Elvis, the Beatles, Barbra, Liza, puppets with acerbic views of life, acrobats, jugglers, everything old school vaudeville, Broadway shows, rock stars, all coming to life for decades in a show that still amazes audiences today when it pops up in frequent reruns. Ed Sullivan got a song in a Broadway show, "Bye Bye Birdie", where Paul Lynde and his family sang a homage to him about their adoration for Sunday Evenings of simple, well-rounded entertainment. The king of the variety show, Ed Sullivan has been imitated and spoofed for years, long even after his death, appearing as himself in a few movies (including "Bye Bye Birdie" and "The Singing Nun"), yet beloved even by those who weren't around when these shows first aired. While the seemingly square Ed Sullivan had influence going back years, long before changes in music had stuffy adults claiming, "Rock and roll has got to go!", that didn't stop him from changing with the times. If there was a new group coming out that was getting attention, they always ended up on his show. He never made his feelings about these groups known, although with performers like Elvis, filming them from above the waste to avoid allegedly explicit visuals and censorship issues. This was the basis for the spoof of Conrad Birdie in the Broadway hit, and even the homage to Ed got on the air, presented sweetly and not all with an air of ego.It's the Broadway clips I remember from re-runs of the show, whether the original casts of "The King & I", "My Fair Lady", "West Side Story" and "Camelot", or flops like "Pipe Dream", "I Had a Ball!" and "Gantry" late in the show's run. If Ed went to see a Broadway show, it was certain as apple pie as the all American desert that an invitation would be made to the producers and cast to get the show to perform on TV. Not every show became a hit because of an appearance on his show, but many of them had longer runs than they would have had they not been there. With over 20 years of episodes sitting out there, a treasure trove of entertainment awaits, whether it be forgotten acrobatic acts or puppeteers or superstar girl groups like the Supremes. Opening up the vaults to bring out the tired, the forgotten, the obscure, and showing modern audiences what American culture has been all about. Sometimes re-discovery can prove that everything old is new again.

Ed Sullivan always had brilliant timing. He came along as a gossip columnist and writer for the New York Daily News, as people were starting to tire of Walter Winchell. And he basically chased Winchell from his seat at the top of the newspaper world with his "Little Old New York" columns.But also, at that same moment, television was in its infancy, and someone had to create programming for people to watch. Sullivan was a smart choice to use as a host, as he was already known by and equally aware of most of the stars of the day. So, he could easily cull performers to appear."The Toast of the Town," as the show was first called, eventually to be named after the host, was to be a showcase of the acts that were worthy of attention. And Sullivan, like the maestro he was, orchestrated every episode to provide something for every family member: comics, music, a performance from Broadway, something from Carnegie Hall or the Metropolitan Opera, a novelty performer like a juggler or acrobat, an act that appealed to the kids. It was the very definition of "Variety."But beyond the performances of the day, Sullivan also frequently brought in politicians, sports figures, news makers who weren't in the entertainment business and did brief softball interviews with them, which made the program not just a variety show, but a record of what was going on in the country at the moment of that episode's airing.The program was the original "Must See TV" and was popular right from the start, but Sullivan himself was parodied for his stilted delivery and rigid appearance on camera. Being of good humor about it, he frequently booked impressionists who did impersonations of him as a part of their acts. Notably Will Jordan, who appeared on the program, eventually played the role of Sullivan in the music video for Billy Joel's song "Tell Her About It."Ed Sullivan was a true visionary, knowing what acts were on the verge of success and giving them the push to launch them into orbit! The down side was he was very strict about keeping the program "family oriented," and as the rock era began with Elvis Presley and eventually The British Invasion, he often forced musicians of the day to change their lyrics, wardrobe, act so that they didn't offend the sensibilities of "Middle America." And performers frequently, if not begrudgingly, kowtowed to Sullivan because they knew what it meant for their careers: Everyone in the United States would see them perform on the program, a literal "Overnight Success."Eventually, tastes changed, and Fred Silverman, television programmer extraordinaire, decided that 1971 was the year to end the series. Though Sullivan did return for a few specials after the program's cancellation, the window onto this slice of twenty plus years of the 20th Century remains as a document, an historic record of the time, and notably collections of clips from the program have become treasured for their capturing performances of the superstars of yesterday, from when they were just starting their legendary careers.

(sorry for my bad English) I am interested in find the episode 816 of 1/3/1965. I am Spanish and in this episode was appeared the Spanish singer Carmen Sevilla. Carmen Sevilla born in Sevilla in 1930, she is in the actually a famous showman in the TV of my country. She was appeared in films with Richard Kiley and Charlton Heston and she filmed in 1961 King of kings. She was an important singer of traditional and pop Spanish music at the 50 and 60's decade and she was to Hollywood at the Paramount studies in 1956. I wait your answer and your resolution. This is very important for me trouble this program because is marvellous and a bid entartaimente. Thank you. Best Regards from Spain.Miguel.

I must say that I have become immersed in watching reruns of this awesome television classic as of late. Everything about it is great. It is my opinion that highlights of its series run include guest appearances by Elvis Presley, The Beatles and The Doors. Ed Sullivan was always a truly great and cordial host and it's very easy to see why this show is so fondly remembered even today.