Now Performing in the Red Skelton Tribute Theater 167 East Wears Valley Road Suite #17 (Shops of Pigeon Forge) Pigeon Forge, TN 37863
The Ed Sullivan Show
Edward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan was born September 28, 1901 and passed away October 13, 1974. Ed Sullivan was an American entertainment writer and television host on the Ed Sullivan Show,
In 1948, the CBS network hired Ed Sullivan to do a weekly Sunday night TV variety show, Toast of the Town, which later became The Ed Sullivan Show. The Ed Sullivan show was broadcast from CBS Studio 50, at 1697 Broadway in New York City, which in 1967 was renamed the Ed Sullivan Theater and is now the home of The Late Show with David Letterman.
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, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
Along with the new talent Ed Sullivan booked each week, he also had recurring characters appear many times a season, such as his "Little Italian Mouse" puppet sidekick Topo Gigio, who debuted April 14, 1963, and ventriloquist Señor Wences.
On the occasion of the show's tenth anniversary telecast, Sullivan commented on how the show had changed during a 1958 interview syndicated by the Newspaper Enterprise Association. Ed Sullivan commented taht the chief difference is mostly one of pace. In those days, we had maybe six acts. Now we have 11 or 12. Then, each of our acts would do a leisurely ten minutes or so. Now they do two or three minutes. And in those early days I talked too much. Watching these kines I cringe. I look up at me talking away and I say "You fool! Keep quiet!" But I just keep on talking. I've learned how to keep my mouth shut.
The Ed Sullivan Show is especially known to the World War II and baby boomer generations for introducing acts and airing breakthrough performances by popular 1960s musicians such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Supremes, The Beach Boys, The Jackson 5, The Rolling Stones, The Lovin' Spoonful and The Doors.
There is a myth about the appearance of Elvis on the Ed Sullivan Show. The myth states that Sullivan censored Presley by only shooting him from the waist up. Sullivan may have helped create the myth when he told TV Guide, when it comes his gyrations, the whole thing can be controlled with camera shots. But the truth, Presley's whole body was shown in the first and second shows.
The Beatles appeared on three consecutive Sundays in February 1964 to great anticipation and fanfare as "I Want to Hold Your Hand" had swiftly risen to No. 1 in the charts. Their first appearance on February 9 is considered a milestone in American pop culture and the beginning of the British Invasion in music.
If you remember watching these episodes then you probably remember watching the Red Skelton Show. Red Skelton and Ed Sullivan had guest spots on each others show back in the 50's and 60's.
Re-live the good old days when you are in Pigeon Forge by attending Brian Hoffman's Remembering Red - A Tribute to Red Skelton.
CLICK HERE or on the Show Schedule link above to make your reservations for the show.
