Ed Sullivan

Today is the birthday of Ed Sullivan. He was known as the last television host who tried to appeal to everyone. His show the Ed Sullivan Show became a Sunday night institution on CBS. It was the longest running variety series in television history (1948 – 1971). Unless you’re in your forties, you wouldn’t know of Ed Sullivan.

His show on Sunday night was must see TV. In the hour that he was on, he presented a variety of acts that appealed to every age group. Although he had no performing ability (comedian Alan King quipped: "Ed does nothing, but he does it better that anyone else on television"), he understood showmanship and had a keen eye for emerging talent. He introduced more than 10,000 performers throughout his career.

It was on his show that I watched Elvis Presley doing his gyrations as he sang. His act was so scandalous for that time that the third time he appeared on the show he was shot only from the waist up. As a kid, I would look forward for Sunday night in anticipation of which performers were going to appear. In February of 1964, the Beatles appeared on his show and this received a 60 share, one of the biggest ratings in television history.

Known as “the great stone face”, Sullivan was a man of intense passion and was know to have feuded with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Walter Winchell and Jack Paar over his booking practices. He fought with sponsors about having black performers on his show. He had a fondness for African American culture and had many of the famous black performers (Louis Armstrong, Ethel Waters, Diana Ross and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson) on his show.

He would always include a comic act on each show. He would always point out famous people that were in the audience watching the show and on occasion he would invite them up to perform. Every week there would always be a famous sports person, such as Willie Mays or Sam Snead or Mickey Mantle. He would also make it a point to have some type of novelty act perform, whether it be a circus or animal act. He also would later interact with a lovable little puppet with an Italian accent, called Top Giggio and this attracted the little ones watching.

His show had something for grandpa all the way down to a toddler.

The Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York City is now the home of the David Letterman Show.