Sullivan smiles while standing with The Beatles. February 9, 1964.Express Newspapers/Getty Images
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Bob Dylan performs the satirical "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues" during rehearsals. May 12, 1963.
After the rehearsal, Dylan was asked to perform a different song for the broadcast. He walked out of the studio and never appeared on the broadcast.CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
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Sullivan shakes hands with James Brown. October 30, 1966.CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
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The Beach Boys pose for a portrait with Sullivan after performing the song "Wendy." September 27, 1964.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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Sullivan talks with Mick Jagger before a rehearsal. November 19, 1969.CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
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Sullivan interviews Cuban Communist leader and president Fidel Castro amid a group of uniformed revolutionaries for a taped segment in Havana, Cuba on January 11, 1959. CBS Photo Archives/Getty Images
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The Beatles, along with Ed Sullivan, meet the press as they rehearse for their performance on February 9, 1964.Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images
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Elvis Presley dances and sings during his second appearance on October 28, 1956.CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
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A young Stevie Wonder during rehearsals. May 3, 1964.CBS/Getty Images
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Backstage before his second appearance, Elvis Presley adjusts his hair as Sullivan explains something to Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker. October 28, 1956. CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
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Louis Armstrong sings on stage. September 11, 1966.CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
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Sullivan greets The Jackson 5. December 14, 1969.CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
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Comedian Jerry Lewis on stage with Sullivan. November 19, 1961.CBS/Getty Images
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The Rolling Stones perform on the first episode of the show's 20th season. September 11, 1966.CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
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Barbra Streisand holds her arms out and smiles as she performs. December 12, 1962.CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
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Buddy Holly performs on January 26, 1958.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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Comedian and actor Rodney Dangerfield performs on June 15, 1969.CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
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The Everly Brothers on stage. 1958.George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images
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Jackie Robinson talks with Sullivan on the air. May 20, 1962.CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
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Jerry Lee Lewis plays the piano and sings. November 16, 1969.CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
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Gladys Knight and the Pips meet Sullivan. February 7, 1971.CBS/Getty Images
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Comedian and actress Lucille Ball stands on the side of the stage. February 5, 1956. CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
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Folk rock group The Mamas and the Papas perform on July 14, 1968.Bettmann/Getty Images
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Nancy Sinatra sings during an appearance on October 1, 1967.CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
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Soul singer Diana Ross performs on March 24, 1968.CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
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Sullivan greets comedian Richard Pryor on May 9, 1965. CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
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Singer and musician Sammy Davis, Jr. plays drums. January 6, 1963.CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
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Simon and Garfunkel perform on May 22, 1966.CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
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Sullivan puts his arm around Joan Rivers as they chat. September 11, 1966.CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
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The Band greets Sullivan on November 2, 1969.CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
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Pop singer Tom Jones throws his arms in the air during a performance on June 13, 1965.CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
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Comedian and actor George Carlin on stage. October 27, 1968.CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
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The Beatles rehearse for their nationwide television debut. February 9, 1964.Bettmann/Getty Images
33 Iconic Guests Of The Ed Sullivan Show In Photos
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The Ed Sullivan Show occupied the exact same weekly time slot on CBS for more than two decades between the late 1940s and early 1970s, a remarkable feat in any age, and one that looks especially remarkable in our current era of streaming.
Far more famous than Ed Sullivan himself or his variety show's impressive longevity were the string of impossibly iconic acts and figures that appeared on the program year in and year out.
These guests include Diana Ross and the Supremes, who debuted "Love Child" on The Ed Sullivan Show in September 1968, despite the song's controversial subject matter:
This love we're contemplating, is worth the pain of waiting. We'll only end up hating the child we may be creating. Love Child, never meant to be, Love Child, by society, Love Child, never meant to be, Love Child, diff'rent from the rest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfWpf17bIaU
Sullivan allowed the uncensored "Love Child" on his program in 1968, despite the fact that he and his producers had tried to censor musical acts (including legends such as Bob Dylan, Buddy Holly, Bo Diddley, The Doors, and The Rolling Stones) in the past over far less suggestive material.
In the case of Elvis, they wouldn't even allow him to be filmed from the waist down, deeming it to be too provocative, during his third appearance on the show in 1957:
Elvis aside, it is The Beatles' first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964 that is undoubtedly what most people think of when they think of the show, and for good reason. The U.S. television debut of The Beatles was watched by about 73 million people -- a record at the time. CBS received a staggering 50,000 requests for the 728 available tickets.
At the center of it all was Sullivan himself, an old newspaper columnist, who, as The New York Timesstated in his 1974 obituary, was an unlikely beacon for this ship of fools:
"The basis of his appeal was an ephemeral thing that baffled those who tried to analyze it. He was not witty, he had no formal talents, he could not consciously entertain anyone. He was bashful, clumsy, self-conscious, forgetful and tongue-tied. And there were times he was painfully, excruciatingly sentimental."
But Sullivan, as his obituary also noted, knew when to get out of the way and was an excellent judge of talent. He also had, according to one contemporary account, a "newspaperman’s instinct for staying on top of the news and the latest entertainment trends," which was "a major factor in the unequaled longevity of his show."
The photos above feature not only the show's musicians, comedians, actors, and one Communist Party leader as they graced Sullivan's airwaves and the New York stage that now bears his name.
Kellen Perry is a veteran writer on topics including television, history, music, art, video games, and food. His work has also appeared on Grunge, Ranker, and Looper.
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.
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Perry, Kellen. "33 Iconic Guests Of The Ed Sullivan Show In Photos." AllThatsInteresting.com, July 12, 2017, https://allthatsinteresting.com/the-ed-sullivan-show. Accessed February 22, 2025.
