The Ed Sullivan Show

American television program
Also known as: “Toast of the Town”

Learn about this topic in these articles:

Dylan

  • Bob Dylan
    In Bob Dylan

    …Blues” on Ed Sullivan’s popular television program, he literally walked out on a golden opportunity. That summer, championed by folk music’s doyenne, Joan Baez, Dylan made his first appearance at the Newport Folk Festival and was virtually crowned the king of folk music. The prophetic title song of his next…

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history of television in the U.S.

  • Milton Berle
    In Television in the United States: A potpourri of genres

    …Red Skelton Show [NBC/CBS/NBC, 1951–71]; The Ed Sullivan Show [CBS, 1948–71]; and others), westerns (Gunsmoke; Bonanza [NBC, 1959–73]; and others), game shows (What’s My Line [CBS, 1950–67]; To Tell the Truth [CBS, 1956–68]; and others), historical dramas (The Untouchables

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“Late Show”

  • Barack Obama and David Letterman on the Late Show with David Letterman
    In Late Show

    …that was the home of The Ed Sullivan Show. Like other late-night talk shows, the program featured interviews with celebrity guests interspersed with comedic segments, skits, and musical performances.

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Presley’s appearances

rock and television

  • In Rock and television

    …TV appearances, above all on The Ed Sullivan Show; the following year Ricky (later Rick) Nelson, one of the two sons on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, began to perform rock-and-roll numbers regularly on the series, with the nicely symbiotic result that TV exposure boosted his record sales even…

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role of Sullivan

  • Ed Sullivan and the Beatles
    In Ed Sullivan

    …Town (1948–55) and later as The Ed Sullivan Show (1955–71). It presented a wide variety of types of entertainment acts, and Sullivan was noted—and teased—for his stiff, almost uncomfortable demeanour and for his terse way of introducing guest performers; his usually reserved manner won him the sobriquet “the Great Stone…

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