Boomers recall Sunday as a special night. It was both the culmination of a week gone by and the head start for a new one. It was also a special family time. After supper, Boomers gathered around the television set. Sunday night meant one thing and one thing only. The Ed Sullivan Show.
To miss the Ed Sullivan Show was like missing a meal. Families in the Boomer years simply had to watch Ed Sullivan. Every Sunday night, from 8 to 9 PM, he came into our living rooms. He brought with him acrobats, standup comedians, ventriloquists, animal trainers, opera singers, dancers, puppeteers and occasionally groups like The Beatles.
Ed Sullivan first hosted The Ed Sullivan Show, once called The Toast of the Town, on June 20, 1948. It was essentially a vaudeville production, even though vaudeville had been dead for 20 years. Up until the final show on June 6, 1971, Sullivan hosted 1,068 episodes.
It is difficult for a Boomer to fathom a Sunday night on TV without “a really big shew”, a favorite expression of Sullivan, who was perhaps the most imitated person in history. Every impressionist included Sullivan imitations in the act, and even average folks were able to generate some sort of Ed Sullivan mannerism.
Ed Sullivan became a kingmaker. Those who appeared on his show had arrived. The list of stars and celebrities to have performed on the Sullivan Show is a veritable Who’s Who of the entertainment world throughout the 1950’s and 60’s.
Boomers may remember appearances by the likes of Martin & Lewis, the June Taylor Dancers, van Cliburn, Sammy Davis, Jr., Janice Joplin, Marvin Gaye, Alan King, George Carlin, Rodney Dangerfield, Richard Pryor, Stevie Wonder, Joan Rivers, Mamas & Papas, Tony Bennett, Mickey Mantle, Sam Snead and thousands of others.
The most famous appearances were arguably those by the King himself, Elvis Presley. With the release of “Heartbreak Hotel”, Presley became a mega-star.
In 1963, Sullivan lured The Beatles on his stage with three successive Sunday night appearances. The first appearance on Feb. 9 drew an audience of 73 million viewers, a record at that time. To a studio packed with screaming, hysterical teenage girls, the Fab Four sang “All My Loving”, “Till here Was You” and “She Loves You.”
Ed frequently brought Broadway to television with performances from musicals like West Side Story, My Fair Lady, Camelot and many others. Other breakthrough performances on the show include appearances by Jerry Lee Lewis, The Supremes, The Beach Boys, Buddy Holly, The Jackson 5, The Rolling Stones, The Lovin’ Spoonful and The Doors.
Because the program fell in a Sunday evening timeslot, it became a weekly, family ritual with multi-generations gathering around the television set after a Sunday night dinner. It was as much a cultural phenomenon as it was a venue for entertainment.
Today, even with hundreds of channels on cable TV, there is nothing remotely close to the Ed Sullivan Show. There are few places, in fact, to both introduce new talent and showcase super stars. And no place at all for dog acts and barking seals.
The Ed Sullivan Show brought families together every Sunday night for over 20 years.