The Ed Sullivan Show

The Ed Sullivan Show was an American television variety show that ran from June 20, 1948, to June 6, 1971, and was hosted by Ed Sullivan. It ran on CBS every Sunday night at 8:00. Virtually every type of entertainment appeared on the show; opera singers, rock stars, comedians, ballet dancers, and circus acts were regularly featured.

Background

Along with the talent he booked each week, he also had recurring characters appear many times a season, such as his puppet sidekick Topo Gigio, and ventriloquist Señor Wences.

Related Topics:
Ventriloquist - Señor Wences

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While most of the episodes aired live from New York City, the show also aired live on occasion from other nations, such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan. For many years, Ed Sullivan was a national event each Sunday evening, and was the first exposure for foreign performers to the American public.

Related Topics:
United Kingdom - Australia - Japan

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The program did not shy away from airing performances from many black entertainers, such as Nat King Cole, The Supremes, Mahalia Jackson, The Temptations, Aretha Franklin, Diahann Carroll, Bo Diddley (he became the first on November 20, 1955) and The Fifth Dimension. Many of the higher-ups at CBS tried to discourage Sullivan from this practice but he was not deterred.

Related Topics:
Nat King Cole - The Supremes - Mahalia Jackson - The Temptations - Aretha Franklin - Diahann Carroll - Bo Diddley - November 20 - 1955 - The Fifth Dimension

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The show enjoyed phenomenal popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. As had occurred with Amos 'n Andy on the radio a decade earlier, the family ritual of gathering around the television set to watch Ed Sullivan became almost a U.S. cultural universal. Ed Sullivan was regarded as a kingmaker, and performers considered an appearance on his program as a guarantee of stardom. The show's iconic status is illustrated by a song from 1963 musical, Bye Bye Birdie. In the song, "Hymn for a Sunday Evening," a family of viewers expresses their regard for the program in worshipful tones.

Related Topics:
1950s - 1960s - Amos 'n Andy - 1963 - Bye Bye Birdie

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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 as the seasons went on. These two reasons were evidence for its cancellation in 1971. Sullivan would produce one-off specials for CBS until his death in 1974.

Related Topics:
1960s - 1971 - CBS - 1974

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