Did everyone watch Ed Sullivan in the 1960s?

Yeah but keep in mind that there were only like 6 channels in a market like NYC.

There wasn't much choice and since no one had sex back then, there was nothing else to do.

Only on Sundays.

All of America watched the Ed Sullivan Show in the 1960s and 70s.

The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971.

Everyone watched to see me.

Never. Seriously, I don't recall my family ever watching it. We were NBC all the way. Disney, Branded, and Bonanza.

I remember NBC, CBS, ABC, one local type channel and on PBS channel. That was the 1970's

I was only 5 when the 60s ended. I'll I can remember watching was Dark Shadows after school. It scared the shit out me but all the older kids loved it.

R6. We were a Disney family too sometimes. But at 8-9pm, it was Ed Sullivan--and no discussion. That's what we watched. Period.

Maybe back to NBC for Bonanza at 9; not sure. Wasn't Perry Mason on CBS following Ed Sullivan? If so, we continued with CBS.

Boy howdy, we did.

It came on right after the Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday.

We had to rush home from our weekly visit to our grandmother across town to be home by the start of the Disney show.

"Hurry up, daddy!"

Does everyone remember when Ed Sullivan planted his liver lips on that fucking puppet mouse and kissed it?!

Lawd!

Not everyone watched Ed Sullivan. NBC had "The Colgate Comedy Hour" at the same time. Various hosts included Eddie Cantor, Martin & Lewis, Abbot & Costello. They sometimes had mini-musicals with people like Frank Sinatra, Gordon McRae, Donald O'Conner, Bob Fosse, and Ethel Merman.

Yup.

The Supremes had me mesmerized. When I grew up I was going to be a Supreme and wear those gowns and have my hair just like them and dance like them, too.

I vaguely remember watching it. Nothing specifically but can recall seeing KATE SMITH, and a few others.

Ahhh - I'm too young to have watched Ed Sullivan during its original run, but I kind-of miss those simpler times when everyone ate their Sunday dinner together, then gathered in the living room to watch Ed Sullivan. (For the trolls waiting to seize upon my non-literal use of the word "everyone" - save it.)

In the late-'90s, TVLand regularly aired Ed Sullivan re-runs (condensed versions)...it was great.

We usually recorded Ed Sullivan and Steve Allen and watched Maverick. I wish. Sunday night was a television battleground, both between the networks and within American households.

Ed Sullivan really doesn't get the deserved credit for setting the definition of our popular culture. Nothing approaches that today unless you count "trending" or "viral."

How could we have NOT watched that guy who kept all those plates spinning?

Yes, and being a theater queen, I loved the Broadway performances...

That was an era when people all across the country knew about Broadway shows and Broadway stars -- and it was Ed Sullivan who did it.

Until last week, it would have been a miracle if people across the nation had ever heard of Idina Menzel.

My name Jose Jimenez.

[quote] We usually recorded Ed Sullivan and Steve Allen and watched Maverick.

How did you manage to do this?

I remember a cute little mouse that was really somebody's upside down two fingers.

Topo Gigio was a cute mouse from a children's puppet show on Italian & Spanish television. He became a popular character on The Ed Sullivan Show. It wasn't someone's upside down two fingers, R21.

You're confusing Topo Gigio with ventriloquist Señor Wences who made his hand into a talking face.

We watched Ed Sullivan every Sunday at my grandma's house. But I'd already seen the Beatles on US TV before they were on the Sullivan show.

I hated the Czech plate spinners, Taiwanese acrobats and the contortionists. In fact, I didn't like Topo Gigio or Señor Wences. I pretty much lived for the music acts. The rest of the show was a bore. I remember watching Myron Cohen telling jokes and thinking, "Why is that funny?" I think I remember Albert Brooks and John Byner on the show and my sister and I thought they were hysterical. I could barely tolerate Allen and Rossi, but I liked Burnes and Shreiber. And I loved the Smothers Brothers.

I always thought Byner should have had a better career. One of my favorite tv scenes of the 60s was seeing john Byner on the Odd a Couple yelling, "Yiz'll be back! Yiz'll"" be back beggin on yer knees just like my mother was !"

I remember George Carlin being this very straight comedian on Sullivan for a few years and then all of a sudden he came on with long hair and a beard and was all hippy dippy weatherman. I remember seeing the Jackson 5 for the first time and thinking Michael had to be a midget because he was so unbelievably professional for a kid.

I was also wondering how r15's family managed to record tv shows in the 1950s and 1960s.

Makes you wonder, if DL posters are making things up over something as inane as this, then what else are they fibbing about.

The Sunday night lineup at our home for many years was 8 pm: Ed Sullivan, followed by 9 pm: Bonanza, and then 10:30 pm: What's My Line?

But as WML? was only a 1/2 hour, I can't remember what filled up the other half.

I think it was usually some awful sitcom that just lasted a season though it seems weird that such prime time viewing wouldn't have been reserved for something more important.

I'm guessing there's probably no one on this board old enough to know the answer.

[quote]I was also wondering how [R15]'s family managed to record tv shows in the 1950s and 1960s. Makes you wonder, if DL posters are making things up over something as inane as this, then what else are they fibbing about.

Would SOMEONE please reread R15's post? See what comes after that sentence you're all in a twist about? See where he said "I wish"?

Now don't you all feel pretty silly?

Yup, Wonderful World of Disney followed by the Ed Sullivan show EVERY Sunday night. I remember when my dad had to go to NYC for business and he went to see the Ed Sullivan Show. I just thought that was THE most awesome thing evah!

Sundays I remember watching MKeever and the Colonel, Lassie, Walt Disney, Ed Sullivan and Bonanza. I also seem to remember watching Car 54 Where Are You, It's About Time, Dennis the Menace and My a Favorite Martian.

Walt Disney often aired shows that were total duds to me -- they did a lot of animal shows, like a coyote in Beverly Hills, or a bear catching salmon from a steam . I had an intense hatred for Donald Duck, too. Whenever one of those Disney shows was being aired, we'd switch to another network.

I remember how we all looked forward to seeing The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh based on the preview, thinking it would be a scary story like the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and it was a crashing bore. I'd say we only watched Walt Disney about half the Sundays we were at our grandparents house.

I was mad about Kurt Russell and wished he would be on Disney every week.

Yes and I was the remote control, since I normally laid on the floor in front of the TV they would just yell at me to change the channel or adjust the volume.

No, I wasn't even a sperm or egg in the 60s.

Yes, we watched ED SULLIVAN. My mom loved Topo Gigio. My dad went utterly ape shit when he saw the long hair on the Beatles! Real men did NOT wear their hair like that!!!

[quote] My dad went utterly ape shit when he saw the long hair on the Beatles! Real men did NOT wear their hair like that!!!

I heard that so much, my favorite reply was, so you're are saying Jesus wasn't a real man.

Everybody switched back and forth during commercials. The commercials didn't air on each network at the same time, so you could switch during Ed Sullivan's commercial break and watch Branded, then switch back.

I remember watching with my Grandmother and Aunt the night BJ Thomas sang Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head and they made it rain on him!

My Aunt got a real kick out of that.

I remember bugging my mom to let me stay up to watch but as it was Sunday night I had to go to bed but The Archies had a hit with Sugar Sugar and they made a cartoon MTV type video to show on ed Sullivan so she woke my brother and I up to watch it.

Not those of us under a hundred.

Not really, r26, because r15's post is very badly written and doesn't get its point across clearly.

Surprised nobody has posted this yet. Yes, TESS was uniquely iconic.

"Bye Bye Birdie" features a hymn to Ed Sullivan, led by Paul Lynde. Hilarious!

Topo Gigio made me as gay as he was. So, yes.

[quote]But as WML? was only a 1/2 hour, I can't remember what filled up the other half.

Maybe another game show like "I've Got a Secret" or "To Tell the Truth"?

[quote] Yes, TESS was uniquely iconic.

It took me a minute to realize that "TESS" stood for "The Ed Sullivan Show." At first I thought you were referring to frequent Sullivan guest Tessie O'Shea, who was most definitely iconic.

I didn't

[quote]But as WML? was only a 1/2 hour, I can't remember what filled up the other half.

Candid Camera, R25.

How the hell should I know?

I lost track after counting up to 2,350,697, asshole.

Here, let's help you out.

If acts like Sergio Franchi, Judy Garland, Stiller & Meara, The Beach Boys, Johnny Mathis, The Supremes, or Petula Clarke were on--you bet, my mom loved them. But if any of the rock or psychedelic acts my older musical brother liked came on, my dad would intercept and shout, "Turn off those dirty-necks!" and change the channel, over to "The FBI" on NBC, I think.. Except for Ike & Tina Turner--he liked her.., I mean, them.

His audience began to decline sharply as the 60s wore on. His putting on groups like the Beatles and Stones cut both ways--it helped with a getting younger people to tune in but didn't help hold on to older viewers. He began to get stiff competition from The FBI, which was turgid and predictable with the wooden Efrem Zimbalist cranking out the J Edgar "Mary" Hoover propaganda---perfect, tough, for grabbling an older audience.

R1, we had seven:

WCBS (2), WNBC (4), WNEW (5), WABC (7), WOR (9), WPIX (11), WNET/WNDT (13) and corresponding affiliates.

New York is the biggest market in the country; when we had seven channels, others had two.

I think it was a law back then.

R46, The Beatles made their last live appearance in 1965, the Stones, 1967 or so. The show lost ratings in the very late 60s because the show was shitty and the true talent was few.

When black performers, like Diana Ross and the Supremes, went on Ed Sullivan show, we told each other in the neighborhood and at church.

It was thrilling and groundbreaking to see black artists perform on national TV. You hoped they didn’t mess up and we felt validated when Ed Sullivan actually talked to them after their performance. It was a big deal.

The reason some of you did or didn't like the jugglers, the circus act, Topo Gigio, the Broadway numbers, the rock acts, etc. was that since Sullivan hadn't any talent (except for talking to Topo, if you call that talent), he made up for it by having something for everyone. If you didn't like the plate spinner, wait, they'll be an opera singer, a pas de deux from the ballet, a popular standards singer, or a rock 'n roller. He didn't have to spend time singing a song every week, but he did introduce the acts and usually sometime famous in the audience, and he very often (endearingly) screwed up their names.

Watching Ed Sullivan each week and paging through Life magazine was my only access to popular culture as a kid in the late 50's and 60's.

After seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, my world was forever changed. I went to the local appliance store the next day and bought a Beatles 45 ("She Loves You") and played it about a thousand times. Hail, hail, rock and roll!

" he made up for it by having something for everyone."

That's what a VARIETY SHOW was, R51.

Yes, definitely. If I recall, my parents let me watch Disney at 7:00, and we would then switch over to Ed Sullivan. I remember the mouse. I’m not sure I can specifically recall any of the other acts — other than the plate spinners and maybe some clowns on unicycles.

I’ve seen the clips of the Beatles on Sullivan, but I don’t remember if we watched that live or I’ve just seen it so often I assume we did. It wouldn’t surprise me if we did because my sister would have wanted to watch. My parents would have let us — and then complained afterward about rock-and-roll.

The Beatles were not everything.

I saw Ella Fitzgerald, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis, The Supremes, Judy Garland, Louis Armstrong, The Temptations, The Stones, Liza Minnelli, Connie Francis, Roy Orbison, Tom Jones, Peggy Lee, Engelbert Humberdink, The Byrds, Shirley Bassey, Paul Anka, The Fifth Dimension, The Animals, Janis Joplin, Sergio Franchi, Neil Diamond, Harry Belafonte, Lainie Kazan (!) and hundreds more on The Ed Sullivan Show. Including a sometime guitar player named something-Brody who was throwing cash out the window of his parent's house in Scarsdale NY in 1969. I had no car and couldn't get there in time - but he got a gig on the Sullivan Show. That Ed had him on shows how bad the show had gotten by 69-70.

HELL NO!!!

Togo Gigio (kees me goonight, Eddie), Senor Wences ('sawrite? 'sawrite!), Shari Lewis and Lambchop, Victor Borge, Canadian comedians Wayne and Shuster. And another Canadian? singing duo who sang in both French and English whose faces I remember, but fucked if I can remember their names? Anyone?

Sullivan highlighted Black performers on national television when segregation was in force. He showcased both the famous and the up and coming who would, in many cases, become famous.

^^^ ToPo ^^^

Although I was only a child I recall watching it with my family. I would say yes, everyone watched it. It was rather an institution by then.

Can someone please explain Ed Sullivan to me? He is one American institution that the rest of the world totally doesn't get, and never did. In fairness, we never received the whole show, just got to see lots of clips.

Did he have any talent or appeal, or was it just that he got good people to appear on this show -- and if so, how did he do that (having no talent or appeal)? Did he have some sort of amazing career before The Ed Sullivan Show?

R61, Sullivan had been a newspaper columnist, writing about Broadway shows and Broadway gossip for the New York Daily News but syndicated across the country. In those days (1930s and '40s), there was nationwide interest in Broadway doings, and he was very prominent and popular.

In the early days of television, programming originated mostly from New York. When CBS decided to start a Sunday night variety show in 1948, Sullivan was a natural to host it. The show was a success, and the rest is history. Sullivan's awkward on-camera personality and mannerisms were part of his charm. He must have been the most widely imitated person in America during the '50s and '60s.

I would've done it but I was far too busy solving actual criminal cases.

[quote]When CBS decided to start a Sunday night variety show in 1948, Sullivan was a natural to host it.

Ed always reminded me of Richard Nixon.

Our family watched it. I remember Topo Gigio, Stiller & Meara, the Jackson 5 and the Supremes. I probably saw the Stones and the Beatles, but I can't remember back that far.

In the 60s, we watched lots of variety shows, those and westerns.

He was so physically ugly. I had trouble as a baby gayling getting past that.

These guys were great and probably the first break dancers;

Of course we all watched it, it was "A really big show".

We read that Ed was a sister who LOVED to smoke pole!

Will Jordan impersonates Ed

Oh yes, in my household it was required viewing. I vividly remember how mad my father would get every time he had Joan Rivers on and she'd walk out on stage bobbing her head up and down. It would make my father livid.

Topo Gigio was a joy.

I loved Señor Wences.

Phyllis Diller was always a hoot.

I have seen a bit on youtube

I remember the last time Ed had Jackie Mason on. Nearing the end of his routine Ed, who always stood on stage but off camera to the side even while the acts performed, held up 2 fingers telling Mason he had 2 minutes left. Then a minute later Ed held up one finger telling Mason he had one minute left. It got Mason flustered and he started commenting to the audience that he was getting fingers from everywhere that night. Mason start doing motions with his own fingers while looking at Sullivan, and then thumbed his nose at the camera before exiting the stage. When the camera came back to Sullivan it was obvious he was livid. He had a look of pure rage on his face because he thought Mason had given him the finger. Sullivan cancelled all of Mason's future appearances (he was under contract for 6 appearances) and according to Mason told him off stage that he would destroy his show business career for making obscene gestures on his show, even though Mason told him he meant no offense.

Years later I read that Sullivan could be a hard taskmaster with his guests who were pretty much all terrified of him.

"Sullivan had been a newspaper columnist"

And he continued writing a column in the NY Daily News after the TV show was cancelled until his death in '74.

What I loved about Sullivan and the show was that he DIDN'T perform, he just announced the guest performers. In all other variety programs, the host would sing and joke around, then sing and joke around with the guests. There'd be two guests, and they usually had one solo. The Sullivan show was ALL guests, maybe 4-5 - singers, comedians, acrobats, scenes from Broadway shows, opera, rock. My father was positively in love with the beautiful Jewish opera star Roberta Peters even though he disliked opera.

It was always a special treat whenever Sophie Tucker appeared.

[quote]But if any of the rock or psychedelic acts my older musical brother liked came on, my dad would intercept and shout, "Turn off those dirty-necks!" and change the channel, over to "The FBI" on NBC, I think.

"The FBI" was an ABC Series.

Sophie

Ahhhhhh, the Sixties and Ed Sullivan.

My favorite and most memorable act on Ed Sullivan was the plate spinner—spinning plates on poles.

Hymn for a Sunday Evening

We never watched Ed Sullivan much, but I vividly remember the night Elvis Presley made his debut on the show. My mother was curious about what all the excitement was about him, so while we usually watched something else, Sullivan was on that night. I was sitting in the living room with her and my brother waiting for him to come on. When he came on, after a couple of minutes, my father strode in from the kitchen, where he had been reading the paper, yelled "Turn that crap off!" and turned off the television. So much for both Ed and Elvis. Generally growing up we couldn't listen to anything but classical or big band.

The thing about the Ed Sullivan show and other variety shows is that nobody liked all the acts. You watched for the ones you liked and tolerated the others, so you got to know a bit of what was going in on all aspects of mainstream popular culture. It was a little like Top 40 radio. You learned all the pop hits, even the ones you hated, because they played them all ... over and over again. Or it was like network television - everybody watched basically the same shows because was so little choice.

It's great being able to choose to watch only shows you like whenever you like, listen to only the music you like, etc., but it was also kind of nice having that shared national culture.

I agree with you r85.

Topo Gigio, Senor Wences (who lived to be 103!), and the guy who spun the plates were my favorites! Basically all the vaudeville acts.

That was true for some with regard to Ed Sullivan, R85, but most people (adults, that is) watched a variety show because they liked the host - Dean Martin, Perry Como, Dinah Shore, Andy Williams etc, it didn't matter who the guests were. Or - I disliked the Smothers Brothers, yet I loved the regular cast on the weekly show, and most of the time I liked the guests too - so I watched. We didn't have a "clicker" so channel surfing was out of the question. We turned the show on and watched.

It's interesting that the variety show concept has never really been replicated in the past 30 or so years despite numerous attempts.

Musical awards show became the "new variety show" in the 70s, R89. While Dick Clark, Howard Cosell and the like were desperately trying to revive the format, the networks were coming out with award show after award show with live musical entertainment.