For two decades, Ed Sullivan was the face of Sunday night television in America. Through his program, he welcomed roughly ten thousand performers into the homes of viewers across the country. Many of the nation’s biggest stars, including The Beatles, Woody Allen, Jackie Mason, Phyllis Diller, and Rowan and Martin, gained their first national exposure on his stage. Sullivan was a reserved and somewhat awkward man, but he brought a unique charm to the medium.
Known as the king of variety, he ruled the television scene for twenty-three years. Sullivan had a talent for selecting acts that would appeal to American audiences. He possessed a keen eye for reading a crowd and could predict whether a performer would be well received. If a test audience was not impressed, Sullivan would ensure the act never appeared on national television on Sunday nights.
Born in a culturally rich area of New York City, where Irish and Jewish families lived side by side, Sullivan was the son of Peter Sullivan, whose family had come from an Irish immigrant background, and Elizabeth, an amateur painter. His twin brother, Daniel, died before their first birthday. When Ed was five, the family moved to Port Chester, where he was exposed to a mix of cultural experiences, including music and the Catholic Church. Growing up during a period of great change, he witnessed the transition from horse-drawn carriages to automobiles, an experience that shaped his view of the world and his desire to bring people together through shared culture.
Sullivan attended St. Mary’s High School in Port Chester, where he was a star student, working on the school newspaper and earning letters in multiple sports. Despite an opportunity to attend college, he chose to follow in his father’s footsteps and pursue journalism. His career had a restless start, as he moved from one publication to another.
He began as a reporter for the Port Chester Daily Item in 1918, moved to the Hartford Post a year later, and in 1920 settled at the New York Evening Mail until it ceased publication. Over the next few years he wrote for various New York and Philadelphia papers before serving as sports editor at the New York Evening Graphic, where he worked alongside Walter Winchell, whose gossip column had made him a celebrated figure. Sullivan yearned for the same level of influence and stepped into Winchell’s shoes when he left for the Mirror in 1931. The Graphic closed the following year, leaving Sullivan in a precarious position.
His career only became more stable in 1932, when he began writing his “Little Old New York” column for the New York Daily News, a position he would hold until his death. To compensate for the pay cut he took at the Daily News, Sullivan took on radio interview shows for NBC and CBS. Already a well-known figure, he used his influence to introduce Jack Benny as the first radio entertainer on WABC, a CBS affiliate, in 1932. Sullivan also hosted his own CBS radio program, “Ed Sullivan Entertains,” from 1936 to 1952, and worked as a theater master of ceremonies at the Paramount and Loew’s State theaters.
In 1947, Sullivan was discovered by advertising man Marlo Lewis while hosting the Harvest Moon Ball at Madison Square Garden, an event sponsored by the New York Daily News that attracted a large audience. A year later, on June 20, 1948, Sullivan hosted his first television show on CBS: “Toast of the Town,” sponsored by Emerson Radio. The show was an instant success, bringing vaudeville to living rooms across the country. The sponsor, however, was not convinced and dropped the show.
It continued with Lincoln-Mercury as the new sponsor, and Sullivan was so grateful to the Ford Motor Company that he would send postcards to dealers while traveling. The show’s name was later changed to “The Ed Sullivan Show,” and its formula remained the same for over twenty years: a mix of high, low, and middle-brow entertainment for the common man. Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis performed on that first show, along with dancer Katherine Lee, pianist Eugene List, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and a dance troupe called the Toets. Sullivan was known as a humble host who never stole the spotlight from the acts he brought on stage.
Despite his strange demeanor, often attributed to his treatment for a stomach ulcer, he had a knack for attracting the most popular talent. One of the most notable examples was Elvis Presley. Sullivan was initially against having Presley on the show, but he changed his mind after seeing the singer’s success on Steve Allen’s program. Sullivan secured a fifty-thousand-dollar, three-performance deal with Presley’s manager, Colonel Parker.
On his third appearance, Presley was shown only from the waist up due to public outcry over his scandalous reputation as “Elvis the Pelvis. ”
Another performance that went down in history was that of The Beatles. The group made their debut on the Sullivan show on February 9, 1964, and it was watched by a record-breaking audience of seventy-three million. The appearance marked the start of the British Invasion in America.
The Beatles performed “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You,” and the impact was immense. It solidified their place as one of the greatest bands in history and cemented Sullivan’s reputation as a legendary host. Sullivan’s personal life was as unusual as his public career. He married Sylvia Weinstein on April 28, 1930, and the couple lived a fast-paced life surrounded by luxury and artifice.
They called a suite of rooms at the Delmonico Hotel in Manhattan their home, and their meals were always eaten at restaurants or clubs. Sylvia never cooked; the hotel maid took care of the cleaning, and their daughter Elizabeth, nicknamed Betty, dined with a paid companion at restaurants until she was twelve. Despite hosting some of the biggest acts in entertainment, Sullivan also had a reputation for feuding with well-known personalities such as Walter Winchell, Steve Allen, Frank Sinatra, Jack Paar, Nat King Cole, and Arthur Godfrey. However, he was known for his generosity to those he liked.
He was kind-hearted enough to pay for the funeral of dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, who had fallen on hard times at the time of his passing. Ed Sullivan was not just a popular media personality; he was also a philanthropist at heart. He was the first to use his vast influence, which included his own newspaper column, radio shows, and television program, to benefit a noble cause. During World War II, Sullivan organized and produced forty-six shows to raise funds for Army Emergency Relief.
Sullivan was also an advocate for racial equality. He did not cave to pressure from sponsors who suggested dropping African-American acts from his show to cater to a larger Southern audience. He refused. In 1951, he wrote an article for Ebony magazine asking the question, “Can TV Crack America’s Color Line?
” In the 1960s, Sullivan made history by adding an African-American dancer to his chorus line, the first of its kind on television. He was dedicated to using his platform to spread awareness and make a positive impact on society. Ed Sullivan was a complex figure who left a lasting impact on American popular culture. Despite his polarizing personality, he could not be ignored.
He was a man of his time, yet his contributions continue to be remembered even after his death on October 13, 1974, in New York City. Sullivan left behind a legacy of entertainment in its purest form. Tom Smothers of the Smothers Brothers comedy duo described Sullivan as a “non-host,” lacking the flashy moves and gimmicks of modern hosts, but offering entertainment with no hidden motives or agendas. Sullivan was simply a presenter of the best performing artists of his time.
Rest in peace, Ed Sullivan. Farewell to a legend.