High Recomendation: Netflix- The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan

[Stallion]

It's fantastic. As a young child of the 1960's I didn't recognize the greatness of this man. He had all the personality of Richard Nixon. But he is finally getting the recognition he so richly deserves as one of the great leaders of the Civil. Rights movement. What a great memorial for a truly great vanguard of progress in Civil Rights. Watch it- and thank me later. It will make you feel better.

[MrWowWow]

1. Any Mention of the Death of His Daughter?

As a child of the 60's I vaguely remember Ed losing his daughter. She tripped out on LSD , and wandered out a high rise window to her death.

Documentary on Netflix:

"Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan"

[Permanut]

2. That happened to Art Linkletter's daughter..

had not heard any details about a daughter of Ed Sullivan.

[MrWowWow]

4. Roger That

Age fogs the memory

I do remember that Ed asked that the Stones change some lyrics.

"Let's spend the night together" was changed to:

"Let's spend some time together."

Correcto?

[progree]

6. Didn't he pressure the Doors to change the line ""girl, we couldn't get much higher",

to something else that didn't suggest drugs, and Morrison refused, and they were banned from his show.

[zanana1]

7. That makes me remember my sophomore year at a Catholic high school.

We had a nun who tried so hard to connect with us that she had us sing: "Come on Jesus light my fire". I loved her.

[Inkey]

3. It was Art Linkletter's daughter

Diane who was initially claimed to be
on LSD when she died from a fall out
of window in 1969.

[valleyrogue]

10. Diane Linkletter

Last edited Sun Jul 27, 2025, 12:56 PM - Edit history (1)

in fact committed suicide. Drugs were not involved. The LSD story was an urban legend.

[mnhtnbb]

5. Watched it last night

I, too, grew up with Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday nights! But I don't remember shows from the '50's, since I was just a child. My bedtime was 8 pm--even in the summer--until I was about 10, but I do remember shows from the '60's, including The Beatles!

Definitely a documentary worth watching.

[John1956PA]

8. In late 1963, his show aired two episodes of U.S.S.R. performers.

The performances were part of a U.S. - U.S.S.R. cultural exchange. The first of those two episodes aired October 27, 1963, and featured Russian circus performances with animal and highwire acts. The second episode which I recall more vividly featured puppets, many of which were life-sized. The episode was video taped. It aired on December 1, 1963, following the show's two-week hiatus due to the JFK assassination.

Summaries of the episodes from the 1963-1964 season appear at the following webpage:

https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/5307-the-ed-sullivan-show/season/17 .

Here is a summary of the December 1, 1963, episode featuring the Russian puppets:

The Obratsov Russian Puppet Theatre
December 1, 1963 • 1h

The Obratsov Russian Puppet Theatre --Ed dedicated the entire hour show to the Obratsov Russian Puppet Theatre. The puppet act, led by Sergei Obratsov, specialized in satire. --The show was divided into different puppet acts: ""The Coloratura Soprano""; ""The Tango""; ""The Wunderkind,"" ""The Gypsies"" from the Forests of Transcaucsia; ""The Performing Animals""; ""The Illusionist""; ""The Tap Dancers"" and ""Jazz Singer and her Combo."" --This show was taped in November 1963 at the conclusion of the troupe's Broadway engagement, a part of the American-Soviet cultural exchange.

[Fiendish Thingy]

9. Sounds like an interesting show

But it also sounds like it focuses mostly on his advocacy of black performers, but doesn’t include coverage of his red baiting newspaper columns or allowing guests to be vetted for loyalty by anti-communists in the 50’s, as well as his/CBS attempts to censor Dylan, the Doors and the Rolling Stones..

I enjoyed watching his show as a kid, and find learning more about the man quite interesting.