Ed Sullivan

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.

Daughter's name is Betty. She was born on 22 December 1930 and married Robert Precht in 1952.

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).

The beloved Impresario of TV variety from 1948 to 1971, Ed Sullivan originally made his name as a newspaper sportswriter, radio broadcaster and theater columnist for the New York Daily News.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.

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.

During a Nov. 20, 1955, telecast, Sullivan expressed dismay that Bo Diddley performed his self titled recording of "Bo Diddley", prior to his performance of "Sixteen Tons", a 1955 million seller for Tennessee Ernie Ford. Bo had performed "Sixteen Tons" during rehearsal for the show. Ed said he was "double-crossed". Bo would later explain that he read both "Bo Diddley" and "Sixteen Tons" on the cue card and thought he was expected to sing two songs. Though considered a legendary performer, Diddley never returned to the show, and that may have cost him spots on other TV and film venues.

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).

One of the songs in the rave Broadway musical "Bye Bye Birdie" was a choral, evangelical song sung by the McAfee family, who have just found out they are going to appear on Ed's show. On June 12, 1960, the cast of "Bye Bye Birdie," fronted by patriarch Paul Lynde, appeared on Sullivan's 12th anniversary program to perform the complete song, with dialog, that led up to "Hymn for a Sunday Evening" and Paul's declaration, "Ed, I love you!"

In 1961, CBS asked him to fill in for an ailing Red Skelton on The Red Skelton Hour (1951). Rather than simply being a host, Sullivan donned the costumes and makeup and successfully performed Skelton's characters in the written comedy sketches, including one character renamed "Freddie the Freeloader.".

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.

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.

The following television shows and films were aired/released on his birthday: Mission: Impossible: The Code (1969)Emergency!: Gossip (1974)Time After Time (1979)Quantum Leap: The Leap Home: Part 1 - November 25, 1969 (1990)The Simpsons: The Principal and the Pauper (1997)The Wonderful World of Disney: Toy Story (1997)Numb3rs: Trust Metric (2007)The Simpsons: Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes (2008)1000 Ways to Die: Dead Wrongs (2010)He also has the same birthday as Confucius, and Cathriona White died on his birthday.

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.

Is portrayed by Will Jordan in I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978), The Buddy Holly Story (1978) (voice), The Doors (1991), Mr. Saturday Night (1992) and Down with Love (2003).

He has always been a very popular target for impressionists, even by Wak (Robert Picardo), a fictional alien in Explorers (1985). He is also one of the few celebrities to have had impressionists (such as Jerome Patrick Hoban and Nick Toth) who have made a career just out of impersonating him.

Appears on a 44¢ USA commemorative postage stamp, issued 11 August 2009, in the Early TV Memories issue honoring "The Ed Sullivan Show" (which began as The Ed Sullivan Show (1948)).