document_title: List of Florida state parks

question_text: what is the largest state park in florida

text: List of Florida state parks

text:
Map of State Parks of Florida
Hold cursor over locations to display park name,
click to go to park article.

text: There are 175[1] state parks and 9 state trails in the U.S. state of Florida which encompass more than 800,000 acres (320,000 ha),[2] providing recreational opportunities for both residents and tourists. Almost half of the state parks have an associated local 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, often styled, "Friends of {park name} State Park, Inc.".[3] In 2015, some 29,356 volunteers donated nearly 1.3 million hours to enhance the parks for approximately 31 million visitors. There is a mostly nominal admission to nearly all Florida's state parks, although separate fees are charged for the use of cabins, marinas, campsites, etc. Florida's state parks offer 3,613 family campsites, 186 cabins, thousands of picnic tables, 100 miles (160 km) of beaches, and over 2,600 miles (2,616 km) of trails.[3]

text: The Florida Park Service is the division of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection responsible for the operation of Florida State Parks, and won the Gold Medal honoring the best state park system in the country in 1999 and 2005 from the National Recreation and Park Association. They were also finalists in the 1997 and 2011 competitions.[4] The Park Service was awarded the gold medal again in October 2013, making it the only three-time winner.[2][5] The parks are open year-round and offer diverse activities beyond fishing, hiking and camping. Many parks offer facilities for birding or horseback riding; there are several battle reenactments; and freshwater springs and beaches are Florida's gems. According to the Florida Park Service website, their goal "is to help create a sense of place by showing park visitors the best of Florida's diverse natural and cultural sites. Florida's state parks are managed and preserved for enjoyment by this and future generations through providing appropriate resource-based recreational opportunities, interpretation and education that help visitors connect to the Real Florida."[3]

text: Several state parks were formerly private tourist attractions purchased by the state of Florida to preserve their natural environment. These parks include the Silver Springs State Park, Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, Rainbow Springs State Park, and Weeki Wachee Springs. There are state parks in 58 of Florida's 67 counties.[6] Nine of the 175 parks do not have "State Park" in their name. Four are "conservation areas" (reserve, preserve, or wildlife refuge); three are "Historical/Archaeological sites"; one is a fishing pier and one is a recreation area.[7] Seven parks are mostly undeveloped with few or no facilities; 10 parks are accessible only by private boat or ferry;[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] and 13 parks contain National Natural Landmarks.[7] Additionally, there are eleven national parks in Florida locations under control of the National Park Service.[18]

text: Florida state parks and reserves[edit]

text:
A
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C
D
E
F
G
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I
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K
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M
N
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P
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S
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U
V
W
X
Y
Z
See also
References
External links

tag: ul

text: Note: The table of contents only applies when the list is sorted by park name.

text:
"Year" refers to the year the park was opened. If that date is not available, the year the state acquired the property will be used.[19]
Left mouse click on the up/down arrows to sort the list by that column. Photo and remarks are unsortable.

text:
Park Name
County or Counties[19]
Size[19]
Year Established[19]
Water Body(s)[19]
Image
Remarks

Addison Blockhouse Historic State Park
Volusia
7002134510000099999♠134.51 acres (54.43 ha)
1939
Tomoka River

Ruins of a 19th-century plantation owned by John Addison

Alafia River State Park
Hillsborough
7003631200000000000♠6,312 acres (2,556 ha)
1996
Alafia River

Former phosphorus strip mine unremediated[20]

Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park
Leon
7003118000000000000♠1,180 acres
(478 ha)
1954
Lake Hall

Originally named Killearn Gardens State Park[21]

Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek Preserve State Park
Polk
7003806500000000000♠8,065 acres (3,266 ha)
1991
unnamed ponds

Home to rare scrub habitat for wildlife

Amelia Island State Park
Nassau
7002230000000000000♠230 acres
(93 ha)
1983
Nassau Sound
Atlantic Ocean

Horseback riding is permitted on the beach

Anastasia State Park
St. Johns
7003160000000000000♠1,600 acres
(648 ha)
1949
Atlantic Ocean

Hurricane Dora connected Anastasia Island and Conch Island in 1964

Anclote Key Preserve State Park
Pasco
7002403000000000000♠403 acres
(163 ha)
1997
Gulf of Mexico

Accessible only by ferry or boat[8]

Avalon State Park
St. Lucie
7002650000000000000♠650 acres
(263 ha)
1987
Atlantic Ocean

Used for frogman training during World War II

Bahia Honda State Park
Monroe
7002524000000000000♠524 acres
(212 ha)
1961
Atlantic Ocean
Gulf of Mexico

An island in the lower Florida Keys

Bald Point State Park
Franklin
7003406500000000000♠4,065 acres (1,646 ha)
1999
Gulf of Mexico

Amphibious landing exercises held during World War II

The Barnacle Historic State Park
Miami-Dade
7000500000000000000♠5 acres
(2 ha)
1973
Biscayne Bay

Oldest house in Coconut Grove; built in 1891[22]

Big Lagoon State Park
Escambia
7002705000000000000♠705 acres
(285 ha)
1977
Big Lagoon

Start of the Great Florida Birding Trail

Big Shoals State Park
Hamilton
7003377200000000000♠3,772 acres
(1,528 ha)
1989
Suwannee River

Largest whitewater Class III rapids in Florida

Big Talbot Island State Park
Duval
7003160000000000000♠1,600 acres
(648 ha)
1949
Atlantic Ocean

Part of Talbot Islands State Parks

Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park
Miami-Dade
7002400000000000000♠400 acres
(162 ha)
1967
Atlantic Ocean

Home to the Cape Florida Light on Key Biscayne

Blackwater River State Park
Santa Rosa
7002590000000000000♠590 acres
(239 ha)
1967
Blackwater River

Home to 1982 Florida Champion Atlantic white cedar tree

Blue Spring State Park
Volusia
7003260000000000000♠2,600 acres (1,053 ha)
1972
St. Johns River

Largest spring on the St. Johns River and a designated manatee refuge

Bulow Creek State Park
Volusia
7003560000000000000♠5,600 acres
(2,268 ha)
1981
Bulow Creek

400-year-old Fairfield oak and 11 plantation sites

Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park
Volusia
7002150000000000000♠150 acres
(61 ha)
1945
Bulow Creek

Extensive stone ruins[23]

Caladesi Island State Park
Pinellas
7003245000000000000♠2,450 acres
(992 ha)
1966
Gulf of Mexico

Ferry available, 108-slip marina[16]

Camp Helen State Park
Bay
7002185000000000000♠185 acres
(75 ha)
1996
Lake Powell
Gulf of Mexico

Day use park formerly used as private resort

Cayo Costa State Park
Lee
7003242600000000000♠2,426 acres
(983 ha)
1976
Gulf of Mexico

Accessible only by ferry or boat - primitive cabins[17]

Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve
Levy
7003502800000000000♠5,028 acres
(2,036 ha)
1978
Gulf of Mexico

Very limited facilities

Cedar Key Museum State Park
Levy
7001190000000000000♠19 acres
(8 ha)
1960
Gulf of Mexico

The St. Clair Whitman house depicts life in Cedar Key circa 1920

Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park
Charlotte
7004425180000000000♠42,518 acres
(17,220 ha)
1978
Gasparilla Pass
Charlotte Harbor

Very limited facilities

Collier-Seminole State Park
Collier
7003643000000000000♠6,430 acres (2,604 ha)
1947
Gulf of Mexico

National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark, the Bay City Walking Dredge used to build the Tamiami Trail through the Everglades

Colt Creek State Park
Polk
7003506700000000000♠5,067 acres (2,052 ha)
2007
several small lakes and creeks

Part of the Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve

Constitution Convention Museum State Park
Gulf
7001130000000000000♠13 acres
(5 ha)
1956
none

Site where first Florida Constitution was drafted in 1838

Crystal River Archaeological State Park
Citrus
7001610000000000000♠61 acres
(25 ha)
1965
Crystal River

National Historic Landmark and one of the oldest continuously occupied pre-Columbian sites in Florida

Crystal River Preserve State Park
Citrus
7004300000000000000♠30,000 acres (12,150 ha)
2004
Crystal River

Rare spring-fed estuary

Curry Hammock State Park
Monroe
7003100000000000000♠1,000 acres
(405 ha)
1991
Atlantic Ocean
Gulf of Mexico

Named for a Miami teacher whose family owned key land

Dade Battlefield Historic State Park
Sumter
7001800000000000000♠80 acres
(32 ha)
1921
none

Second Seminole War battle where 105 of 108 troops were massacred by 180 Native Americans

Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park
Monroe
7003242100000000000♠2,421 acres
(981 ha)
1982
Atlantic Ocean

Park's name changed in 2001 to honor park activist

De Leon Springs State Park
Volusia
7002600000000000000♠600 acres
(243 ha)
1982
Crystal River

"Old Methuselah" is a 500-year-old bald cypress; previously a private park with Jungle Cruise; 19 million gallons (72 million liters) of 72 °F (22 °C) water daily

DeSoto Site Historic State Park
Leon
7000500000000000000♠5 acres
(2 ha)
2003
none

Site of Hernando de Soto 1839 encampment and Gov. John W. Martin House

Deer Lake State Park
Walton
7003199500000000000♠1,995 acres
(808 ha)
1996
Gulf of Mexico
Deer Lake

Very rare freshwater lake among coastal dunes

Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park
Collier
7002166000000000000♠166 acres
(67 ha)
1981
Cocohatchee River
Gulf of Mexico

Barrier island with white sugar sand beach

Devil's Millhopper Geological State Park
Alachua
7001670000000000000♠67 acres
(27 ha)
1974
sinkhole pond

120-foot (36.6 m) deep, 500-foot (152.4 m) wide sinkhole accessed by 232 step stairway

Don Pedro Island State Park
Charlotte
7002230000000000000♠230 acres
(93 ha)
1985
Gulf of Mexico

Barrier island accessible only by boat or ferry[13]

Dudley Farm Historic State Park
Alachua
7002325000000000000♠325 acres
(132 ha)
1989
none

Shows agricultural development in Florida from the 1850s through the mid-1940s

Dunns Creek State Park
Putnam
7003600000000000000♠6,000 acres
(2,430 ha)
2001
St. Johns River
Dunns Creek

Steamboat stop during the 1920s

Econfina River State Park
Taylor
7003454300000000000♠4,543 acres
(1,840 ha)
1989
Econfina River

Confederate deserters camped here and assisted Union blockcade ships during the Civil War

Eden Gardens State Park
Walton
7002163000000000000♠163 acres
(66 ha)
1968
Tucker Bayou

Restored plantation house with Louis XVI style furniture

Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park
Wakulla
7003600000000000000♠6,000 acres
(2,430 ha)
1968
Wakulla River

One of the largest and deepest freshwater springs in the world

Egmont Key State Park
Hillsborough
7002328000000000000♠328 acres
(133 ha)
1974
Tampa Bay

The ruins of Fort Dade and Egmont Key Light are inside the park

Estero Bay Preserve State Park
Lee
7004100000000000000♠10,000 acres (4,050 ha)
1974
Estero Bay

The first aquatic nature preserve established in Florida

Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park
Collier
7004750000000000000♠75,000 acres (30,375 ha)
1975
none

Part of the Big Cypress National Preserve in the Everglades

Falling Waters State Park
Washington
7002171000000000000♠171 acres
(69 ha)
1962
2-acre pond

Contains a 73-foot (22.3 m) waterfall, tallest in Florida

Fanning Springs State Park
Gilchrist
7003142700000000000♠1,427 acres
(578 ha)
1997
Fanning Springs
Suwannee River

A first magnitude spring purchased by the state in 1993

Faver-Dykes State Park
St. Johns
7003604500000000000♠6,045 acres (2,448 ha)
1950
Pellicer Creek

A wilderness area

Florida Caverns State Park
Jackson
7003130000000000000♠1,300 acres
(527 ha)
1942
Chipola River

The only Florida state park with public cave tours

Forest Capital Museum State Park
Taylor
7001140000000000000♠14 acres
(6 ha)
1967
none

Includes a late 1800s Florida cracker homestead

Fort Clinch State Park
Nassau
7003142700000000000♠1,427 acres
(578 ha)
1935
Amelia River

Construction of Fort Clinch began in 1847

Fort Cooper State Park
Citrus
7002710000000000000♠710 acres
(287 ha)
1977
Lake Holathlikaha

On the Withlacoochee State Trail

Fort Foster State Historic Site
Hillsborough
7001300000000000000♠30 acres
(12 ha)
1935
none

Part of Hillsborough River State Park; replica fort built in 1972

Fort George Island Cultural State Park
Duval
7003160000000000000♠1,600 acres
(648 ha)
1949
Atlantic Ocean

Hurricane Dora connected Anastasia Island and Conch Island in 1964

Fort Mose Historic State Park
St. Johns
7001240000000000000♠24 acres
(10 ha)
2005
none

National Historic Landmark originally known as Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mosé

Fort Pierce Inlet State Park
St. Lucie
7002340000000000000♠340 acres
(138 ha)
1973
Tucker Cove
Atlantic Ocean

Used for frogman training during World War II

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park
Monroe
7001870000000000000♠87 acres
(35 ha)
1974
Straits of Florida

Pre-civil war fort abandoned, restoration began in the late 1960s by volunteers

Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park
Okaloosa
7002357000000000000♠357 acres
(145 ha)
1966
Rocky Bayou

Named in honor of United States Air Force Colonel who preserved site

Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail
Alachua
7001160000000000000♠16 miles
(26 km)
1989
Boulware Springs

Passes through Paynes Prairie

Gamble Plantation Historic State Park
Manatee
7001870000000000000♠87 acres
(35 ha)
1927
Manatee River

Sole surviving antebellum mansion in south Florida, once a 3,500-acre (1,416 ha) sugarcane plantation

Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area at Flagler Beach
Flagler
7002144000000000000♠144 acres
(58 ha)
1961
Atlantic Ocean

Renamed from Flagler Beach State Recreation Area in 1992

Gasparilla Island State Park
Charlotte
Lee
7002128000000000000♠128 acres
(52 ha)
1983
Charlotte Harbor

Gasparilla Island Lights were lit in 1890

George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier
Duval
7003800000000000000♠8,000 ft
(2,440 m)
1999
Nassau Sound
Atlantic Ocean

Pedestrian-only fishing bridge

Gilchrist Blue Springs State Park
Gilchrist
7002407000000000000♠407 acres
(165 ha)
2017
Santa Fe River

Several springs in the park, including a second magnitude spring with 44 million gallons (167 million liters) per day.

Grayton Beach State Park
Walton
7003220000000000000♠2,200 acres
(891 ha)
1968
Western Lake
Gulf of Mexico

Popular pristine beach offers cabins & camping, boating, fishing and trails

Henderson Beach State Park
Okaloosa
7002222000000000000♠222 acres
(90 ha)
1983
Gulf of Mexico

U.S. Air Force Clausen Tracking site until 1951

Highlands Hammock State Park
Highlands
7003900000000000000♠9,000 acres
(3,640 ha)
1931
none

One of the highest ranking parks in Florida for endemic biodiversity

Hillsborough River State Park
Hillsborough
7003338300000000000♠3,383 acres
(1,370 ha)
1935
Hillsborough River

Fort Foster is inside the park

Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park
Citrus
7002210000000000000♠210 acres
(85 ha)
1984
Homosassa River

Home to numerous manatees

Honeymoon Island State Park
Pinellas
7003278500000000000♠2,785 acres
(1,128 ha)
1975
Gulf of Mexico

Easily accessible by bridge from Dunedin

Hontoon Island State Park
Volusia
Lake
7003164800000000000♠1,648 acres
(667 ha)
1960
St. Johns River
Hontoon Dead River

Accessible only by ferry or boat[9]

Hugh Taylor Birch State Park
Broward
7002180000000000000♠180 acres
(73 ha)
1941
Atlantic Ocean

Park is in the middle of urban Fort Lauderdale

Ichetucknee Springs State Park
Columbia
7003224100000000000♠2,241 acres
(908 ha)
1972
Ichetucknee River

Drift tubing and certified cave diving

Indian Key Historic State Park
Monroe
7001100000000000000♠10 acres
(4 ha)
1972
Atlantic Ocean

First county seat for Dade County; accessible only by boat[10]

John D. MacArthur Beach State Park
Palm Beach
7002325000000000000♠325 acres
(132 ha)
1989
Lake Worth
Atlantic Ocean

A gift from John D. MacArthur to the people of Florida

John Gorrie Museum State Park
Franklin
7000100000000000000♠1 acres
(0 ha)
1958
none

Physician John Gorrie patented the first mechanical refrigeration process (air conditioning)

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
Monroe
7004530000000000000♠53,000 acres
(21,465 ha)
1963
Atlantic Ocean

First underwater park in the United States

John U. Lloyd Beach State Park
Broward
7002310000000000000♠310 acres
(126 ha)
1973
Atlantic Ocean

Named for county attorney who led preservation efforts

Jonathan Dickinson State Park
Martin
7004115000000000000♠11,500 acres
(4,658 ha)
1950
Loxahatchee River

Formerly a top-secret radar training school during WWII; now hosts the Elsa Kimbell Environmental Education & Research Center

Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park
Okeechobee
7004540000000000000♠54,000 acres (21,870 ha)
1997
none

The U.S. Army used the land to train B-17 bomber crews during World War II

Koreshan State Historic Site
Lee
7002135000000000000♠135 acres
(55 ha)
1983
Estero River

Home of the Koreshan Unity group

Lafayette Blue Springs State Park
Lafayette
7002702000000000000♠702 acres
(284 ha)
2005
Suwannee River

First magnitude spring with 168 million gallons (636 million liters) per day

Lake Griffin State Park
Lake
7002578000000000000♠578 acres
(234 ha)
1968
Dead River
Oklawaha River

Connects Oklawaha to Lake Griffin

Lake Jackson Mounds Archaeological State Park
Leon
7002100000000000000♠100 acres
(41 ha)
1966
St. Marks River

Fort Walton Culture capital from 1050–1500

Lake June in Winter Scrub State Park
Highlands
7002845000000000000♠845 acres
(342 ha)
1995
Lake June in Winter

Limited facilities; still under development

Lake Kissimmee State Park
Polk
7003593000000000000♠5,930 acres (2,402 ha)
1977
Lake Kissimmee

The 1876 Cow Camp is a living history site with Cracker Cowboys

Lake Louisa State Park
Lake
7003437200000000000♠4,372 acres (1,771 ha)
1974
Lake Louisa

Park includes the Green Swamp and six lakes

Lake Manatee State Park
Manatee
7002556000000000000♠556 acres
(225 ha)
1970
Lake Manatee

60-site campground was opened in 1986

Lake Talquin State Park
Leon
Gadsden
7002526000000000000♠526 acres
(213 ha)
1971
Lake Talquin

Lake Talquin is a 10,000 acre (4,047 ha) reservoir created by the Jackson Bluff Dam on the Ochlockonee River

Letchworth-Love Mounds Archaeological State Park
Jefferson
7002188000000000000♠188 acres
(76 ha)
1998
Lake Miccosukee

Site of the tallest prehistoric, Native American ceremonial earthwork mound in Florida

Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park
Monroe
7004104810000000000♠10,481 acres
(4,245 ha)
1971
Florida Bay
Gulf of Mexico

Access via private boat or tour boat; daily visitors are limited[11]

Little Manatee River State Park
Hillsborough
7003243300000000000♠2,433 acres
(985 ha)
1974
Little Manatee River

Park includes equestrian trails and campsites

Little Talbot Island State Park
Duval
7003160000000000000♠1,600 acres
(648 ha)
1949
Atlantic Ocean

Part of Talbot Islands State Parks

Long Key State Park
Monroe
7002965000000000000♠965 acres
(391 ha)
1969
Atlantic Ocean

Grand resort was destroyed by the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935

Lovers Key State Park
Lee
7002712000000000000♠712 acres
(288 ha)
1983
Gulf of Mexico

Lovers Key State Park merged with Carl Johnson County Park in 1996

Lower Wekiva River Preserve State Park
Lake
Seminole
7004174050000000000♠17,405 acres
(7,049 ha)
1976
Wekiva River
St. Johns River

Wildlife corridor to the Ocala National Forest

Madira Bickel Mound State Archaeological Site
Manatee
7001100000000000000♠10 acres
(4 ha)
1970
Tampa Bay

Named for the owners who donated it to the state in 1948

Madison Blue Spring State Park
Madison
7000100000000000000♠1 acres
(1 ha)
2000
Withlacoochee River

First magnitude spring

Manatee Springs State Park
Levy
7003244300000000000♠2,443 acres
(989 ha)
1949
Manatee Springs

First magnitude spring

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park
Alachua
7001990000000000000♠99 acres
(40 ha)
1970
none

1930s farm and citrus orchard

Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park
Clay
7003200000000000000♠2,000 acres
(810 ha)
1935
Little Lake Johnson

Hiking and Equestrian trails

Mound Key Archaeological State Park
Lee
7002113000000000000♠113 acres
(46 ha)
1970
Estero Bay

Accessible only by boat - no facilities[12]

Myakka River State Park
Sarasota
Manatee
7004370000000000000♠37,000 acres
(14,985 ha)
1941
Myakka River
Upper Myakka Lake

Land partly donated by Bertha Palmer, pioneer farmer, rancher & developer

Natural Bridge Battlefield Historic State Park
Leon
7002113000000000000♠113 acres
(46 ha)
1949
St. Marks River

Site of the second largest Civil War battle in Florida

North Peninsula State Park
Volusia
7002534000000000000♠534 acres
(216 ha)
1984
Atlantic Ocean

Metal pieces from the wreck of the North Western, which sank prior to World War II, have emerged on the beach

Okeechobee Battlefield State Park
Okeechobee
7002211000000000000♠211 acres
(85 ha)
2007
Lake Okeechobee

Battle site during the Second Seminole War

O'Leno State Park
Columbia
7003600000000000000♠6,000 acres
(2,430 ha)
1940
Santa Fe River

Many facilities built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s

Ochlockonee River State Park
Wakulla
7002392000000000000♠392 acres
(159 ha)
1970
Ochlockonee River
Dead River

Many older trees show scars from turpentine industry

Oleta River State Park
Miami-Dade
7003104300000000000♠1,043 acres
(422 ha)
1986
Oleta River
Biscayne Bay

Park has high numbers of the invasive species Casuarina (Australian pine)

Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park
Baker
7001430000000000000♠43 acres
(17 ha)
1949
none

First State Historic Monument in 1909

Orman House Historic State Park
Franklin
7000100000000000000♠1 acres
(1 ha)
2001
Apalachicola River

House built in 1838

Oscar Scherer State Park
Sarasota
7003140000000000000♠1,400 acres
(567 ha)
1956
South Creek
Lake Osprey

Major habitat of the Florida Scrub Jay

Paynes Creek Historic State Park
Hardee
7002410000000000000♠410 acres
(166 ha)
1981
Paynes Creek

Site of Fort Chokonikla and the Kennedy-Darling trading post during the Seminole Wars

Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park
Alachua
7004210000000000000♠21,000 acres
(8,505 ha)
1971
Lake Wauburg

Savanna formerly occupied by Seminole Indians

Perdido Key State Park
Escambia
7002290000000000000♠290 acres
(117 ha)
1978
Gulf of Mexico

A barrier island

Ponce de Leon Springs State Park
Holmes
7002420000000000000♠420 acres
(170 ha)
1970
Mill Creek
Sandy Creek

14 million gallons (53 million liters) of 68 °F (20 °C) water outflow daily

Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve State Park
Duval
7003389600000000000♠3,896 acres
(1,578 ha)
2003
Atlantic Ocean

Part of Talbot Islands State Parks

Rainbow Springs State Park
Marion
7003147200000000000♠1,472 acres
(596 ha)
1990
Rainbow River

600 million gallons (2.3 billion liters) of 68 °F (20 °C) water outflow daily

Ravine Gardens State Park
Putnam
7001590000000000000♠59 acres
(24 ha)
1934
St. Johns River

Gardens built by Works Progress Administration in 1933

River Rise Preserve State Park
Columbia
7003450000000000000♠4,500 acres
(1,823 ha)
1974
Santa Fe River

Location where Santa Fe River reemerges after 3 miles (4.8 km) underground

Rock Springs Run State Reserve
Lake
7004141500000000000♠14,150 acres
(5,731 ha)
1983
Wekiva River

Joins Wekiwa Spring run to create the Wekiva River

San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park
Alachua
7003736000000000000♠7,360 acres
(2,981 ha)
1974
small water bodies

A mature Florida forest and wildlife habitat with hiking, biking, and horse trails

San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park
Wakulla
7001170000000000000♠17 acres
(7 ha)
1964
Wakulla River
St. Marks River

History of this national landmark dates to 1528

San Pedro Underwater Archaeological Preserve State Park
Monroe
7002644000000000000♠644 acres
(261 ha)
1989
Atlantic Ocean

Dutch-built ship sank in a hurricane on July 13, 1733

Savannas Preserve State Park
St. Lucie
Martin
7003600000000000000♠6,000 acres
(2,430 ha)
1977
Indian River

Area around Jensen Beach was known as the “Pineapple Capital of the World” from 1895 to 1920

Seabranch Preserve State Park
Martin
7003736000000000000♠7,360 acres
(2,981 ha)
1992
Indian River lagoon

Four different natural habitats within short distance

Sebastian Inlet State Park
Brevard
Indian River
7002755000000000000♠755 acres
(306 ha)
1970
Sebastian Inlet

Park never closes; second most visited Florida park

Silver Springs State Park
Marion
7003500000000000000♠5,000 acres
(2,025 ha)
1987
Silver River

The headspring area was the focal point of Silver Springs Nature Theme Park, a now-defunct commercial attraction

Skyway Fishing Pier State Park
Hillsborough
Manatee
7004260000000000000♠26,000 ft
(10,530 m)
1994
Tampa Bay

Utilizes approaches to old Sunshine Skyway Bridge, following the 1980 collision by MV Summit Venture and construction of a new bridge

St. Andrews State Park
Bay
7003120000000000000♠1,200 acres
(486 ha)
1950
Gulf of Mexico
Grand Lagoon

Named "America’s Best Beach" in 1995

St. George Island State Park
Franklin
7003196200000000000♠1,962 acres
(795 ha)
1963
Gulf of Mexico

Named "6th Best Beach in America" for 2011 after Hurricane Dennis destroyed the facilities in 2005

St. Lucie Inlet Preserve State Park
Martin
7002928000000000000♠928 acres
(376 ha)
1965
Atlantic Ocean

Barrier island accessible only by boat[14]

St. Marks River Preserve State Park
Leon
7003258900000000000♠2,589 acres
(1,049 ha)
2007
St. Marks River

The St. Marks River flows from the wetlands east of Tallahassee to the Gulf of Mexico

St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park
Brevard
Indian River
7004220000000000000♠22,000 acres
(8,910 ha)
1995
St. Sebastian River

The Hernández–Capron Trail was built to link St. Augustine with Fort Pierce during the Second Seminole War

Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park
Hamilton
7002800000000000000♠800 acres
(324 ha)
1950
Suwannee River

Carillon tower with 97 tubular bells plays Foster's songs every day

Stump Pass Beach State Park
Charlotte
7002245000000000000♠245 acres
(99 ha)
1971
Gulf of Mexico

Day park consisting of three islands offer swimming and boating, shelling and hiking, fishing and diving

Suwannee River State Park
Suwannee
7003180000000000000♠1,800 acres
(729 ha)
1951
Suwannee River
Withlacoochee River

The 1860 Columbus Cemetery, pieces from an 1800s sawmill, and Civil War earthworks are points of interest

T.H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park
Gulf
7003190000000000000♠1,900 acres
(770 ha)
1967
Gulf of Mexico

Dedicated to the former owner, who sold it to the U.S. Army in World War II

Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park
Escambia
7003429000000000000♠4,290 acres
(1,737 ha)
1998
Perdido Bay

Limited facilities; nature trails, picnic tables and a bathroom

Terra Ceia Preserve State Park
Manatee
7003193200000000000♠1,932 acres
(783 ha)
2000?
Tampa Bay

Land acquired by the state and Southwest Florida Water Management District

Three Rivers State Park
Jackson
7002686000000000000♠686 acres
(278 ha)
1955
Chattahoochee River; Flint River
Lake Seminole

The 1947 Jim Woodruff Dam created Lake Seminole; the outflow is the Apalachicola River

Tomoka State Park
Volusia
7003180000000000000♠1,800 acres
(729 ha)
1945
Tomoka River

Urban park completely surrounded by development

Topsail Hill Preserve State Park
Walton
7003164300000000000♠1,643 acres
(665 ha)
1992
Gulf of Mexico

Site of munitions testing range during World War II

Torreya State Park
Liberty
7004137370000000000♠13,737 acres
(5,563 ha)
1935
Apalachicola River

Park named after the endangered Torreya tree

Troy Springs State Park
Suwannee
Lafayette
7001840000000000000♠84 acres
(34 ha)
1995
Suwannee River

First magnitude spring; the Civil War steamboat "Madison" was scuttled there in 1863

Waccasassa Bay Preserve State Park
Levy
7004307840000000000♠30,784 acres (12,468 ha)
2005
Gulf of Mexico

Accessible only by boat; no recreational facilities[15]

Washington Oaks Gardens State Park
Flagler
7001210000000000000♠21 acres
(9 ha)
1964
Atlantic Ocean

Park has formal gardens, citrus groves and house

Weeki Wachee Springs
Hernando
7002538000000000000♠538 acres
(218 ha)
2008
Weeki Wachee River

The headspring area features underwater performances by female dancers in mermaid costumes

Wekiwa Springs State Park
Orange
7003772300000000000♠7,723 acres (3,128 ha)
1969
Wekiva River

42 million gallons (159 million liters) of 72 °F (22 °C) water outflow daily

Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park
Pasco
7003340000000000000♠3,400 acres (1,377 ha)
2001
Gulf of Mexico

Named for the Werner-Boyce Preserve purchased by Pasco County in 1994; undeveloped

Wes Skiles Peacock Springs State Park
Suwannee
7002733000000000000♠733 acres
(297 ha)
1986
Suwannee River

28,000 feet (8,534 m) of explored passageways make it one of the largest locations for cave diving in the U.S.

Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park
Monroe
7001320000000000000♠32 acres
(13 ha)
1986
Atlantic Ocean

Quary provided Keystone (limestone) for the Overseas Railroad in 1908

Ybor City Museum State Park
Hillsborough
7000100000000000000♠1 acre
(0 ha)
1976
none

Shows the history of Tampa's cigar industry and Latin influence

Yellow Bluff Fort Historic State Park
Duval
7003160000000000000♠1,600 acres
(648 ha)
1949
Atlantic Ocean

Confederate camp constructed during the American Civil War

Yellow River Marsh Preserve State Park
Santa Rosa
7004110000000000000♠11,000 acres
(4,455 ha)
2000
Yellow River

One of Florida's last remaining tracts of wet prairie; no recreation facilities

Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins Historic State Park
Citrus
7000600000000000000♠6 acres
(2 ha)
1953
Homosassa River

Senator David Levy Yulee built the mill on his 5,100-acre (2,064 ha) plantation, Margarita, in 1851


document_title: The Ed Sullivan Show

question_text: how did american tv host ed sullivan first learn about the beatles

question_tokens: how did american tv host ed sullivan first learn about the beatles

root

text: The Ed Sullivan Show

text: History[edit]

text: From 1948 until its cancellation in 1971, the show ran on CBS every Sunday night from 8–9 p.m. E.T., and is one of the few entertainment shows to have run in the same weekly time slot on the same network for more than two decades (during its first season, it ran from 9 to 10 p.m. E.T.). Virtually every type of entertainment appeared on the show; classical musicians, opera singers, popular recording artists, songwriters, comedians, ballet dancers, dramatic actors performing monologues from plays, and circus acts were regularly featured. The format was essentially the same as vaudeville and, although vaudeville had undergone a slow demise for a generation, Sullivan presented many ex-vaudevillians on his show.[5]

tag: p

text: Originally co-created and produced by Marlo Lewis, the show was first titled Toast of the Town, but was widely referred to as The Ed Sullivan Show for years before September 25, 1955, when that became its official name. In the show's June 20, 1948 debut, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis performed along with singer Monica Lewis and Broadway composers Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II previewing the score to their then-new show South Pacific, which opened on Broadway in 1949.

text: From 1948 through 1962, the program's primary sponsor was the Lincoln-Mercury Division of the Ford Motor Company; Sullivan read many commercials for Mercury vehicles live on the air during this period.

text: The Ed Sullivan Show was originally broadcast via live television from CBS-TV studio 51, the Maxine Elliott Theatre, at Broadway and 39th St. before moving to its permanent home at CBS-TV Studio 50 in New York City (1697 Broadway, at 53rd Street), which was renamed the Ed Sullivan Theater[6] on the occasion of the program's 20th anniversary in June 1968. The last original Sullivan show telecast (#1068) was on March 28, 1971, with guests Melanie, Joanna Simon, Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass and Sandler and Young. Repeats were scheduled through June 6, 1971.

text: Background[edit]

text:
Along with the new talent Sullivan booked each week, he also had recurring characters appear many times a season, such as his "Little Italian Mouse" puppet sidekick Topo Gigio, who debuted December 9, 1962,[7] and ventriloquist Señor Wences debuted December 31, 1950.[8] While most of the episodes aired live from New York City, the show also aired live on occasion from other nations, such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan. For many years, Ed Sullivan was a national event each Sunday evening, and was the first exposure for foreign performers to the American public.
On the occasion of the show's tenth anniversary telecast, Sullivan commented on how the show had changed during a June 1958 interview syndicated by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA):

text: The chief difference is mostly one of pace. In those days, we had maybe six acts. Now we have 11 or 12. Then, each of our acts would do a leisurely ten minutes or so. Now they do two or three minutes. And in those early days I talked too much. Watching these kines I cringe. I look up at me talking away and I say "You fool!  Keep quiet!"  But I just keep on talking. I've learned how to keep my mouth shut.

text: The show enjoyed phenomenal popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. As had occurred with the annual telecasts of The Wizard of Oz in the 1960s and '70s, the family ritual of gathering around the television set to watch Ed Sullivan became almost a U.S. cultural universal. He was regarded as a kingmaker, and performers considered an appearance on his program as a guarantee of stardom, although this sometimes did not turn out to be the case. The show's iconic status is illustrated by the song "Hymn for a Sunday Evening" from the 1960 musical Bye Bye Birdie.  In the song, a family of viewers expresses their regard for the program in worshipful tones.

text: In September 1965, CBS started televising the program in compatible color, as all three major networks began to switch to 100 percent color prime time schedules. CBS had once backed its own color system, developed by Peter Goldmark, and resisted using RCA's compatible process until 1954. At that time, it built its first New York City color TV studio, Studio 72, in a former RKO movie theater at 2248 Broadway (81st Street).  One Ed Sullivan Show was broadcast on August 22, 1954, from the new studio, but it was mostly used for one-time-only specials such as Rodgers and Hammerstein's March 31, 1957 Cinderella. (The facility was later acquired by TeleTape Productions and notably became the first studio where the PBS children's program Sesame Street was produced.) CBS Studio 72 was demolished in 1986 and replaced by an apartment house. CBS Studio 50 was finally "colorized" in 1965.  The 1965–66 season premiere starred the Beatles in an episode airing on September 12, which was the last episode to air in black and white.  This occurred because the episode was taped at the Beatles' convenience on August 14, the eve of their Shea Stadium performance and a two-week tour of North America,  slightly before the program was ready for color transmission.

text: In the late 1960s, Sullivan remarked that his program was waning as the decade went on. He realized that to keep viewers, the best and brightest in entertainment had to be seen, or else the viewers were going to keep on changing the channel. Along with declining viewership, Ed Sullivan attracted a higher median age for the average viewer (which most sponsors found undesirable) as the seasons went on. These two factors were the reason the show was canceled by CBS as part of a mass cancellation of advertiser-averse programming after the end of the 1970–1971 season.  Because there was no notice of cancellation, Sullivan's landmark program ended without a proper finale. Sullivan would produce one-off specials for CBS until his death in 1974.

text: In 1990, television documentary producer Andrew Solt formed SOFA Entertainment, Inc. and purchased the exclusive rights to the complete library of The Ed Sullivan Show from Ed Sullivan's daughter Elizabeth and her husband Bob Precht.[9][10]  The collection consists of 1,087 hours of kinescopes and videotapes broadcast by CBS on Sunday nights from 1948 to 1971.

text: Since acquiring the rights to The Ed Sullivan Show library, SOFA Entertainment has catalogued, organized and cleared performance rights for the original shows.  Starting in 1991, SOFA Entertainment has re-introduced The Ed Sullivan Show to the American public by producing numerous network specials, half-hour series (airing on TV Land, PBS, VH1 and Decades) and home video compilations.[11]  Some of these compilations include The 4 Complete Ed Sullivan Shows Starring The Beatles, All 6 Ed Sullivan Shows Starring The Rolling Stones, Elvis: The Ed Sullivan Shows, Motown Gold from the Ed Sullivan Show, Ed Sullivan's Rock 'n Roll Classics, and 115 half-hour The Best of The Ed Sullivan Show specials, among others.[12][13][14][15]  The legendary performances of this show are also available as video and audio downloads and as an app on iTunes."[16]

text: The Ed Sullivan Show Orchestra[edit]

text:
In the early years of television, both CBS and NBC networks had their own symphony orchestras. NBC's was conducted by Arturo Toscanini and CBS's by Alfredo Antonini. The Ed Sullivan Show was basically a musical variety show, and thus members of the CBS orchestra were folded into the Ed Sullivan Show Orchestra, conducted by Ray Bloch. During the early days of television, the demands on studio musicians were many-tiered. They needed to be proficient in all genres of music, from classical, to jazz and to rock and roll. The Ed Sullivan Show would regularly feature singers from the Metropolitan Opera and the staff orchestra would accompany divas such as Eileen Farrell, Maria Callas or Joan Sutherland. The musicians needed to be prepared to switch gears for Ella Fitzgerald, Diahann Carroll or Sammy Davis, Jr. and then onto The Jackson Five, Stevie Wonder or Tom Jones or Itzhak Perlman. They also needed to perform with some of the greatest dancers and ballerinas of the time, from Gregory Hines, Juliet Prowse, Maria Tallchief [17] or Margo Fonteyn to the Peter Genarro dancers.
In the process, the musicians collaborated with several internationally recognized ballet troupes including: Ruth Page's Chicago Opera Ballet, the London Festival Ballet, Roland Petit's Ballets de Paris and Russia's Igor Moiseyev Ballet.[18]  Few musicians are capable of crossing over from one genre to another. However, each member of the Ed Sullivan Show Orchestra was a specialist and more than capable of covering the complete spectrum of music.

text: Chris Griffin (formerly with the trumpet section of Harry James, Ziggy Elman and the Benny Goodman Band) was Ray Bloch's lead trumpet player for the many radio and television shows that he conducted, including the Ed Sullivan Show. "Chris" remained the lead trumpet player with The Ed Sullivan show from the first show in 1948 to the last show in 1971. Milton Schlesinger was a percussionist who similarly played from the first to last show. John Serry Sr. often augmented the orchestra as the lead accordionist during the 1950s. Unlike NBC's The Tonight Show, which celebrated the notoriety of their musicians in Skitch Henderson's or Doc Severinsen's "Tonight Show Band", the CBS producers of The Ed Sullivan Show decided to hide their famed musicians behind a curtain. Occasionally, CBS would broadcast specials and call upon the orchestra to perform. When Robert Kennedy was assassinated, music was hastily composed for the orchestra in a special tribute that also featured Bill Evans, who had recently composed an Elegy To His Father. In 1971, The Ed Sullivan Show came to an abrupt end. The CBS board of directors chose this occasion to terminate any and all contracts with their musicians as they were unceremoniously shown the door.

text: Famous performances/notable guest stars[edit]

text: The Ed Sullivan Show is especially known to the World War II and baby boomer generations for introducing acts and airing breakthrough performances by popular 1950s and 1960s musicians such as Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Supremes, The Dave Clark Five, The Animals, The Beach Boys, The Jackson 5, Janis Joplin, The Rolling Stones, The Mamas & the Papas, The Lovin' Spoonful, Herman's Hermits, The Doors and The Band. The Canadian comedy duo Wayne and Shuster appeared on the program 67 times, a record for any performer.[19]

text: Itzhak Perlman[edit]

text: The American public's first exposure to Itzhak Perlman was on the show in 1958, when he was 13.  This performance was a breakthrough not only for classical music, but also for Perlman, who rode the waves of admiration that came with performing on the show to new heights of fame and has remained one of the most famous violinists for decades.

text: Elvis Presley[edit]

text: Initial appearance[edit]

text: On September 9, 1956, Presley made his first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show (after earlier appearances on shows hosted by the Dorsey Brothers, Milton Berle, and Steve Allen), even though Sullivan had previously vowed never to allow Presley on the show.[20]

text: According to Sullivan biographer Michael David Harris, "Sullivan signed Presley when the host was having an intense Sunday-night rivalry with Steve Allen. Allen had the singer on July 1 and trounced Sullivan in the ratings. When asked to comment, [Sullivan] said that he wouldn't consider presenting Presley before a family audience. Less than two weeks later he changed his mind and signed a contract. The newspapers asked him to explain his reversal. 'What I said then was off the reports I'd heard. I hadn't even seen the guy. Seeing the kinescopes, I don't know what the fuss was all about. For instance, the business about rubbing the thighs. He rubbed one hand on his hip to dry off the perspiration from playing his guitar.' "[21]

text: Sullivan's reaction to Presley's performance on The Milton Berle Show was, "I don't know why everybody picked on Presley, I thought the whole show was dirty and vulgar."[22]

text: Elvis mythology states that Sullivan censored Presley by only shooting him from the waist up. Sullivan may have helped create the myth when he told TV Guide, "as for his gyrations, the whole thing can be controlled with camera shots." In truth Presley's whole body was shown in the first and second shows.[22]

text: At the time, Presley was filming Love Me Tender, so Sullivan's producer, Marlo Lewis, flew to Los Angeles to supervise the two segments telecast that night from CBS Television City in Hollywood. Sullivan, however, was not able to host his show in New York City because he was recovering from a near fatal automobile accident. Charles Laughton guest-hosted in Sullivan's place. Laughton appeared in front of plaques with gold records and stated, "These gold records, four of them... are a tribute to the fact that four of his recordings have sold, each sold, more than a million copies. And this, by the way, is the first time in record-making history that a singer has hit such a mark in such a short time. ... And now, away to Hollywood to meet Elvis Presley."[23]

text: However, according to Greil Marcus, Laughton was the main act of that particular telecast of Sullivan's show. "Presley was the [ostensible] headliner, and a Sullivan headliner normally opened the show, but Sullivan was burying him. Laughton had to make the moment invisible: to act as if nobody was actually waiting for anything. He did it instantly, with complete command, with the sort of television presence that some have and some—Steve Allen, or Ed Sullivan himself—don't."[24]

text: Host Laughton introduced the singer from New York.  Once on camera, Elvis cleared his throat and said, "Thank you, Mr. Laughton, ladies and gentlemen. Wow", and wiped his brow. "This is probably the greatest honor I've ever had in my life. Ah. There's not much I can say except, it really makes you feel good. We want to thank you from the bottom of our heart. And now ..." "Don't Be Cruel", which was, after a short introduction by Elvis, followed by "Love Me Tender".[23] According to Elaine Dundy, Presley sang "Love Me Tender" "straight, subdued and tender ... —a very different Elvis from the one on The Steve Allen Show three months before".[25]

text: When the camera returned to Laughton, he stated, "Well, well, well well well. Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis Presley. And Mr. Presley, if you are watching this in Hollywood, and I may address myself to you. It has been many a year since any young performer has captured such a wide, and, as we heard tonight, devoted audience."[23]

text: Elvis's second set in the show consisted of "Ready Teddy" and a short on-air comment to Sullivan, "Ah, Mr. Sullivan. We know that somewhere out there you are looking in, and, ah, all the boys and myself, and everybody out here, are looking forward to seeing you back on television." Next, Elvis declared, "Friends, as a great philosopher once said, 'You ain't nothin' but a Hound Dog ...,' " as he launched into a short (1:07) version of the song.[23]

text: According to Marcus, "For the first of his two appearances that night, as a performer Elvis had come on dressed in grandma's nightgown and nightcap." Concerning the singer's second set in the show, the author adds that there were "Elvis, Scotty Moore on guitar, Bill Black on stand-up bass, D. J. Fontana on drums, three Jordanaires on their feet, one at a piano. They were shown from behind; the camera pulled all the way back. They went into 'Ready Teddy.' It was Little Richard's most thrilling record", however, "there was no way Elvis was going to catch him, but he didn’t have to—the song is a wave and he rode it. Compared to moments on the Dorsey shows, on the Berle show, it was ice cream—Elvis's face unthreatening, his legs as if in casts ..."[24] When "he sang Little Richard's 'Reddy Teddy' and began to move and dance, the camera pulled in, so that the television audience saw him from the waist up only."[26]

text: Although Laughton was the main star and there were seven other acts on the show, Elvis was on camera for more than a quarter of the time allotted to all acts.[27] The show had a 43.7 rating, and was viewed by a record 60 million people which at the time was 82.6 percent of the television audience, and the largest single audience in television history. "In the New York Times", however, "Jack Gould began his review indignantly: Elvis Presley had 'injected movements of his tongue and indulged in wordless singing that were singularly distasteful.' Overstimulating the physical impulses of the teenagers was 'a gross national disservice.'"[28]

text: Second and third appearances[edit]

text: Sullivan hosted a second appearance by Presley on October 28, 1956. Elvis performed "Don't Be Cruel", then "Love Me Tender". Sullivan then addressed the audience as he stood beside Elvis, who began shaking his legs, eliciting screams from the audience. By the time Sullivan turned his head, Elvis was standing motionless. After Presley left the stage, Sullivan stated, "I can’t figure this darn thing out. You know. He just does this [Ed shakes his legs] and everybody yells." Elvis appeared a second time in the show and sang "Love Me". Later on, he sang a nearly four-minute-long version of "Hound Dog" and was shown in full the entire song.

text: For the third and final appearance on January 6, 1957, Presley performed a medley of "Hound Dog", "Love Me Tender", and "Heartbreak Hotel", followed by a full version of "Don't Be Cruel". For a second set later in the show he did "Too Much" and "When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again". For his last set he sang "Peace in the Valley". According to Sullivan's co-producer Marlo Lewis, the rumor had it that "Elvis has been hanging a small soft-drink bottle from his groin underneath his pants, and when he wiggles his leg it looks as though his pecker reaches down to his knee!"[29] It was decided to shoot the singer only from the waist while he performed. Although much has been made of the fact that Elvis was shown only from the waist up, except for the short section of "Hound Dog", all of the songs on this show were ballads. "Leaving behind the bland clothes he had worn on the first two shows", Greil Marcus says, Elvis "stepped out in the outlandish costume of a pasha, if not a harem girl. From the make-up over his eyes, the hair falling in his face, the overwhelmingly sexual cast of his mouth, he was playing Rudolph Valentino in The Sheik, with all stops out. That he did so in front of the Jordanaires, who this night appeared as the four squarest-looking men on the planet, made the performance even more potent."[30]

text: Sullivan praised Elvis at the end of the show, saying "This is a real decent, fine boy. We've never had a pleasanter experience on our show with a big name than we've had with you.... You're thoroughly all right"[31]—a remark that could either be interpreted as a "ringing endorsement" that "legitimized the singer with an adult audience"[32] or as "a somewhat hypocritical statement considering what the CBS censors had just done to his performance on that show."[33] Eyewitness Jerry Schilling writes, "The way Elvis looked out at us at that moment, I thought I could see a mix of hurt over the attacks he’d been subjected to in the press, and a deep pride in who he was and what he was doing."[34] (According to historian Tim Parrish, Presley's manager, Colonel Parker, "had threatened to remove Elvis from the show if Sullivan did not apologize for telling the press that Elvis's 'gyrations' were immoral."[35]) Reflecting on the event in 1969, Presley claimed that Sullivan had expressed a very different opinion off-camera: "So they arranged to put me on television. At that particular time there was a lot of controversy—you didn't see people moving—out in public. They were gettin' it on in the back rooms, but you didn't see it out in public too much. So there was a lot of controversy ... and I went to the Ed Sullivan Show. They photographed me from the waist up. And Sullivan's standing over there saying, 'Sumbitch.' I said, 'Thank you, Ed, thank you.' I didn't know what he was calling me, at the time."[36]

text: Years later, Sullivan "tried to sign the singer up again... He phoned Presley's manager, Col. Tom Parker, and asked about a price. Parker came up with a list of instructions and conditions and after hearing the demands Sullivan said, 'Give Elvis my best—and my sympathy,' and he hung up."[21] The singer never again appeared in Sullivan's show, although in February 1964 at the start of the first of three broadcasts featuring the Beatles (see below), Sullivan announced that a telegram had been received from Presley and Parker wishing the British group luck.

text: The Beatles[edit]

text: In late 1963, Sullivan and his entourage happened also to be passing through Heathrow and witnessed how The Beatles' fans greeted the group on their return from Stockholm, where they had performed a television show as warmup band to local stars Suzie and Lill Babs. Sullivan was intrigued, telling his entourage it was the same thing as Elvis all over again. He initially offered Beatles manager Brian Epstein top dollar for a single show but the Beatles manager had a better idea — he wanted exposure for his clients: the Beatles would instead appear three times on the show, at bottom dollar, but receive top billing and two spots (opening and closing) on each show.[37]

text: The Beatles appeared on three consecutive Sundays in February 1964 to great anticipation and fanfare as "I Want to Hold Your Hand" had swiftly risen to No. 1 in the charts. Their first appearance on February 9 is considered also along with the appearance of Elvis Presley a few years earlier on that show a milestone in American pop culture and furthermore the beginning of the British Invasion in music. The broadcast drew an estimated 73 million viewers, at the time a record for US television which would be broken three years later by the series finale of The Fugitive. The Beatles followed Ed's show opening intro, performing "All My Loving"; "Till There Was You", which featured the names of the group members superimposed on closeup shots, including the famous "SORRY GIRLS, HE'S MARRIED" caption on John Lennon; and "She Loves You". The act that followed Beatles in the broadcast, magician Fred Kaps, was pre-recorded in order to allow time for an elaborate set change.[38] The group returned later in the program to perform "I Saw Her Standing There" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand".

text: The following week's show was broadcast from Miami Beach where Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) was in training for his first title bout with Sonny Liston. The occasion was used by both camps for publicity. On the evening of the television show (February 16) a crush of people nearly prevented the band from making it onstage. A wedge of policemen were needed and the band began playing "She Loves You" only seconds after reaching their instruments. They continued with "This Boy", and "All My Loving" and returned later to close the show with "I Saw Her Standing There", "From Me to You" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand".

text: They were shown on tape February 23 (this appearance had been taped earlier in the day on February 9 before their first live appearance). They followed Ed's intro with "Twist and Shout" and "Please Please Me" and closed the show once again with "I Want to Hold Your Hand".

text: The Beatles appeared live for the final time on August 14, 1965. The show was broadcast September 12, 1965, and earned Sullivan a 60-percent share of the nighttime audience for one of the appearances. This time they followed three acts before coming out to perform "I Feel Fine", "I'm Down", and "Act Naturally" and then closed the show with "Ticket to Ride", "Yesterday", and "Help!" Although this was their final live appearance on the show, the group would, for several years, provide filmed promotional clips of songs to air exclusively on Sullivan's program such as the 1966 and 1967 clips of "Paperback Writer", "Rain", "Penny Lane", and "Strawberry Fields Forever".

text: Although the appearances by The Beatles, Elvis and The Supremes are considered the most famous rock and roll performances on Ed Sullivan, several months before Elvis debuted, Sullivan invited Bill Haley & His Comets to perform their then-current hit "Rock Around the Clock" in early August 1955. This was later recognized by CBS and others (including music historian Jim Dawson in his book on "Rock Around the Clock") as the first performance of a rock and roll song on a national television program.

text: African-American artists[edit]

text: The Supremes[edit]

text: The Supremes were a special act for The Ed Sullivan Show. In addition to 14 appearances,[39] they were a personal favorite of Sullivan, whom he affectionately called "The Girls".[40] Over the five years they performed on the program, the Supremes performed 15 of their hit singles, and numerous Broadway showtunes and other non-Motown songs. The group featuring the most popular lineup of Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballard appeared 15 times from December 1964 through May 1967.

text: The group reappeared on the series in October 1967 as the newly rebilled "Diana Ross & the Supremes", with Ballard replacement Cindy Birdsong and Ross more prominently featured. The Supremes' final appearance on the show, shortly before it ended, served as the platform to introduce America to Ross's replacement, Jean Terrell, in March 1970.

text: Opportunity[edit]

text: In an era when few opportunities existed for African American performers on national television, Sullivan was a champion of black talent. He launched the careers of many performers by presenting them to a nationwide TV audience and ignored the criticism. In an NEA interview, Sullivan commented:

text:
“

The most important thing [during the first ten years of the program] is that we've put on everything but bigotry. When the show first started in '48, I had a meeting with the sponsors. There were some Southern dealers present and they asked if I intended to put on Negroes.[41] I said yes. They said I shouldn't, but I convinced them I wasn't going to change my mind. And you know something?  We've gone over very well in the South. Never had a bit of trouble.

”

tag: table

text: The show included entertainers such as Frankie Lymon, The Supremes, Marian Anderson, Louis Armstrong, Pearl Bailey, LaVern Baker, Harry Belafonte, James Brown (and The Famous Flames),[42] Cab Calloway, Godfrey Cambridge, Diahann Carroll, Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, Bill Cosby, Count Basie, Dick Dale, Dorothy Dandridge, Sammy Davis, Jr., Bo Diddley, Ronnie Dove, Duke Ellington, Lola Falana, The 5th Dimension, Ella Fitzgerald, The Four Tops, Dick Gregory, W. C. Handy, Lena Horne, The Jackson 5, Mahalia Jackson, Bill Kenny, George Kirby, Eartha Kitt, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Moms Mabley, Johnny Mathis, The Miracles, Melba Moore, The Platters, Leontyne Price, Richard Pryor, Lou Rawls, Della Reese, Nipsey Russell, Nina Simone, Sly and the Family Stone, The Temptations, Martha and the Vandellas, Ike & Tina Turner, Leslie Uggams, Sarah Vaughan, William Warfield, Dionne Warwick, Dinah Washington, Ethel Waters, Flip Wilson, Jackie Wilson, Nancy Wilson, and Stevie Wonder.

text: Before his death in a plane crash in December 1967, soul singer Otis Redding had been booked to appear on the show the following year. One telecast included African-American bass-baritone Andrew Frierson singing "Ol' Man River" from Kern and Hammerstein's Show Boat, a song that, at that time, was usually sung on television by white singers, although it was written for a black character in the musical.

text: However, Sullivan featured "rockers", and gave prominence to black musicians "not without censorship". For instance, he scheduled Fats Domino "at the show's end in case he had to cancel a guest".  He presented Domino alone at his piano singing as if he were a young Nat 'King' Cole or Fats Waller, as he performed "Blueberry Hill".[43][44] On March 4, 1962, Sullivan presented Domino and his band, who did "Jambalaya", Hank Williams' "You Win Again", and "Let the Four Winds Blow". All seven of Domino's band members were visible to millions of viewers.[45] On December 1, 1957, Sam Cooke performed a complete version of "For Sentimental Reasons".[46] Cooke had been cut off four weeks earlier during a live performance of "You Send Me" as the show's allotted time expired, causing an outrage among television audiences. Sullivan rebooked Cooke for the December 1 show to overwhelming success.[47]

text: The Muppets[edit]

text: This section may contain indiscriminate, excessive, or irrelevant examples. Please improve the article by adding more descriptive text and removing less pertinent examples. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for further suggestions. (February 2018)

text: Between 1966 and 1971, Jim Henson performed some of his Muppet characters on the show. The characters made a total of 25 appearances.

text: Henson's Muppets were introduced on The Ed Sullivan Show on September 18, 1966. Sullivan introduced the characters as "Jim, uh ... Newsom's puppets." The act featured a small ball of fur growing into the Rock and Roll Monster (performed by Jim Henson, Jerry Nelson, and Frank Oz) with three heads and six arms lip-syncing to the unreleased song "Rock It to Me" by The Bruthers. After the act was done, the Rock and Roll Monster shrunk back into the ball of fur which is then eaten by Sour Bird (who was previously used in a commercial for Royal Crown Cola).

text: Over the next few years, Henson's Muppets would make more appearances, with performances including:

text:
The Art of Visual Thinking (October 2, 1966) – A remake of the skit of the same name from Sam and Friends. Kermit (performed by Jim Henson) teaches Grump (performed by Frank Oz and voiced by Jerry Juhl) about the concept of visualizing thoughts through drawings shown on the TV screen. This sketch was reprised on June 4, 1967.
Monster Family (October 23, 1966) – Fred (performed by Jim Henson) appears as a father monster talks to his son (performed by Jerry Juhl) about being a monster. A blue version of Splurge (performed by Frank Oz) appears as the mother.
Java (November 27, 1966) – Two tube-like Muppets (which were designed by Frank Oz) dance to the Al Hirt song "Java." Jim Henson and Frank Oz performed the two puppets and the explosion that provides the punchline was achieved by Jerry Juhl shooting off a fire extinguisher. It should be noted that as the three of them prepared to go onstage that night right before Ed Sullivan introduced them, Jerry Juhl suddenly realized that he left the fire extinguisher in their dressing room which was up on the second floor. Jerry Juhl raced to the elevator hearing the "Java" music through the speakers in the elevator so he knew exactly how much time he had left until it was too late. Jerry Juhl managed to grab the fire extinguisher, run back to the elevator, and make the trip back down to the stage just in time for the climax. This sketch was reprised on May 26, 1968. The act even was done on Stuffed and Unstrung (an evolved counterpart of Puppet Up!).
Inchworm (November 27, 1966) – Kermit sits on a wall and hums "Glow Worm". Kermit also eats some worms that interrupt him. When it comes to the last one, Kermit grabs it and pulls it, showing how long it is, until it turns out that it happens to be the nose of Big V who ends up eating Kermit.
Music Hath Charms (January 15, 1967) – Kermit plays the piano with some Muppet Monsters dancing to the music. After the song, the piano comes to life and eats Kermit.
I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face (February 5, 1967) – Kermit and Yorick from Sam and Friends are featured in this act. Kermit (dressed as a girl) lip-synchs to Rosemary Clooney's cover version as Yorick eats his way out of the handkerchief he is under and then tries to eat Kermit. This was previously done on The Jack Paar Show and later reprised on this show April 21, 1968, and reprised on August 29, 2011, at the D23 Expo by Leslie Carrara-Rudolph (who was operating a rebuilt version of Kermit's pre-frog form) and Brian Henson (who was operating a rebuilt and redesigned version of Yorick). The act was even done on Stuffed and Unstrung (an evolved counterpart of Puppet Up!). Clooney's cover was used for that event.
I Feel Pretty (April 30, 1967) – The story of an ugly girl named Amanda (performed by Jim Henson) who tries to become beautiful and tries to change her looks using a self-help book in order to gain the affection of Conrad Love (also performed by Jim Henson). Mert from the La Choy commercials and Fred from the Kern's Bakery commercials appear as Amanda's friends where they were performed by Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl (who also voices the narrator) while Frank Oz does the puppeteering.
Monster Eats Machine (October 8, 1967) – A prototype version of Cookie Monster (performed by Jim Henson) finds a talking machine (voiced by Jim Henson) and eats it while it explains its various parts. After the monster is done eating the machine, its voice is heard from within the monster as it states that nothing can stop it from performing its function, which is to be the most powerful exploding device known to man. On a related note with this sketch, the prototype version of Cookie Monster was previously used as the Wheel-Stealer from the commercial for Wheels, Crowns, and Flutes. The sketch later appeared on The Muppet Show where the Luncheon Counter Monster also ate a machine explaining its functions.
Rowlf and Jimmy Dean (October 8, 1967) – Jimmy Dean and Rowlf the Dog appear together for the last time and perform "Friendship" while doing the "herd of cows" gag.
Santa Claus Routine with Arthur Godfrey (December 24, 1967) – Arthur Godfrey plays Santa Claus and gets a visit from a group of monsters consisting of Thudge (performed by Jim Henson), Gleep (a prototype of Grover performed by Frank Oz), Scudge (performed by Jerry Juhl), Snerk and Snork (performed by Frank Oz). They attempt to steal the toys only to learn that Santa Claus has given them the toys. They then sing "It's Christmas Tomorrow".
Business, Business (February 18, 1968) – Two mean-looking creatures with tube-like necks scat about business while two friendlier creatures scat about values. The Blue Monster and the Orange Creature were performed by Jim Henson while the Green Monster and the Purple Creature were performed by Jerry Juhl. A goof is seen where some hands are shown holding the neck of the creatures.
The Monster Trash Can Dance (October 13, 1968) – Parts of a monster hide in a trash can as an increasingly suspicious Little Girl Sue wanders by.
Sclrap Flyapp (November 24, 1968) – A weird-looking creature seen from the neck up randomly blurts out Sclrap Flyapp and uses its nose blast on any creature that does not say "Sclarp Flyapp". A goof is seen when the Sclrap Flyapp creature is blasted at the end, an opening between its head and neck revealed the puppeteer's hand. This sketch was reworked into the Hugga Wugga sketch on The Muppet Show.
Christmas Reindeer (December 22, 1968) – A bunch of reindeer want snow to fall on Christmas. Dasher and Donner were performed by Jim Henson, Prancer was performed by Frank Oz, Blitzen was performed by Jerry Juhl, and Dancer was performed by Bob Payne. All the reindeer were built by Don Sahlin.
A Change of Face (March 30, 1969) – Rex Robbins changes the face and personality of the Southern Colonel from the Southern Bread commercials. A similar routine was used with the same puppet on The Muppets on Puppets.
Happy Girl Meets a Monster (May 11, 1969) – The Beautiful Day Monster (performed by Jim Henson) does all he can to ruin a beautiful day for Little Girl Sue (performed by Jim Henson). Beautiful Day Monster was first seen here before his appearances on Sesame Street and The Muppet Show.

text: Later performances by the Muppets include:

text:
Mah Nà Mah Nà (November 30, 1969) – Mahna Mahna (performed by Jim Henson) and the Snowths were featured in this song before it was repeated on The Muppet Show. A goof is seen when Jim Henson's head and arm are seen when Mahna Mahna backs away from the camera.
Big Bird's Dance (December 14, 1969) – Big Bird dances to "Minuet of the Robots" by Jean-Jacques Perrey while bird watchers watch him. Danny Seagren performed Big Bird here, but had no dialogue, even when Sullivan talked to him.
Octopus's Garden (March 1, 1970) – An octopus (performed by Frank Oz) constantly interrupts the singing of "Octopus's Garden" by a diver (performed by Jim Henson) by giving out a bunch of bad puns until he receives comeuppance from a hungry giant clam (performed by Frank Oz).
Come Together (April 12, 1970) – A strange Muppet band sings the classic song by the Beatles while a giant blue and green dancing cowboy slowly falls apart.
What Kind of Fool Am I? (May 31, 1970) – Kermit tries to sing the song on the piano while Grover continues to interrupt him. Several older Muppets make cameo appearances in the finale of the sketch.
The Wild String Quartet (January 17, 1971) – Mahna Mahna (performed by Jim Henson) fills in for a violinist named Beagleman, but ends up playing the drums instead, much to the dismay of Harrison (performed by Richard Hunt), Twill (performed by Jerry Nelson) and Grump (performed by Frank Oz). Twill's puppet was recycled from Fred from the Munchos commercials and later used for Zelda Rose in The Muppet Show.
The Glutton (February 21, 1971) – An incredibly fat man called the Glutton (performed by Jim Henson and assisted by Frank Oz) kept eating things, before being shrunken by a small purple creature and then eaten by a duplicate of himself. After the sketch was over, the Glutton attempted to swallow Ed Sullivan's hand after giving him a handshake.

text: Broadway[edit]

text: The show is also noteworthy for showcasing performances from numerous classic Broadway musicals of the era, often featuring members of the original Broadway casts. These include:

text:
West Side Story – Carol Lawrence and Larry Kert singing "Tonight"; the members of the Jets gang performing "Cool".
My Fair Lady – Julie Andrews singing "I Could Have Danced All Night" and "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?"; Rex Harrison performing "Why Can't the English?"; Stanley Holloway performing "With a Little Bit of Luck; John Michael King singing "On the Street Where You Live"
Camelot – Richard Burton and Julie Andrews performing an extended scene including the title song and "What Do the Simple Folk Do?"; Robert Goulet singing "If Ever I Would Leave You" and "C'est Moi".[48]
Show Boat (1961 New York City Center revival) – Andrew Frierson singing "Ol' Man River", and Carol Bruce, from the 1946 Broadway revival, singing "Bill".
Carnival! – Anna Maria Alberghetti singing "Love Makes the World Go 'Round".
Bye Bye Birdie – Dick Van Dyke singing "Put On A Happy Face", Chita Rivera singing "Spanish Rose", Paul Lynde singing "Kids" and "Hymn for a Sunday Evening (Ed Sullivan)".
Oliver! – Georgia Brown singing "As Long as He Needs Me"; Davy Jones singing "Consider Yourself"; Georgia Brown, Davy Jones, Alice Playten, Bruce Prochnik, Clive Revill and the boys singing "I'd Do Anything". The performance was on February 9, 1964 – on the same telecast as The Beatles' first live performance.[49]
Oklahoma! – John Raitt, Celeste Holm, Florence Henderson and Barbara Cook performing the title song; Celeste Holm (from the original Broadway cast) performing "I Can't Say No".
Sweet Charity – Gwen Verdon performing "I'm A Brass Band" and "If My Friends Could See Me Now".
The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd – Anthony Newley singing "Who Can I Turn To?".
Flora the Red Menace – Liza Minnelli singing "All I Need Is One Good Break" and "Sing Happy"
Flower Drum Song – Pat Suzuki performing "I Enjoy Being a Girl".
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes – Carol Channing singing "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend".
Hair – the cast (including Diane Keaton, Melba Moore, Paul Jabara and co-authors Gerome Ragni and James Rado) performing "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In".
Hello, Dolly! – Pearl Bailey (from the all-black 1967 revamping of the show) performing "Before the Parade Passes By" with the ensemble.
A performance by Broadway dancer Wayne Lamb
I Do! I Do! – Gordon MacRae and Carol Lawrence (Broadway replacements for Mary Martin and Robert Preston) singing the title song from the show, and MacRae singing "I Love My Wife" and "My Cup Runneth Over".
Kiss Me, Kate – Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk, and Harold Lang singing "Another Op'nin' Another Show", "We Open In Venice", and "Wunderbar"
Man of La Mancha – Richard Kiley singing the title song and "The Impossible Dream"; Joan Diener in a rare television appearance in her stage role as Aldonza/Dulcinea singing "What Does He Want of Me?", most of the cast singing the show's final reprise of "The Impossible Dream"
Cabaret – Joel Grey singing part of "Wilkommen" (a song probably considered too suggestive for family viewing) and Jill Haworth in her stage role as Sally Bowles singing the title song
Purlie – Melba Moore singing "I Got Love" and "Purlie".
Wildcat – Lucille Ball and Paula Stewart singing "Hey, Look Me Over"
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown – Gary Burghoff, Reva Rose, Bob Balaban, Skip Hinnant, Karen Johnson, and Bill Hinnant singing the title song and "Happiness".
Ethel Merman would also occasionally appear singing hit songs from the shows that she starred in, including Annie Get Your Gun, Gypsy, Happy Hunting, Panama Hattie, and Anything Goes.
Hermione Gingold and Maurice Chevalier performed their duet, I Remember It Well, from the 1958 film Gigi, on the show.

text: Most of these artists performed in the same makeup and costumes that they wore in the shows, often providing the only visual recordings of these legendary performances by the original cast members, since there were no network telecasts of the Tony Awards until 1967. (There are traditionally no Broadway performances on Sunday nights, allowing the actors to perform without impacting the Broadway show.) Many performances have been compiled and released on DVD as The Best of Broadway Musicals—Original Cast Performances from The Ed Sullivan Show.

text: Mental illness program[edit]

text: In that same 1958 NEA interview, Sullivan noted his pride about the role that the show had had in improving the public's understanding of mental illness. Sullivan considered his May 17, 1953, telecast to be the single most important episode in the show's first decade. During that show, a salute to Broadway director Joshua Logan, the two men were watching in the wings, and Sullivan asked Logan how he thought the show was doing. According to Sullivan, Logan told him that the show was dreadfully becoming "another one of those and-then-I-wrote shows"; Sullivan asked him what he should do about it, and Logan volunteered to talk about his experiences in a mental institution.[50]

text: Sullivan took him up on the offer, and in retrospect believed that several advances in the treatment of mental illness could be attributed to the resulting publicity, including the repeal of a Pennsylvania law about the treatment of the mentally ill and the granting of funds for the construction of new psychiatric hospitals.

text: Film clips[edit]

text: Occasionally Sullivan would feature a Hollywood actor introducing a clip from a film in which he or she currently starred. Burt Lancaster made an appearance in 1962, speaking about Robert Stroud, the character he portrayed in Birdman of Alcatraz, and introducing a clip from the film. And although Olivier personally did not appear on the show, in 1966 Sullivan showed a clip from the Laurence Olivier Othello, the film version of which was then currently showing in New York.[51]

text: Controversies[edit]

text: Bo Diddley[edit]

text: On November 20, 1955, African-American rock 'n' roll singer and guitarist Bo Diddley appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, only to infuriate Sullivan ("I did two songs and he got mad"). Diddley had been asked to sing Tennessee Ernie Ford's hit "Sixteen Tons", which he agreed. But when he appeared on stage, he forgot his cue and instead sang his #1 R&B hit song that bears his name. Diddley later recalls, "Ed Sullivan says to me in plain words: 'You are the first black boy—quote—that ever double crossed me!' I was ready to fight, because I was a little young dude off the streets of Chicago, an' him callin' me 'black' in them days was as bad as sayin' 'nigger'. My manager says to me 'That's Mr. Sullivan!' I said: 'I don’t give a shit about Mr. Sullivan, [h]e don't talk to me like that!' An' so he told me, he says, 'I'll see that you never work no more in show business. You'll never get another TV show in your life!'"[52] Indeed, Diddley seems to have been banned from further appearances, as "the guitarist never did appear on The Ed Sullivan Show again."[53]

text: A Short Vision[edit]

text: On May 27 1956,[54] The Ed Sullivan Show presented an animated short film entitled A Short Vision. The short subject showcased an unidentified object that is referred to as it by the narrator. The object flies over Earth. When it passes, the people are asleep except the leaders and the wise men who look up at the object. As the leaders and wise men look up and predators and prey hide in fear, it produces a mushroom cloud in the sky, killing everyone and everything, vaporizing the people, the animals and Earth. After this happens, there remains only a moth and a flame.  The moth flies to the flame, gets vaporized and the flame dies. Thus, marking the end of humanity.

text: The short film is narrated in the style of the Bible.   The animation is derived from mostly still images that produce a terrifying and horrifying moving image of the end of humanity.   Just before CBS showed the film,  Ed Sullivan instructed children to leave the room.[54] The film gained notoriety from the show; but it also gained controversy because of it, due to the graphic way it depicted the horrors of a nuclear confrontation. Its graphic images also caused controversy. One of the visuals in the film depicted an animated character's eyes imploding and the remains running down its cheeks and then it gets destroyed by the object.

text: According to some sources, including contemporary newspaper reports, Ed Sullivan's telecast of A Short Vision caused a reaction as significant as Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast 20 years prior.[55]Because of the popularity of the short film, The Ed Sullivan Show telecast it again on June 10 of the same year.[54] Sullivan became significantly stricter with his on-camera warning to children not to watch it.[54]

text: Buddy Holly and the Crickets[edit]

text: On January 26, 1958, for their second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, Buddy Holly and The Crickets were scheduled to perform two songs. Sullivan wanted the band to substitute a different song for their record hit "Oh, Boy!", which he felt was too raucous. Holly had already told his hometown friends in Texas that he would be singing "Oh, Boy!" for them, and told Sullivan as much. During the afternoon the Crickets were summoned to rehearsal at short notice, but only Holly was in their dressing room. When asked where the others were, Holly replied, "I don't know. No telling." Sullivan then turned to Holly and said "I guess The Crickets are not too excited to be on The Ed Sullivan Show" to which Holly caustically replied, "I hope they're damn more excited than I am."

text: Sullivan, already bothered by the choice of songs, was now even angrier. He cut the Crickets' act from two songs to one, and when introducing them mispronounced Holly's name, so it came out vaguely as "Hollered" or "Holland." In addition, Sullivan saw to it that the microphone for Holly's electric guitar was turned off. Holly tried to compensate by singing as loudly as he could, and repeatedly trying to turn up the volume on his guitar. For the instrumental break he cut loose with a dramatic solo, making clear to the audience that the technical fault was not his. The band was received so well that Sullivan was forced to invite them back for a third appearance. Holly's response was that Sullivan did not have enough money. Film of the performance survives; photographs taken that day show Sullivan looking angry and Holly smirking and perhaps ignoring Sullivan.

text: Jackie Mason[edit]

text: On October 18, 1964, Jackie Mason allegedly gave Sullivan the finger on air. A tape of the incident shows Mason doing his stand-up comedy act and then looking toward Sullivan, commenting that Sullivan was signaling him. Sullivan was reportedly letting Mason know (by pointing two fingers) that he had only two minutes left, as CBS was about to cut away to show a speech by President Lyndon Johnson. Mason began working his own fingers into his act and pointed toward Sullivan with his middle finger slightly separated. After Mason left the stage, the camera then cut to a visibly angry Sullivan.

text: Sullivan argued with Mason backstage, then terminated his contract. Mason denied knowingly giving Sullivan the middle finger, and Mason later claimed that he had never even heard of the gesture at that time. In retaliation, to protect the perceived threat to his career, Mason filed a libel suit at the New York Supreme Court, which he won.[56]

text: Sullivan publicly apologized to Mason when he appeared on the show two years later, in 1966. At that time, Mason opened his monologue by saying, "It's a great thrill and a fantastic opportunity to see me in person again," and impersonated Sullivan during his act.[57]  Mason later appeared on the show five times: April 23, 1967; Feb. 25, 1968; Nov. 24, 1968; Jul. 22, 1969; and Aug. 31, 1969.

text: Bob Dylan[edit]

text: Bob Dylan was slated to make his first nationwide television appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on May 12, 1963, and intended to perform "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues", a song he wrote lampooning the John Birch Society and the red-hunting paranoia associated with it.  Although Sullivan reportedly liked the song, during the afternoon rehearsal that day CBS officials told Dylan they had deemed the song unacceptable for broadcast and wanted him to substitute another. "No; this is what I want to do," Dylan responded. "If I can't play my song, I'd rather not appear on the show." He then left the studio, rather than altering the act.

text: The Doors[edit]

text: The Doors were notorious for their appearance on the show. CBS network censors demanded that lead singer Jim Morrison change the lyrics to their hit single "Light My Fire" by altering the line, "Girl, we couldn't get much higher", before the band performed the song on-camera on September 17, 1967.  (Since the beginning of the fall 1966 television season, the show had been recorded on color videotape a few hours before its 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time time slot.  Performers and their managers were told that the show must proceed as if it were being done live, and videotape editing on short notice was impossible.)

text: Morrison sang the original line, however, and CBS executives were powerless to change it because the nature of videotape editing in 1967 required many hours of labor.[58] The Doors were never invited back to the show. According to Ray Manzarek, the band was told, "Mr. Sullivan liked you boys. He wanted you on six more times. ... You'll never do the Sullivan show again." Morrison replied with glee, "Hey man, we just did the Sullivan show."[59]—at the time, an appearance was a hallmark of success.

text: Manzarek has given differing accounts of what happened. He has said that the band only pretended to agree to change the line but also that Morrison was nervous and simply forgot to change the line. The performance and incident were reenacted in Oliver Stone's 1991 biographical film, The Doors, albeit in a more dramatic fashion, with Morrison portrayed as emphasizing the word "higher".

text: Sullivan apparently felt the damage had been done and relented on bands using the word "higher". The following year, Sly & the Family Stone sang a medley in which Sly repeated the lyric "Wanna take you higher!" many times.[60]

text: The Rolling Stones[edit]

text: In contrast, the Rolling Stones were instructed to change the title of their "Let's Spend the Night Together" single for the band's January 15, 1967, appearance. The band complied, with Mick Jagger and Bill Wyman ostentatiously rolling their eyes heavenward whenever they reached the song's one-night-only, clean refrain, "Let's spend some time together". Mick Jagger did not wear a jacket on their first appearance on the show (October 25, 1964) and this annoyed Sullivan.  They were asked to appear again, but they were asked to wear jackets for their 1965 appearance.  The Stones would ultimately play on the Ed Sullivan Show six times.[61]

text: In contrast, Diana Ross & the Supremes, frequent guests on Sullivan's show, debuted their then-release and eventually controversial #1 hit song "Love Child" on Sullivan's show, but nothing about its title or its content about a woman in poverty having a child out of wedlock (which was exceptionally taboo to mention on television at the time) seemed to faze Sullivan, the show's producers, or the network.[62]

text: Ratings history[edit]

text:
1948–1949: N/A
1949–1950: N/A
1950–1951: #15, 3,723,000 viewers[63]
1951–1952: N/A
1952–1953: N/A
1953–1954: #17, 8,580,000 viewers[64]
1954–1955: #5, 12,157,200 viewers[65]
1955–1956: #3, 13,785,500 viewers[66]
1956–1957: #2, 14,937,600 viewers[67]
1957–1958: #27, 11,444,160 viewers[68]
1958–1959: N/A
1959–1960: #12, 12,810,000 viewers[69]
1960–1961: #15, 11,800,000 viewers[70]
1961–1962: #19, 11,381,525 viewers[71]
1962–1963: #14, 12,725,900 viewers[72]
1963–1964: #8, 14,190,000 viewers[73]
1964–1965: #16, 13,280,400 viewers[74]
1965–1966: #18, 12,493,200 viewers[75]
1966–1967: #13, 12,569,640 viewers[76]
1967–1968: #13, 13,147,440 viewers[77]
1968–1969: #23, 12,349,000 viewers[78]
1969–1970: #27, 11,875,500 viewers[79]
1970–1971: N/A

text: Highlights:

text: 9/09/1956:[clarification needed] Elvis Presley's first appearance yielding an 82.6 percentage share, the highest in television history for any program up to the present.  Viewers: 60.2 million Source: Trendex, the precursor of Nielsen.

text: 2/09/1964: The Beatles's first appearance yielding a 45.3 rating.  Viewers: 73.7 million Source:  Nielsen.

text: Other noteworthy ratings

text: 02/16/1964: 43.8 rating   The Beatles's second appearance. Source: Nielsen.

text: 09/09/1956: 43.7 rating Elvis Presley's first appearance.  Source: Trendex.

text: Primetime specials[edit]

text:
Date

Title

Network

Rating

Length

2/02/1975

The Sullivan Years: A Tribute To Ed

CBS

7:30-8:30 p.m.

2/17/1991

The Very Best of Ed Sullivan

CBS

21.3

9–11pm (Competition: Love, Lies and Murder: Part 1 got a 15.5 rating)

11/24/1991

The Very Best of Ed Sullivan 2

CBS

17.1

9–11pm

8/07/1992

The Very Best of the Ed Sullivan Show

CBS

9.4

9–11pm (The Mary Tyler Moore Show: The 20th Anniversary Show got a 6.1 rating at 8pm)

12/20/1992

Holiday Greetings from the Ed Sullivan Show

CBS

14.3

9–11pm

5/19/1995

The Ed Sullivan All-Star Comedy Special

CBS

8.2

9–11pm

7/14/1995

The Very Best of Ed Sullivan

CBS

7.5

9–11pm

5/18/1998

Ed Sullivan's 50th Anniversary

CBS

9.3

10–11pm

text: Parodies[edit]

text: The show's immense popularity has been the target of numerous parodies. These include:

text:
Numerous music videos, such as Billy Joel's "Tell Her About It" (featuring Will Jordan as Sullivan), Nirvana's "In Bloom", Grinspoon's "Hold On Me", Outkast's "Hey Ya!", the Red Hot Chili Peppers's "Dani California" and Bring Me The Horizon's "Drown" have all parodied the show's visual style.
Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles open their concerts with prerecorded footage of a man doing an intentionally poor Sullivan impression in black and white and then introducing the band, which plays the first part of the show with an exact recreation of the set the Beatles used.
All You Need Is Cash (1978), a mockumentary about a fictional group, The Rutles. The film contains original footage of Sullivan introducing The Beatles with some audio redubbed for comedic effect.
The Fab Four, a Beatles tribute act hosted by an Ed Sullivan impressionist.
One of the characters in Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp, a children's live action TV series with a cast of chimpanzees dubbed by actors' speaking voices, is "Ed Simian", a parody of Sullivan.
Will Jordan, best known for his uncanny impersonation of Sullivan as the show's host.
Comedian George Carlin included a routine titled Ed Sullivan Self Taught on his 1972 album FM & AM.
On an episode of The Colgate Comedy Hour, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis did a parody called The Toast of the Colgate Town, with Lewis wearing fake teeth and slicked-back hair as "Ed Solomon".[80]
In the episode "Harry Canary" in the animated series Dumb and Dumber, it was named "The Earvin Mulligan Show" as Lloyd's family were performing in the late 60s as "The Happy Dunne Family".
The first episode of the Late Show with David Letterman on August 30, 1993, featured clips of Ed Sullivan spliced together to make it look as though he was introducing host David Letterman, while a segment later in the episode featured David channeling the "ghost" of Ed Sullivan, this time an archive clip of Sullivan introducing actor Paul Newman, who was live in the Letterman audience that night. Since moving to CBS from NBC, Letterman taped his show in the Ed Sullivan Theater, the studio where Sullivan also staged his program, until his 2015 retirement.[81]
The Tom Hanks–directed film That Thing You Do! has the Beatles-esque band The Wonders performing in The Hollywood Television Showcase, complete with a caption over the band's lead singer similar to Lennon's "Sorry Girls! He's Married!" The scene was shot at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, which Sullivan used for his West Coast shows.
The 1954 film White Christmas features a pivotal scene that occurs on "The Ed Harrison Show", which was intentionally similar to Sullivan's show.
The 1960s animated television series The Flintstones featured a parody of Sullivan as "Ed Sulleystone" on the episode "Itsy Fred."  On the episode called "Lola Brickada,"  Sullivan was referred to as "Ed Stonevan."  Sullivan is also seen introducing "Roc Roll" in another episode, but his name is not mentioned.  And in the episode where Fred brings home a lion cub, Barney performs a trick with the now grown up lion and mentioned that he saw a similar stunt on the "Ed Shalevan" show.
Gabe Kaplan did a comedy skit in the 1970s (also featured on his 1974 album Holes and Mellow Rolls), that had him impersonate a drunken Ed Sullivan on his final show, being nasty in general, and finally saying good night to the audience.
The 1994 film Pulp Fiction features a scene in a 50s–60s-themed restaurant where Jerome Patrick Hoban does an imitation of Ed Sullivan introducing acts.
The direct-to-video children's film The Wiggles: You Make Me Feel Like Dancing! includes a video for the song "Shimmy Shake" which depicts the group appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show. Paul Paddick portrayed Sullivan for the video.
In the manga series One Piece, an omake was drawn in which the Straw Hat Pirates, along with other prominent characters, are all tied into one large fiasco that ends with a party. It is called The Ed Sullivan Show only in name.
The hit Broadway musical Jersey Boys features a scene where Four Seasons band member Tommy DeVito imitates Sullivan introducing "Topo Gigio and the Vienna Boys Choir" before bringing Franki Valli on stage for the first time.
The Ramones used a segment of the Ed Sullivan shaking Buddy Holly's hand on the Ed Sullivan Show for their music video for "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?"
On South Park, in the episode "Terrance and Phillip: Behind the Blow", black and white footage is shown of Terrance and Philip appearing on the show as children.