Customer Reviews

Impresario: The Life and Times of Ed Sullivan

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Those who began to watch television after 1971 probably know little (if anything) about Ed Sullivan. Having first gained some renown from a relatively successful career as a gossip columnist and entertainment reporter for the New York Daily News, in 1948 he was selected by CBS to host a new television program called "Toast of the Town." During the next 23 years, the popularity of the program gradually increased to a point at which it became the highest rated program on Sunday evening. When Sullivan's contract was renewed (in 1955) and he received a substantially increased salary, it was renamed "The Ed Sullivan Show" which continued until 1971.

Here is an especially informative excerpt from Maguire's Epilogue: "For someone of a later age to ask: What was it like? What was the nature of American culture between 1948 and 1971? The answer lies in these [1,087] videotapes. The twenty-three seasons of live performances fully capture American tastes and views at a defining moment, both in the history of broadcast and in national history. They reveal the very birth of television, and from its technical infancy to its first maturity, from a period when commercials were performed live on stage to the era when demographics began to rule the medium. They also reflect the American zeitgeist, from the dawn of the country's status as a world power to the era when the Baby Boom generation first exerted its influence. That the library of [Sullivan's television] shows offers such a telling panoramic record of these arcs makes it more than worth considerable shelf space it occupies in the national archives."

Fred Allen once suggested that "Ed Sullivan will stay on the air as long as other people have talent." In fact, that was Sullivan's greatest talent: recognizing others' talents, often well before anyone else did. Another of his most significant talents was his sensitivity to what mainstream America most enjoyed in a variety program. Week after week, Sullivan achieved a balance of traditional and edgy comedy (e.g. Myron Cohen and George Carlin) and popular and classical music (e.g. Elvis Presley and Maria Callas) as well as selected scenes from both serious dramas and Broadway musicals. Given the popularity of his weekly program, Sullivan offered a venue for major career breakthroughs just as Johnny Carson later did on The Tonight Show. As Maguire explains, Sullivan was a driven man...obsessed with achieving fame and fortune for himself, of course, but also with producing each week wholesome entertainment under his quite strict control. For example, the Rolling Stones reluctantly agreed to change "Let's spend the night together" to "Let's spend some time together" and Elvis Presley agreed to be shown on camera only from the waist up. On occasion, moments before a show began, Sullivan would rearrange the sequence of acts or eliminate those which (for whatever reasons) he considered inappropriate. He was in all respects both impresario and emperor.

Eventually, as so often happens over time, television viewers' tastes and loyalties changed. Younger persons preferred other programs (e.g. as The Wonderful World of Disney and The FBI) to Sullivan's show and other once popular programs such as The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, Lassie, and Hee-Haw. Sullivan was so upset by CBS's decision to cancel his show that he refused to participate in any final "farewell" program. On June 6th, 1971, on the last regularly scheduled program, the guests included Gladys Knight and the Pips, comic Robert Klein, and Broadway legend Carol Channing. Three years later, Sullivan died.

It is certainly possible but, in my opinion, highly unlikely that another show such as Sullivan's will ever appear again on television, at least on a weekly basis. Maguire suggests that "The Ed Sullivan Show was a self-portrait." It also offers "a telling panoramic record" of the age during which, for 23 years, Ed Sullivan's genius as a producer who guided and informed the evolution of television during what is generally viewed as its "golden years."

I thought it couldn't be done, but James Maguire did it. In his recently published book, "Impresario," he actually made Ed Sullivan come to life. I was little older than a toddler when "Toast of the Town" premiered in 1948 and we (my family) regularly watched the show during the '50s. Even though Mr. Sullivan was part of the culture of the country for so many years, I knew practically nothing about his private life. That has all changed, of course, now that I have finished "Impresario." I'm a pretty voracious reader and, honestly, I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a book so much.

From the moment you pick up this beautifully-written book, you know that it is not the usual star biography-cum-gossip, written merely to pump up a star's image or to make a quick profit. Mr. Maguire's engrossing look at the public and private lives of this icon of American television is impossible to put down. The first page quickly turns into 200.

Through exhaustive research and intensive interviews with people who knew and/or worked with Mr. Sullivan, James Maguire has the rare perspective of one who is able to bring to this biography a special understanding and appreciation of the somewhat private and troubled Ed Sullivan. The reward for the reader is a compelling view, written with candor, insight and affection.

In closing, I'd like to emphasize again how much I enjoyed reading "Impresario." It's a pleasure to get my hands on a book with a subject that is interesting and that is written in a concise, articulate and very readable manner. Not a word is wasted. One last comment: James Maguire had made it easy for me to decide what I am going to giving friends for Christmas.

Before he ever stepped in front of a television camera, before introducing Elvis, the Beatles and more plate spinners than you can shake a stick at, to American audiences, Sullivan had a career as a journalist and stage show producer worthy of biography. Maguire does an amazing job of not only chronicling Sullivan the sports writer, gossip columnist and of course, TV legend, he also uses that amazing life as a means to profile the evolution of the world of celebrity, not to mention movies, radio and television, from the Jazz Age to the TV Age. He beautifully evokes 1920s-30s New York, the heyday of Sullivan the bon vivant and journalist, whose punchy prose style rivaled, if not surpassed Walter Winchell's. He takes us through the whirlwind final years of Vaudeville, where Sullivan honed his craft and acumen as a producer and finally to the birth of television and the variety show, which Sullivan clearly pioneered.

Through it all, Maguire manages to capture, as well as penetrate the persona of the withdrawn, combative and often contradictory Sullivan. This biography ranks right up there with Neal Gabler's masterful "Winchell". It is both show business history and insightful biography, putting you right on stage during Sullivan's shows. It is a fantastic book that will thrill anyone who ever enjoyed Sullivan's show and will make converts of those too young to remember him. A truly great read. Bravo, Mr. Maguire!

You get a real feel for what it took for Sullivan to achieve all he did. After all, his greatest talent was discovering what the public liked and getting it for them. For all his drive though, he was a principled man with a social conscience.

It was interesting to read about the variety of talent that the Sullivan show had some 60 years ago and to imagine how such shows would go over with today's audience. The book also had a few very funny stories about how clueless Ed could be when he dealt with entertainers.

I enjoyed every detail of "Impresario: The Live and Times of Ed Sullivan". It brought back such great memories and provided great background on Mr. Sullivan and the show. As a 63 year old, my family and I lived to watch The Show. For me when I was younger, it was second only to The Mickey Mouse Club and Disneyland for entertainment. As I grew older and music became my love, the guests were my first joy to watch. I'll never forget Elvis, the Beatles and Randy Sparks, the founder of the New Christy Minstrels. I even play with the NCM's today. What fantastic talent that was brought right into my living room. The author collected great stories behind the scenes that makes me appreciate even more the complexities of Mr. Sullivan and his wonderful show. Without reservation I commend all to read this book. No doubt more stories exist and a second publication by the author would be greatly appreciated.

I read this book after reading the lighter weight "Sunday's With Sullivan" and came away impressed. I am amazed at the amount of information that is packed into this somewhat slight book--it is obviously very well researched. Be prepared to make a commitment if one is to read this book--it is not light reading. However, if you want to come away with a excellent picture of who Ed Sullivan was, you can't go wrong with this book.

This is a decent bio, and very interesting as a cultural history. However, it's a terrible Kindle adaptation...the font reads poorly (at any size) and the photo captions are microscopic.

I read this along with "Sundays w/Sullivan". This is a far more accurate and insightful book. Especially in regards to Ed's influence on rock n roll and how the Beatles got booked. The other book is full of falsehoods - not uncommon when you consider "Sundays" was written by Sullivan's actual publicist, who still seems to be sending out those quick press releases with little substance.
Read Impresario if you want non-fiction on Sullivan's life.

James MacGuire's "Impresario : The Life And Times Of Ed Sullivan" is a brilliant read, written about perhaps the most iconic figure in 20th-century American showbusiness. In a career spanning vaudeville, the Roaring 20's and Cafe-Society 30's, the War and post-war years, the 50's, rock and roll and the cultural upheaval of the turbulent 60's, Sullivan's story mirrors that of American culture itself. Particularly fascinating to me were Sullivan's early years as a cub reporter, rubbing shoulders with the glitterati, sports stars and shadowy figures in the late-night speakeasys of roaring-20's New York. Also his 3 years in 1930's Hollywood, interviewing many of the biggest stars while unsuccessfully trying to parlay his success into the movie business. A no-nonsense fearsome adversary, Sullivan nonetheless comes across as unpretentious, honest and eminently likeable in spite of his failings. For anyone with a keen interest in 20th-century American entertainment history, James MacGuire's book is an absolute must....

When one goes online, he usually finds a website for the TV listings that display the vast variety of entertainment for his enjoyment. Shows on cable range from Catholic programming about the Mass to reruns of The Simple Life. Many of us in the older generation appreciate some of the choices that we have today, but...for some reason, the magic of television just doesn't seem to be like it once was. Some people pine for an old ballfield where they used to play when they were kids and now there is a strip mall. Others used to visit their favorite movie theatre to watch old Godzilla movies for a dollar; most places like that are long since gone and most now house office space. The same can be said for television in the years after the war to 1970. The presence of Ed Sullivan dominated that era to such an extent that we will perhaps never see such supremancy again. No matter how much we want the variety show to be revived, the current TV environment makes that impossible. Mr. Maguire carefully preserves a piece of that bygone era, where there were only three channels for one to get the latest in video culture.

I would say that this work covering Ed Sullivan will be hard to duplicate because it contains so much information in such a short span of just 300 pages. Brought up in the rough and tumble world of early 20th Century New York, Sullivan went through life events that by providence led him through numerous failures in movie and radio ventures, a sucessful column in the New York Daily News and-of course-a little show that premiered on CBS in 1948.

Maguire shows that while Sullivan was a man who sensed the changes in entertainment trends and rode them to great fame, he also shows that he had feet of clay that was expressed thorugh his temper and long-standing grudges against men like Walter Winchell. Maguire finishes his tome by explaining that Sullivan was a victim of his own success. He catered to every demographic which paradoxically resulted in the alienation of the audience at home. The death of his wife in 1973 gave him heartache that would not be comforted until his passing the next year. One interesting point is that faced with his own mortalitiy, he sought the comfort of the Catholic Church. Perhaps Maguire could have expanded on this a little bit. Nevertheless, this is a great book that will probably be the last biogaphy of Ed Sullivan that is derived through first-hand accounts.

Nearly 40 years have passed since this show ended and I highly recommend this book to those who are interested in what was.