic [48]] After several attempts to get him to change his mind, CBS brass went into a hurried conference in an attempt to synchronize the timing of the show with a longer number. The final result of this conference was the cutting of two acts which preceded Bo Diddley’s number. Following the act in where Willis Jackson, band leaded, played his saxophone barefooted. Sullivan and disk jockey Tommy Smalls, manager of the act, got into a heated argument backstage. By the time John Wray, Executive Director, had taken the show off the air, Bo Diddley, Smalls, his agent, Lewis, Ray Block and several members of the band had instituted a series of verbal attack on the change in programming. Bo Diddley stated, backed by Smalls, that he had switched from 16 Tons to Diddley Daddy because the latter had made him a juke box favorite and people from coast-to-coast were expecting him to perform the number. Sullivan and Lewis maintained that he should have notified them of the change before air time, instead of after the show was in progress.
In his biography, Living Legend, Diddley recalled, "Ed Sullivan says to me in plain words: 'You are the first black boy—quote—that ever double crossed me!' I was ready to fight, because I was a little young dude off the streets of Chicago, an' him callin' me 'black' in them days was as bad as sayin' 'nigger'. My manager says to me 'That's Mr. Sullivan!' I said: 'I don't give a shit about Mr. Sullivan, [h]e don't talk to me like that!' An' so he told me, he says, 'I'll see that you never work no more in show business. You'll never get another TV show in your life!'"[49] Diddley never did appear on The Ed Sullivan Show again.[50]
A Short Vision
On May 27, 1956,[51] The Ed Sullivan Show presented an animated short film entitled A Short Vision. The short subject showcased an unidentified object that is referred to as it by the narrator. The object flies over Earth. When it passes, the people are asleep except the leaders and the wise men who look up at the object. As the leaders and wise men look up and predators and prey hide in fear, it produces a mushroom cloud in the sky, killing everyone and everything, vaporizing the people, the animals and Earth. After this happens, there remains only a moth and a flame. The moth flies to the flame, gets vaporized and the flame dies. Thus, marking the end of humanity.
The short film is narrated in the style of the Bible. The animation is derived from mostly still images that produce a terrifying and horrifying moving image of the end of humanity. Just before CBS showed the film, Sullivan assured children that what they would see was an animated fantasy. He told the audience that "It is grim, but I think we can all stand it to realize that in war there is no winner".[51] The film gained notoriety from the show; but it also gained controversy because of it, due to the graphic way it depicted the horrors of a nuclear confrontation. Its graphic images also caused controversy. One of the visuals in the film depicted an animated character's eyes imploding and the remains running down its cheeks and then it gets destroyed by the object.
According to some sources, including contemporary newspaper reports, Ed Sullivan's telecast of A Short Vision caused a reaction as significant as
Jackie Mason
On October 18, 1964,
Sullivan argued with Mason backstage, then terminated his contract. Mason denied knowingly giving Sullivan the middle finger, and Mason later claimed that he had never even heard of the gesture at that time. In retaliation, to protect the perceived threat to his career, Mason filed a libel suit at the New York Supreme Court, which he won.[citation needed]
Sullivan publicly apologized to Mason when he appeared on the show two years later, in 1966. At that time, Mason opened his monologue by saying, "It's a great thrill and a fantastic opportunity to see me in person again," and impersonated Sullivan during his act.[53] Mason later appeared on the show five times: April 23, 1967; Feb. 25, 1968; Nov. 24, 1968; Jun. 22, 1969; and Aug. 31, 1969.
The Doors
During the Doors' rehearsal, Jim Morrison sang the alternate line of one of their songs. However, he reverted to the original line during the live show, and CBS executives were powerless to change it. The Doors were never invited back to the show. According to Ray Manzarek, the band was told, "Mr. Sullivan liked you boys. He wanted you on six more times. ... You'll never do the Sullivan show again." Morrison replied with glee, "Hey man, we just did the Sullivan show."[54]—at the time, an appearance was a hallmark of success.
Manzarek gave differing accounts of what happened. He had said that the band only pretended to agree to change the line but also that Morrison was nervous and simply forgot to change the line. The performance and incident were reenacted in Oliver Stone's 1991 biographical film, The Doors, albeit in a more dramatic fashion, with Morrison portrayed as emphasizing the word "higher".[55]
Sullivan apparently felt the damage had been done and relented on bands using the word "higher".
Ratings history
- 1948–1949: N/A
- 1949–1950: N/A
- 1950–1951: #15, 3,723,000 viewers[57]
- 1951–1952: N/A
- 1952–1953: N/A
- 1953–1954: #17, 8,580,000 viewers[58]
- 1954–1955: #5, 12,157,200 viewers[59]
- 1955–1956: #3, 13,785,500 viewers[60]
- 1956–1957: #2, 14,937,600 viewers[61]
- 1957–1958: #27, 11,444,160 viewers[62]
- 1958–1959: N/A
- 1959–1960: #12, 12,810,000 viewers[63]
- 1960–1961: #15, 11,800,000 viewers[64]
- 1961–1962: #19, 11,381,525 viewers[65]
- 1962–1963: #14, 12,725,900 viewers[66]
- 1963–1964: #8, 14,190,000 viewers[67]
- 1964–1965: #16, 13,280,400 viewers[68]
- 1965–1966: #18, 12,493,200 viewers[69]
- 1966–1967: #13, 12,569,640 viewers[70]
- 1967–1968: #13, 13,147,440 viewers[71]
- 1968–1969: #23, 12,349,000 viewers[72]
- 1969–1970: #27, 11,875,500 viewers[73]
- 1970–1971: N/A
Highlights:
9/09/1956:[clarification needed] Elvis Presley's first appearance yielding an 82.6 percentage share, the highest in television history for any program up to the present. Viewers: 60.710,000 Source: Broadcasting and Telecasting, October 1956 as per ARB the precursor of Nielsen.
2/09/1964: The Beatles's first appearance yielding a 45.3 rating. Viewers: 73.7 million Source: Nielsen.
Other noteworthy ratings:
02/16/1964: 43.8 rating the Beatles' second appearance. Source: Nielsen.
010/28/1956: 43.7 rating Elvis Presley's second appearance. Source: Trendex.
Primetime specials
Date | Title | Network | Rating | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
2/02/1975 | The Sullivan Years: A Tribute To Ed | CBS | 7:30-8:30 p.m. | |
2/17/1991 | The Very Best of Ed Sullivan | CBS | 21.3 | 9–11pm (Competition: Love, Lies and Murder: Part 1 got a 15.5 rating) |
11/24/1991 | The Very Best of Ed Sullivan 2 | CBS | 17.1 | 9–11pm |
8/07/1992 | The Very Best of the Ed Sullivan Show | CBS | 9.4 | 9–11pm (The Mary Tyler Moore Show: The 20th Anniversary Show got a 6.1 rating at 8pm) |
12/20/1992 | Holiday Greetings from the Ed Sullivan Show | CBS | 14.3 | 9–11pm |
5/19/1995 | The Ed Sullivan All-Star Comedy Special | CBS | 8.2 | 9–11pm |
7/14/1995 | The Very Best of Ed Sullivan | CBS | 7.5 | 9–11pm |
5/18/1998 | Ed Sullivan's 50th Anniversary | CBS | 9.3 | 10–11pm |
Parodies
This section needs additional citations for verification. (March 2024) |
The show's immense popularity has been the target of numerous tributes and parodies. These include:
- Will Jordan was best known for his uncanny impersonation of Sullivan as the show's host.
- Numerous music videos, such as Billy Joel's "Tell Her About It" (featuring Will Jordan as Sullivan), Nirvana's "In Bloom", Grinspoon's "Hold On Me", Outkast's "Hey Ya!", the Red Hot Chili Peppers's "Dani California" and Bring Me the Horizon's "Drown" have all parodied the show's visual style.
- Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles open their concerts with prerecorded footage of a man doing an intentionally poor Sullivan impression in black and white and then introducing the band, which plays the first part of the show with an exact recreation of the set the Beatles used.
- redubbedfor comedic effect.
- The Fab Four, a Beatles tribute act hosted by an Ed Sullivan impressionist.
- One of the characters in dubbedby actors' speaking voices, is "Ed Simian", a parody of Sullivan.
- Comedian George Carlin included a routine titled Ed Sullivan Self Taught on his 1972 album FM & AM.
- John Byner, actor and impressionist, included a Sullivan imitation in his repertoire.
- On an episode of The Colgate Comedy Hour, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis did a parody called The Toast of the Colgate Town, with Lewis wearing fake teeth and slicked-back hair as "Ed Solomon".[74]
- In the episode "Harry Canary" in the animated series Dumb and Dumber, it was named "The Earvin Mulligan Show" as Lloyd's family were performing in the late 60s as "The Happy Dunne Family".
- The first episode of the Late Show with David Letterman on August 30, 1993, featured clips of Ed Sullivan spliced together to make it look as though he was introducing host David Letterman, while a segment later in the episode featured David channeling the "ghost" of Ed Sullivan, this time an archive clip of Sullivan introducing actor Paul Newman, who was live in the Letterman audience that night. Since moving to CBS from NBC, Letterman taped his show in the Ed Sullivan Theater, the studio where Sullivan also staged his program, until his 2015 retirement.[75]
- The CBS Television Cityin Los Angeles, which Sullivan used for his West Coast shows.
- The 1954 film White Christmas features a pivotal scene that occurs on "The Ed Harrison Show", which was intentionally similar to Sullivan's show.
- The 1960s animated television series The Flintstones featured a parody of Sullivan as "Ed Sulleystone" on the episode "Itsy Fred". On the episode called "Lola Brickada", Sullivan was referred to as "Ed Stonevan". Sullivan is also seen introducing "Roc Roll" in another episode, but his name is not mentioned. And in the episode where Fred brings home a lion cub, Barney performs a trick with the now grown up lion and mentioned that he saw a similar stunt on the "Ed Shalevan" show.
- On the animated sitcom The Jetsons, "Fred Solarvan" introduces Gina Lola Jupiter, causing George Jetson to order his son Elroy to leave the room and do his geometry homework tapes. After Elroy leaves, George sets his receiver to 3-D viewing, causing Gina to seemingly to pop out of the TV set.
- Gabe Kaplan did a comedy skit in the 1970s (also featured on his 1974 album Holes and Mellow Rolls as "Ed Sullivan, Ed Sullivan"), that had him impersonate a drunken Sullivan on his final show, being nasty in general to his audience and guest stars, and finally saying good night to the audience.
- The 1994 film Pulp Fiction features a scene in a 50s–60s-themed restaurant where Jerome Patrick Hoban does an imitation of Ed Sullivan introducing acts.
- The direct-to-video children's film The Wiggles: You Make Me Feel Like Dancing! includes a video for the song "Shimmy Shake" which depicts the group appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show. Paul Paddick portrayed Sullivan for the video.
- In the manga series One Piece, an omake was drawn in which the Straw Hat Pirates, along with other prominent characters, are all tied into one large fiasco that ends with a party. It is called The Ed Sullivan Show only in name.
- In Tom Dudzick's 2002 play, Over the Tavern, set in 1959, 12 year-old Rudy Pansicki regularly rehearses his Ed Sullivan impression, with emphasis on Sullivan's supposed pronunciation of "show" as "shoe".
- The Broadway musical Jersey Boys features a scene where Four Seasons band member Tommy DeVito imitates Sullivan introducing "Topo Gigio and the Vienna Boys Choir" before bringing Frankie Valli on stage for the first time.
- The Ramones used a segment of Ed Sullivan shaking Buddy Holly's hand on The Ed Sullivan Show for their music video for "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?"
- On South Park, in the episode "Terrance and Phillip: Behind the Blow", black and white footage is shown of Terrance and Philip appearing on the show as children.
- On The Tonight Show, Johnny Carson sometimes invoked a Sullivan impression, quoting Sullivan's oft-used introduction "Right here on our stage..."
- In an episode of Modern Madcaps titled "Cool Cat Blues" (1961), The Cat must stop a rival network from kidnapping "Ed Solvent", who maintained his rigid, stoic on-air demeanor by freezing himself in a block of ice before each show. Will Jordan provided the voice of Solvent
- A 1972 ABC summer series "The Kopykats" featured a sketch in which Will Jordan as Sullivan announces he's hired a stand-in for himself. The entire cast (which included Rich Little, Frank Gorshin, Edie Adams) portrayed a staff & crew who all sounded like Sullivan. When the "stand-in" is introduced, it's Sullivan himself... but his version of himself bombs.
- In the 1984 mockumentaryThis Is Spinal Tap, the band is shown in archival footage playing an Ed Sullivan-like television show.
References
- ^ "Ed Sullivan Biography | Ed Sullivan Show". Edsullivan.com. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
- ^ "Prime Time TV Schedule : 1967 Season". Archived from the original (TXT) on 2008-03-14. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
- ^ "TV Guide Names Top 50 Shows". Cbsnews.com. 2002-04-26. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
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- ^ a b Harris, Michael David (1968). Always on Sunday: Ed Sullivan, An Inside View. New York: Meredith Press. p. 116.
- ^ a b c Paul Mavis (Director) (2006). Elvis Presley – Ed Sullivan Shows (DVD). Image Entertainment.
- ^ "Official Press Release – Elvis Presley: The Ed Sullivan Shows". Elvis Australia. October 6, 2006. References DVD liner notes by Greil Marcus.
- ^ Dundy, Elaine, Elvis and Gladys (University Press of Mississippi, 2004), p. 259.
- ISBN 978-0-19-517749-7.
- ISBN 1-55652-572-9. page 16
- ^ Content Elvis Episodes Of 'The Ed Sullivan Show' DVD Box By: Elvis Australia – Aug 9, 2006 Source: EPE. Retrieved October 18, 2007
- ^ Altschuler, p.91.
- ^ Marcus, "Elvis Presley: The Ed Sullivan Shows".
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- ISBN 0-9662649-8-3(paperback).
- ^ Kooijman, Jaap (2002). "From Elegance to Extravaganza: The Supremes on The Ed Sullivan Show as a Presentation of Beauty". The Velvet Light Trap.
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- ^ Grimes, William (2009-05-23). "Roy Talbot, Calypso Musician, Dies at 94". The New York Times. New York City, New York State, USA. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
American enthusiasm for the group led to two appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and two albums on ABC Paramount Records, "Calypsos" and "Talbot Brothers of Bermuda."
- ^ "Negroes" was the commonly accepted reference to African Americans at the time.
- ^ "JAMES BROWN "Please Please Please" on The Ed Sullivan Show". YouTube.com. October 30, 1966. Archived from the original on 2021-12-11.
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- ^ Rick Coleman, Blue Monday: Fats Domino and the Lost Dawn of Rock 'n' Roll (2007), p. 138.
- ^ Rick Coleman, Blue Monday: Fats Domino and the Lost Dawn of Rock 'n' Roll (2007), p. 217, 218.
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- ^ Diddley actually sang "Bo Diddley"
- ^ See Jake Austen, TV A-Go-Go: Rock on TV from American Bandstand to American Idol (2005), p.15.
- ^ Austen, p.15.
- ^ a b c Geerhart, Bill (2011-06-26). "CONELRAD Adjacent: A SHORT VISION: Ed Sullivan's Atomic Show Stopper". CONELRAD Adjacent. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
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{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "- YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2022-06-10. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
Bibliography
- ISBN 0-7407-2693-5.
- Slate Magazine. Archived from the originalon April 10, 2005.
- ISBN 978-0-520-25867-9p. 331.
- Ilson, Bernie. Sundays with Sullivan: How the Ed Sullivan Show brought Elvis, the Beatles and Culture to America. Lanham, Maryland: Taylor Trade Publishing, (2009). ISBN 978-1-58979-390-3pp. 115–118 (entire chapter devoted to Marlo Lewis).
- John Leonard; Claudia Falkenburg & Andrew Solt, eds.. A Really Big Show: A Visual History of the Ed Sullivan Show. New York: Sarah Lazin/Viking Studio Books; 1992. ISBN 978-0-670-84246-9.
- James Maguire. Impresario: The Life and Times of Ed Sullivan. New York: Billboard Books; 2006. ISBN 978-0-8230-7962-9.
External links
- Official website
- The Ed Sullivan Show at IMDb