WHEN I WAS A KID

WHEN I WAS A KID

In the 1950's, the big thing on television was variety shows. On Sunday night was the biggest of them all: The Ed Sullivan Show. Ed Sullivan was a newspaper man who wrote about entertainment for a New York newspaper. His connections got him the job as host. He was not especially good looking and couldn't really speak very well. But, all that aside, he had the number one show on television for many years.

The show's format included many various acts. Each week he would have an established singer or singing group perform; you could see a circus act live on stage most weeks; stand-up comedians and impressionists were always on the show; sometimes he had an opera singer or a ballet performance; he would also have a new or up-and- coming singer or group perform.

He made a big splash by having Elvis Presley on live television in 1955/56. Elvis already had a few big rock and roll hits. But many people had not seen him. He came back to the show for two follow-up performances. On his third visit, Sullivan refused to allow the cameras to show him below the waist.

I'll never forget this. There was a girl in my grade school class (I was eleven at the time) whose parents would not allow her to watch The Ed Sullivan Show the nights that Elvis was on because of the way he gyrated his hips. Times sure have changed.