I was thinking about Ed Sullivan this evening. It’s Sunday, dinner is done and there’s nothing entertaining on television on Sunday night any more. Cartoons and made for TV movies don’t seem to scream out “watch me”. The show Criminal Minds just creeps me out. The current barrage of amateurs trying to be professionals via shows such as So You Think You Can Dance (Canada) and American Idol are a little too dramatic for my tastes. Having the loser stand there to be humiliated for twenty minutes before his or her name is called is a bit harsh, in my opinion. Along with millions of other North Americans back in the 60s, I used to rush home on Sunday night to watch The Ed Sullivan Show. That’s where you found everyone at eight o’clock on Sunday night. That’s where the entertainment was.
Every week was different yet every week was the same. The guests changed, the format didn’t. There was someone for everyone. If you were a comedy fan you were always in luck. There was a comedian pretty much every week. Rich Little, Alan King, John Byner and Frank Gorhswin were all on there. Ed was good at introducing new talent and he was particularly fond of comedians, even the raunchy ones like George Carlin. Bet you can’t guess which comedy act was on his show more than any other? Well, it’s Canada’s own Wayne and Shuster.
If you were a Broadway enthusiast you too were in luck. There would be songs from current hits performed by the cast, scenery and all. I always loved it when Robert Goulet came on so I could hear Ed butcher his name......”Right here on our stage, from Canada, young Robert Goooooolet.” Cracked me up every time.
I suppose there were folks out there who enjoyed watching the plate twirlers, the tumblers, the assortment of jugglers, the knife throwers, the magicians, lion tamers and the other weirdos (my opinion only, of course) who Ed managed to scrape up each week. That time I reserved for pouring a Coke because the commercials were few and far between back then and there wasn’t that much time during the real breaks to do much.
Ed had some very strange yet much loved acts who were semi-regulars. There was Topo Gigio, the creepy little mouse who used to ask of Ed, “Eddy, kiss me good-night.” and much to our horror and delight Ed, the stalwart, no expression, no personality Ed, would plant a big fat one on Topo Gigio’s little round cheek. Not my favourite guest - probably due to an aversion of rodents in any form. There was the guy who talked to his hand and also had a box and the box used to say, “Say good-night. Good-night.” Kind of funny in a strange way.
There were the standard ballad singers who came on. Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, the husband and wife team who I thought had to be the happiest couple on earth, were regulars. The surprising Gomer Pyle, out of character and being himself, Jim Nabors, with his unbelievable voice. Somehow though, it was always hard to take him seriously, and he was always Gomer Pyle impersonating a real singer. I remember the night Greg Morris (the guy on Mission Impossible who did all the intricate twiddling of objects that eventually blew up) was on the show to sing. After the orchestra had played the opening stanza at least three times, Greg finally, out of stage fright, talked the words instead of singing them. Ed Sullivan show was live so there was no taping, retaping, lipsynching, it was all real and in the moment. My favourite of the old time ballad singers was Jack Jones, one of the best and underrated singers of his time. He had a perfect pitch voice, was pretty to look at but sang fairly dull songs most of the time. Mel Torme was another guest - poor Mel, who had no chin, and sang in a style that irritated me no end - but he had talent. I just didn’t like the Frank Sinatra wannabes.
The big build up of all these comedians, tumblers, knife throwers, Broadway acts and ballad singers was the inevitable and much anticipated rock and roll act. Ed never disappointed. He liked being on the cutting edge of his time and showing current trends and rock certainly was cutting edge and a very current trend. On his show he had Elvis (he was not actually there for the initial ‘unveiling’ of Elvis, having been hospitalized at the time of Elvis’ first appearance), he had the first American sighting of the Beatles (something he orchestrated and was proud of), Roy Orbison, The Dave Clark Five (most appearances by a rock and roll group due to their clean cut appearance), The Mamas and Papas, Sonny and Cher, The Rolling Stones - they were all there. He banned The Doors after their first appearance. We were treated to them all.
Ed Sullivan started out his career as a boxer who became a sports writer. From there he moved to be a real competitor of Walter Winchell. Walter was a famed columnist who wrote from a table at The Stork Club in New York about the comings and goings of New York’s rich, famous and infamous, basically a gossip column. Ed, when he came up against Walter, outdid him in spades. He took a table at The El Morocco night club and became more famous than Walter ever was and outlasted him.
Ed always had a kind of dour expression with no actual talent or acting ability. It was said of him by comedian, Alan King, “He will last as long as someone else has talent.” He had an inert understanding of what the public wanted and he gave it to them. His show aired from 1948 - 1971, and remains one of the longest running variety shows in television history. At the end of each show he told us who next week’s guests would be. The anticipation stayed with us all week.
It’s Sunday night, and I’m twiddling my thumbs because there is nothing on television. I miss The Ed Sullivan Show.
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