A Really Big "Shew" - June 20, 2006

From June 20, 1949, until June 6, 1971, Americans had an unbreakable Sunday night ritual: to gather around the TV set and watch The Ed Sullivan Show.  Sullivan was the unlikeliest of television hosts. A former gossip columnist, he was stiff and uncharismatic (which was heaven for impressionists like Will Jordan), but a shrewd judge of talent.  Among the performers who made their TV debuts on Sullivan's "really big 'shew'" were Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Sammy Davis, Jr., Lena Horne, Señor Wences, and (for the kiddies) Topo Gigio.  On February 9, 1964, the country came to a standstill as some 73 million people watched The Beatles. As big as that broadcast was, Sullivan's claim to immortality may be the musical Bye Bye Birdie. More than 30 years after his death, hardly a week goes by when a group of high-school students somewhere doesn't sing his praises in the "Hymn for a Sunday Evening." Suggested Sites... The Ed Sullivan Show - official site of the variety show that featured everything from plate spinners and performing chimps to Maria Callas and Rudolf Nureyev. Remembering the Beatles on Ed Sullivan - Fred Kaplan explains why the moptops' appearance on the Sullivan show changed American culture. TV.com: The Ed Sullivan Show - complete history of the show, with episode guides, guest lists, and more. The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show - the night that changed American culture. The Incredible History of the Ed Sullivan Theatre - at the corner of Broadway and 53rd. From operetta to radio to Ed Sullivan to sitcoms to David Letterman and beyond.