"Toast of the Town" (1948)TV series 1948-1971

Directors:

Kenneth Whelan
John Wray

Writers:

Jerry Bresler (writer)
Lyn Duddy (writer)
(more)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25

Release Date:

20 June 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Music

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Audience Participation | Variety | Non Fiction

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Ed Sullivan

...

Himself - Host / ... (659 episodes, 1948-1971)

(more)

Series Directed by
John Moffitt		(76 episodes, 1968-1970)
Tim Kiley		(2 episodes, 1962-1965)
Kenneth Whelan		(unknown episodes)
John Wray		(unknown episodes)

Series Writing credits
Frank Shuster		(unknown episodes, 1958-1970)
Johnny Wayne		(unknown episodes, 1958-1970)
Jerry Bresler		(unknown episodes)
Lyn Duddy		(unknown episodes)
Jerry Juhl		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
Ed Sullivan	....	executive producer / producer (21 episodes, 1959-1967)
Jack McGeehan	....	associate producer (2 episodes, 1962-1965)
Bob Precht	....	producer (2 episodes, 1962-1965)
Chester Feldman	....	producer (unknown episodes)
Marlo Lewis	....	co-executive producer (unknown episodes)

Series Original Music by
Ray Bloch		(1 episode, 1965)
Buddy Arnold		(unknown episodes)

Series Casting by
Jack Babb		(1 episode, 1962)

Series Art Direction by
Bill Bohnert		(unknown episodes)

Series Set Decoration by
Eddie Pasternak		(2 episodes, 1962-1965)

Series Costume Design by
Leslie Renfield		(1 episode, 1965)

Series Production Management
Tony Jordan	....	production manager / production supervisor (2 episodes, 1962-1965)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Frank Leicht	....	associate director (1 episode, 1962)

Series Art Department
Sam Cecere	....	graphic arts (2 episodes, 1962-1965)

Series Sound Department
B.A. Taylor	....	audio (1 episode, 1965)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Bill Greenfield	....	lighting director (2 episodes, 1962-1965)
Pat McBride	....	camera operator (unknown episodes)
George Moses	....	camera operator (unknown episodes)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
William McHone	....	costumes (1 episode, 1962)

Series Music Department
Robert Arthur	....	music coordinator (1 episode, 1962)
Don Smith	....	music coordinator (1 episode, 1965)
Ray Bloch	....	composer: theme "Toast of the Town" and cues / conductor (unknown episodes)
Will Schaefer	....	orchestrator (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
Charles Grenier	....	technical director (2 episodes, 1962-1965)
Eddie Brinkman	....	stage manager (unknown episodes)
Bob Daily	....	technical director (unknown episodes)
June Taylor	....	choreographer (unknown episodes)
Kenneth Whelan	....	associate director (unknown episodes)
David Winters	....	choreographer (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• CBS Television (1948-1971)
• Sullivan Productions (1964-1971)

Distributors

• CBS Television (1948-1971) (USA) (TV) (original airing)

Other Companies

• The Ed Sullivan Theatre  taping location

Also Known As:

The Ed Sullivan Show (USA) (new title)
You're the Top (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (1965-1971) | Black and White (1948-1965)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:TV-G

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

CBS Television

Trivia:

Elvis Presley made three appearances on the show. However, for the third and final one he was shot from the waist up to keep from showing his swiveling hips.

Quotes:

[Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby are singing "Road to Morocco", when Frank spots Bob Hope walking down the stairs at the back of the stage]
Frank: Run for the hills.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in TV in Black: The First Fifty Years (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Mahna Mahna

Irreplaceable performances

I used to watch this program sometimes when I was growing up. Technically,of course, it is light years out of date--no flashy special effects, no elaborate staging, nothing except a host that acts like either a marble statue come to life, or a cold fish (take your choice!), and singers(pop and otherwise), actors, dancers, comedians, classical music virtuosos (such as then 13-year old Itzhak Perlman) and acrobats simply "doing their thing".

I took it for granted then. I didn't realize that we were sometimes seeing rare, priceless footage that we would seldom, if ever, see again in the future, and that it contained such gems as original cast performers singing the hit songs from legendary Broadway classics such as "My Fair Lady", "West Side Story", "Camelot", and "Man of La Mancha"-in full costume, yet. I always thought, "Well,we have the albums,and there's no reason these segments wouldn't be rerun someday. Besides,we'll have the film versions of the shows,so who needs to be so eager to catch the Broadway performers?"

How wrong I was.

Because, up until the advent of video remastering and restoration, and the invention of the VCR, these shows disappeared, apparently gathering dust in the CBS archives because modern-day programming and technology had made them seem so old-fashioned. Now they are back. Some years ago,Disney had the foresight to issue a video called "The Best of Broadway Musicals from the Ed Sullivan Show", and this priceless tape, which has since been transferred to DVD, contained Julie Andrews singing "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?", Andrews and Richard Burton singing "What Do The Simple Folk Do?", Carol Lawrence and Larry Kert singing "Tonight",Richard Kiley singing "The Impossible Dream",etc. And recently, when Ed Sullivan was broadcast on Nick-At-Nite,not only was Kiley shown singing this song, but we were also given the rare treat of seeing the original Aldonza/Dulcinea, Joan Diener, singing the lovely "What Does He Want of Me", a song omitted from the film version of "Man of La Mancha".

That is the kind of program this was.