The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971)
Toast of the Town (original title)

The classic prime time variety show most famous for its vaudeville acts and its rock music performances.

Stars:

Ed Sullivan, Johnny Wayne, Frank Shuster

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Ed Sullivan	...	Himself - Host (1054 episodes, 1948-1971)

Storyline

Ed Sullivan's show was straight out of old vaudeville; brief acts of every description, from slapstick comedy to operatic arias. At least once, he showed a film, the only known film of Anna Pavlova (doing her Swan Dance). The Muppets' first TV appearance was on Ed Sullivan. Stiff and expressionless, with a peculiar voice and a talent for mispronunciation, Sullivan was at least as recognizable as Cronkite to early 60's viewers.

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Plot Keywords:

Rock Music | Variety | Actor Name In Title | Live Audience | Singer | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Music

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 June 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

You're the Top

Filming Locations:

CBS Television City - 7800 Beverly Blvd., Fairfax, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), Sullivan Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (1965-1971) Black and White (1948-1965)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Dave Clark Five performed more times on the show than any other British act.

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Quotes

Bing: You certainly get around.
Bob: I have to, with my kind of act.

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Connections

Referenced in Elvis XXX: A Porn Parody (2011)
referenced by a subtitle card and by the back ground announcer

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Soundtracks

"Mahna Mahna"
Written by Piero Umiliani
Performed by The Muppets

User Reviews

Perhaps the most important variety show of the 1950s and 1960s.

It was officially called "Toast of the Town", but to most of us it was simply "The Ed Sullivan Show." If I recall correctly, it came on Sunday nights, in glorious black and white. We always looked forward to seeing his show. Sullivan himself was not much to look at, in fact it is safe to say most would consider him 'funny looking.' Nor did he have a particularly good speaking voice. One of his catch phrases, 'we're going to have a really big show' came out 'a really big shoe.' That's the way he pronounced words. But regardless of his personal lack of charisma, Ed Sullivan knew how to bring in the big stars.

One of them was Elvis Presley before he became wildly popular. In fact, being on the Ed Sullivan show was perhaps the biggest springboard to his success. But there was a problem with Elvis, his hips moved just too much, were considered far too suggestive for this family program, so the TV cameras showed Elvis only above the waist.

Ed Sullivan also got the Beatles in the early 1960s, when they were still relatively unknown in the USA. I don't know if he was the first, but his show certainly went a long way towards introducing America to this group from England. And the rest, as they say, is 'history'!!