- Born
- Died
- Birth nameEdward Vincent Sullivan
- Nickname
- 'The Great Stone Face'
- Height5′ 9″ (1.75 m)
- The beloved Impresario of TV variety from 1948 to 1971, Ed Sullivan originally made his name as a newspaper sportswriter, radio broadcaster and theater columnist for the New York Daily News. His column focused primarily on Broadway shows and juicy items about its stars. On the new medium of TV, however, he became a pioneer master of ceremonies and entertainment showman.
Edward Vincent Sullivan and his twin brother, Daniel (who died at age 2), were born to a modest Irish-Catholic family on September 28, 1901, in Harlem. A major athlete at Port Chester High School, he lettered in track, football, basketball and baseball. His first professional experience was his local The Port Chester Daily Item, a local newspaper for which he had written sports news while in high school. He joined the paper full-time after graduation. He would land subsequent jobs as a sports reporter, and then various news-related jobs with such papers as The Associated Press, The Philadelphia Bulletin and The New York Bulletin. A sport writer and (later) editor for The Evening Graphic in 1927, Sullivan took over the Broadway column for The News after Walter Winchell left. That position would last 42 years.
Hired in 1932 by the CBS network as a rival of radio commentator Walter Winchell, future radio stars introduced on Sullivan's program included Jack Benny. Sullivan made his film debut as himself in Mr. Broadway (1933), which he also wrote. His subsequent screenplay and story involvements included the screwy comedy There Goes My Heart (1938) and the Universal musical Ma! He's Making Eyes at Me (1940).
So successful was he as Masters of Ceremony at the Harvest Moon Ball at Madison Square Garden, CBS hired him to do The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) ("Toast of the Town") just as TV sets were becoming a home staple. The show, which balanced amazing novelty acts with singing and comedy talents, both legendary and up-and-coming, was broadcast from CBS Studio 50 on Broadway in New York City. In 1967 the studio was aptly renamed the Ed Sullivan Theater. Although Sullivan himself had zilch stage or camera presence and had a frustrating habit of forgetting performers' names as he was about to present them, audiences were completely taken by his charming idiosyncrasies and mellow, guy-next-door approach. He and the show became a resounding success for a staggering 23 years.
Sullivan had a knack for identifying talent and his Sunday night variety platform became a springboard for a number of top stars and groups, including comics Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis and singers Elvis Presley and The Beatles. He also was color blind when it came to talent, generously promoting a number of black crossover acts, such as The Supremes and other Motown artists, when few other TV shows would. Sullivan appeared as himself in such films as Bye Bye Birdie (1963), The Patsy (1964) and The Singing Nun (1966), among others. The irrepressibly stiff, hunch-shouldered emcee was unmercifully parodied by a parade of impressionists over the decades, including Will Jordan, John Byner and David Frye.
Following his cancellation in 1971, Sullivan was seen infrequently hosting variety specials. He died in his beloved New York of esophageal cancer in 1974, three years after the cancellation of his series. The father of one daughter, Betty, Sullivan's wife Sylvia (Weinstein) Sullivan, whom he married in 1930, died the year before.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / [email protected] - In 1955, Ed Sullivan was named its first president of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
In 1959 Sullivan, along with producer Bob Precht, received the Peabody Award for Television Contribution to International Understanding: With his Invitation To Moscow program of September 27, 1959, neatly timed to coincide with Khrushchev's visit to America, and before that with the Spoleto Festival of July 19, 1959. Ed Sullivan turned his long-time top TV Sunday night show into an imaginative and successful bid for better international relations.- IMDb Mini Biography By: MPS Legacy
- SpouseSylvia Weinstein(April 28, 1930 - March 16, 1973) (her death, 1 child)
- Nasal voice and stiff posture, both of which he encouraged comedians on his show to imitate
- His famous introduction of "we have a really big show for you tonight"
- Sullivan paid out of his own pocket for the funeral of dancer Bill Robinson ("Bojangles"), who died penniless. It was one of the many acts of quiet personal generosity for which Sullivan was known among his friends.
- Reportedly columnist Harriet Van Horne wrote of Sullivan, "He got where he is not by having a personality, but by having no personality; he is the commonest common denominator." Sullivan sent her a short note back reading: "Dear Miss Van Horne, You bitch. Sincerely, Ed Sullivan.".
- Like Elvis Presley and Liberace, both of whom guested on his show at various times, Sullivan was the lone survivor of twins. His twin brother, Daniel, died just before his second birthday.
- Although Elvis Presley made his debut on Sullivan's show on September 9, 1956, Sullivan was not actually the host that evening. Less than a week earlier, Sullivan was involved in a near-fatal auto accident that knocked out all his teeth and broke his ribs. Nonetheless, he was watching from his hospital room when guest host Charles Laughton introduced Presley in New York, followed by Presley's segment live from CBS Television City in Hollywood, as Elvis was in Hollywood filming Love Me Tender (1956).
- From the moment that Elvis Presley hit #1 on the charts in 1956, Sullivan insisted that his act was vulgar, distasteful and that he would never stoop to displaying that kind of entertainment on his show. However, when Steve Allen booked Elvis on his show in July, it turned out to be a ratings blockbuster. The very next day, despite everything he had previously said, Sullivan booked Elvis, who appeared the following September and made two more appearances in October 1956 and later in January of the next year.
- Tonight, we have a real big show...
- I am the best damned showman in television.
- I've tried every way I know to smile into a camera, but I can't do it.
- In the conduct of my own show, I've never asked a performer his religion, his race or his politics. Performers are engaged on the basis of their abilities.
- She's given the world so much darn enjoyment, Lucille Ball is the best loved star in show business.
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