wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

Comments

• [1] David Bragin from Brooklyn April 28, 2009 - 01:15PM

  Didn’t Ed Sullivan blacklist Leon Bibb when Leon refused to sign a loyalty oath during the blacklist period?

  Hard to say he was not political.

  
  
• [2] joe pearce from Brooklyn, N.Y. April 28, 2009 - 01:20PM

  As a teenager and young adult, I was at dozens of the afternoon public rehearsal shows (I don't think he always did these; my recollection is that they started in the mid- to late 1950s). I would then go home and watch the telecast, and it was amazing how different the two shows could be. Sullivan obviously ran things with an iron hand, which is probablyh why his show lasted 23 seasons. Leonard: Roberta Peters appeared on Sullivan's show more than any other opera singer, but she never appeared in a scene from TOSCA with Maria Callas. Callas's partner in that was George London, who didn't look anything like Roberta!

  
  
• [3] Edwina Marks from New York City April 28, 2009 - 08:17PM

  My whole family read "Sundays With Sullivan" and it brought back memories of how much our lives and those of my parents and grandparents were enriched by that show. They started to have an interest in Opera & Ballet, which they then passed to us children, because of the guests Ed Sullivan brought into our living room every Sunday without fail. It's a great book !

  
  
• [4] Gilbert Gotfried from San Pedro, CA April 29, 2009 - 05:57PM

  Wonderful interview. Ilson helped me to understand how and why Sullivan, with his deadpan appearance and manner, had such a popular show for so long. I will definitely read the book now.