"Toast of the Town" (1948) TV series 1948-1971

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Director:

Kenneth Whelan

Writers:

Jerry Bresler (writer)
Lyn Duddy (writer)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25

Release Date:

20 June 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Music

Plot:

The classic prime time variety show most famous for its vaudeville acts and its rock music performances.

Plot Keywords:

Variety | Audience Participation | Non Fiction

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Ed Sullivan

...

Himself - Host / ... (1,054 episodes, 1948-1971)

Also Known As:

The Ed Sullivan Show (USA) (new title)
You're the Top (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (1965-1971) | Black and White (1948-1965)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:TV-G

Filming Locations:

CBS Television City - 7800 Beverly Blvd., Fairfax, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Trivia:

Cancelled in 1971 by CBS. The decision was a controversial one, since it was made at the end of the 1970-71 season and did not give Sullivan the opportunity to mount a farewell show after more than 20 years on the air. Sullivan would return for a few specials over the next year, however. The Canadian comedy duo of Johnny Wayne & Frank Shuster appeared on the show more often than any other act - nearly 80 appearances.

Quotes:

[Bob Hope has walked in on Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby singing' Road to Morocco']
Bing: What's the problem?
Bob: [pointing at Frank] You're singing our song with him.
Frank: I said I was sorry.
Bob: After all, Dean wouldn't do this to Jerry.
Bing: Bob, I'll tell you what happened. I didn't know you were in town. I heard, or I figured at least, that you'd gone for a ride on the Russian moon.
Frank: [indicating Bob] Ladies and Gentlemen, here's the first man to entertain the troops in Outer Space.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "American Masters: Jerome Robbins: Something to Dance About" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Mahna Mahna

Irreplaceable performances

I used to watch this program sometimes when I was growing up. Technically,of course, it is light years out of date--no flashy special effects, no elaborate staging, nothing except a host that acts like either a marble statue come to life, or a cold fish (take your choice!), and singers(pop and otherwise), actors, dancers, comedians, classical music virtuosos (such as then 13-year old Itzhak Perlman) and acrobats simply "doing their thing".

I took it for granted then. I didn't realize that we were sometimes seeing rare, priceless footage that we would seldom, if ever, see again in the future, and that it contained such gems as original cast performers singing the hit songs from legendary Broadway classics such as "My Fair Lady", "West Side Story", "Camelot", and "Man of La Mancha"-in full costume, yet. I always thought, "Well,we have the albums,and there's no reason these segments wouldn't be rerun someday. Besides,we'll have the film versions of the shows,so who needs to be so eager to catch the Broadway performers?"

How wrong I was.

Because, up until the advent of video remastering and restoration, and the invention of the VCR, these shows disappeared, apparently gathering dust in the CBS archives because modern-day programming and technology had made them seem so old-fashioned. Now they are back. Some years ago,Disney had the foresight to issue a video called "The Best of Broadway Musicals from the Ed Sullivan Show", and this priceless tape, which has since been transferred to DVD, contained Julie Andrews singing "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?", Andrews and Richard Burton singing "What Do The Simple Folk Do?", Carol Lawrence and Larry Kert singing "Tonight",Richard Kiley singing "The Impossible Dream",etc. And recently, when Ed Sullivan was broadcast on Nick-At-Nite,not only was Kiley shown singing this song, but we were also given the rare treat of seeing the original Aldonza/Dulcinea, Joan Diener, singing the lovely "What Does He Want of Me", a song omitted from the film version of "Man of La Mancha".

That is the kind of program this was.