On this edition of Ron’s Amazing Stories the blog, we look at the great Ed Sullivan. Who was he? Why Was he? I will attempt to fill your brains with knowledge. How we will do it? Let’s play, True or False with Edward Vincent Sullivan.
Q1 – Let’s Start out with the truth.
Edward Vincent Sullivan was born September 28, 1901, and was an American television personality, sports and entertainment reporter, and syndicated columnist. He is principally remembered as the creator and host of the television variety program The Ed Sullivan Show.
Q2 – Before all of his fame and attention he was a humble sports writer?
True: Sullivan landed his first job at The Port Chester Daily Item, a local newspaper for which he had written sports news while in high school. In 1919, he joined The Hartford Post, that newspaper folded in his first week there! He bounced through a series of news jobs with The Associated Press. Finally, in 1927, Sullivan joined The Evening Graphic as first a sports writer and then its sports editor.
Q3 – Wasn’t it in 1948 he became a household phenom?
False: In 1948 Marlo Lewis got the CBS network to hire Sullivan to do a weekly Sunday-night TV variety show called Toast of the Town. Debuting in June of 1948, the show was a success locally and was moved to CBS-TV Studio 50 in New York City. It was renamed to The Ed Sullivan Show where it would spend the next 23 years as a television icon!
Q4 – CBS-TV Studio 50 was the home of the David Letterman Show wasn’t it?
True: But it is no longer called CBS-TV Studio 50! In 1967 was renamed to the Ed Sullivan Theater. Before all of that, it was called the Hammerstein Theatre. It was built in 1927 named after Oscar Hammerstein, who was an American theatrical producer and director of musicals for more than 40 years.
Q5 – Ed Could not wait to book Elvis Presley on the show!
False: Sullivan was wary of Elvis Presley’s “bad boy” image, and initially said that he would never book him, but Presley became too big a name to ignore. So, in 1956, Sullivan signed him for three appearances. In August 1956, Sullivan was injured in an automobile accident near his country home in Southbury, Connecticut, and missed Presley’s first appearance. However, after Sullivan got to know Presley personally, he made amends by telling his audience, “This is a real decent, fine boy.”
That is all I have this time. If you want to learn more about Ed Sullivan I suggest heading over to The Ed Sullivan Official Website.
This Week’s Podcast: On the podcast this week we have a jam-packed show and it’s all about cats! We have ghost cats, strange facts about cats, and science fiction story that begins with a cat being flash frozen! Want more? Well, there is more and you can listen to this podcast on Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on Stitcher Radio or on the mobile version of Spotify. Do you prefer the radio? We are heard every Sunday Night at 8:00 PM (PST) on AMFM247.COM. Check your local listings or find the station closest to you at this link.
Ron’s Amazing Stories is produced and hosted by Ronald Hood:
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