Today is the birthday of television host and "Great Stone Face" Ed Sullivan, born Edward Vincent Sullivan to an Irish Catholic family in New York City (1901). In 1948, he was asked to host a Sunday-night variety show for the CBS network called "Toast of the Town." Sullivan's on-screen presence was savaged by critics as wooden and lacking personality. He was compared to the great stone statues of Easter Island, and one New York critic simply wrote after seeing the debut, "Why? Why? Why?" But the network stuck by him, and what Sullivan lacked in obvious star power, he made up for in his instincts with the public. He booked all the talent himself and made sure there was something for everyone, from vaudeville acts, to popular recording artists, to Topo Gigio, the little Italian mouse puppet. He had a self-deprecating sense of humor and would often encourage visiting comedians like Rich Little in their imitations of him.
In the 1950s, the program became "The Ed Sullivan Show," and he established a name for himself for breaking new talent, landing bands like "The Beatles" for their first live performance on U.S. television, which was then the most watched TV event of all time.
The Ed Sullivan Show ran for 23 years until it was canceled in 1971 for poor ratings, making it one of the longest-running shows in television history.
Sullivan said: "If you do a good job for others, you heal yourself at the same time, because a dose of joy is a spiritual cure. It transcends all barriers."
In the 1950s, the program became "The Ed Sullivan Show," and he established a name for himself for breaking new talent, landing bands like "The Beatles" for their first live performance on U.S. television, which was then the most watched TV event of all time.
Sullivan also passionately fought back against pressures to avoid booking black talent, first exposing Sammy Davis Jr. and Ella Fitzgerald to a national TV audience. He was a big booster of the Motown label, hosting nearly every artist on their roster. The Supremes were a Sullivan Show favorite, appearing 17 times. When Nat King Cole appeared in 1954, Sullivan introduced him saying, "I've never met a finer performer or a finer human being." And in 1963, he supported Dylan's walking off his show when the network refused to let him perform his "Talking John Birch Society Blues," a song he himself had approved.
The Ed Sullivan Show ran for 23 years until it was canceled in 1971 for poor ratings, making it one of the longest-running shows in television history.
Sullivan said: "If you do a good job for others, you heal yourself at the same time, because a dose of joy is a spiritual cure. It transcends all barriers."
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