The Ed Sullivan Show, originally titled Toast of the Town, was a pioneering, long-running American entertainment television program, which aired weekly from 1948 to 1971. Hosted by a former newspaper columnist and broadcast live from New York City for most of its run, the program introduced countless performers to American audiences.
The series provided many iconic moments to television history, in particular a series of three performances by Elvis Presley broadcast in September and October 1956 and January 1957. The Doctor and Rose Tyler attempted to travel to New York to attend the 28 October 1956 performance by Presley, but ended up instead in 1953 London. (DW: The Idiot's Lantern)
Ed Sullivan's show, which aired on CBS from 1948 to 1971, was straight out of old vaudeville, featuring brief acts of every description, from slapstick comedy to operatic arias.
Jim Henson's Muppets made 25 appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. 20 of those appearances were included on a DVD titled Muppets Magic from the Ed Sullivan Show in 2003. In addition to this, both christmas sketches were included in A Classic Christmas from The Ed Sullivan Show, and one of the sketches not included in Muppets Magic from the Ed Sullivan Show, "Music Hath Charms", was released on the video The Very Best of the Ed Sullivan Show Vol. 2.
| Picture | Title | Date | Description |
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Rock 'n' Roll Monster | September 18, 1966 | Ed Sullivan introduces "Jim.... uh, Newsom's Puppets" [1](This line was dubbed on the Muppets Magic DVD to "Jim... uh, Henson's Muppets). This act features a monster with three heads and six arms lip-syncing to "Rock It to Me." |
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The Art of Visual Thinking | October 2, 1966 | Based on a segment from Sam and Friends. Grump studies the art of visual thinking while a hip Kermit the Frog teaches him. Performers: Jim Henson (Kermit the Frog) and Jerry Juhl (voice) Frank Oz (puppetry) (Grump). |
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Monster Family | October 23, 1966 | A father monster talks to his son (Baby Monster) about being a monster. Splurge appears as their mother. Performers: Jim Henson (father), Jerry Juhl (son), and Frank Oz (Splurge).
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Java | November 27, 1966 | Two tube-like muppets dance on-stage. Frank Oz designed the Java Muppets. |
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Inchworm | November 27, 1966 | Kermit sits on a wall and hums "Glow Worm." A worm appears and interrupts his song, so he eats it. This happens a few times until he grabs (with his mouth) a worm that keeps getting longer and longer, until it's revealed to be a very long nose, belonging to a monster named Big V. |
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"Music Hath Charms" | January 15, 1967 | Kermit plays the piano while a hand puppet version of Splurge and a Snerf dance by it. At the end, the piano comes to life and eats Kermit.
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"I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face" | February 5, 1967 | Kermit dresses in drag while Yorick hides underneath a handkerchief, eats it, and then attempts to eat Kermit. |
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"I Feel Pretty" | April 30, 1967 | The story of an ugly girl named Amanda, who tries to become beautiful. Performers: Jim Henson (Amanda, Conrad Love, and one of Amanda's friends), Jerry Juhl (Narrator and one of Amanda's friends), and Frank Oz (puppeteering only).Note: Amanda's friends are Mert and Fred. |
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Monster Eats Machine | October 8, 1967 | An early version of Cookie Monster finds a talking machine that explains its various working parts while being eaten. After the whole thing is eaten, the machine's voice (inside the monster) says that nothing can stop it from performing its primary function -- the most powerful exploding device known to man. |
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Rowlf and Jimmy Dean | October 8, 1967 | Jimmy Dean and Rowlf appear. |
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Santa Claus Routine with Arthur Godfrey | December 24, 1967 Originally scheduled for December 21[2] |
Arthur Godfrey plays Santa Claus, who gets a visit from a group of monsters that includes Thudge, Gleep (the original Grover puppet), Scudge, Snerk and Snork. They attempt to rob the toys until they learn that Santa is giving them the toys. They sing "It's Christmas Tomorrow." Performers: Jim Henson (Thudge), Jerry Juhl (Scudge and Snerk) and Frank Oz (Gleep and Snork).
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Business, Business | February 18, 1968 | Two mean-looking creatures with tube necks sing about business while two friendlier creatures sing about values. Performers: Jim Henson (Blue Monster and Orange Creature) and Jerry Juhl (Green Monster and Purple Creature). Goof: Hands can be seen holding the necks of the characters. |
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"I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face" | April 21, 1968 | Second performance of sketch. |
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Java | May 26, 1968 | Second performance of sketch. |
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The Monster Trash Can Dance | October 13, 1968 | Parts of a monster hide in a trash can. |
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"Sclrap-Flyapp" | November 24, 1968 | A weird-looking creature who is only seen from the neck up randomly blurts out "Sclrap-Flyapp" and uses its nose to blast those who don't say Sclrap-Flyapp. This sketch was later reworked into Hugga Wugga on The Muppet Show. Goof: When the Sclrap-Flyapp creature is blasted at the end, part of his neck falls from his head, revealing a performers hand. |
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Christmas Reindeers | December 22, 1968 | The reindeer need it to snow by Christmas Eve.
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A Change of Face | March 30, 1969 | Rex Robbins changes the face and personalities of the Southern Colonel. |
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Happy Girl Meets a Monster | May 11, 1969 | Beautiful Day Monster does all he can to ruin a beautiful day for Little Girl Sue. Jim Henson performed the voices for both characters. Goof: The flower pot falls off the wall, in front of it, but then when Little Girl Sue says that she likes the flower pot, Beautiful Day Monster picks it up from behind the wall and throws it over the wall. |
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"Mahna Mahna" | November 30, 1969 | Mahna Mahna sings this classic nonsense song and is backed by the two Snowths. This classic song was later the opening number for The Muppet Show episode 101 Goof: Jim Henson's head and arm can be seen when Mahna Mahna goes far off into the background. |
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Big Bird's Dance | December 14, 1969 | In a sketch orchestrated by "Minuet of the Robots" by Jean-Jacques Perrey, Big Bird dances while being watched by human bird watchers. He never spoke here, even when Ed Sullivan talks to him. In this performance, Big Bird was performed by Daniel Seagren, instead of Caroll Spinney.[3] |
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"Octopus's Garden" | March 1, 1970 | An octopus constantly interrupts the singing of Ringo Starr's "Octopus' Garden." Performers: Jim Henson (Diver), Frank Oz (Octopus, Giant Clam), and Jerry Nelson (clam). |
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"Come Together" | April 12, 1970 | A bizarre Muppet band sing the classic Beatles song. |
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"What Kind of Fool Am I?" | May 31, 1970 | Kermit tries to sing and play this song on piano while Grover continues to interrupt him. Several older Muppet monsters make cameo appearances in the finale. |
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The Wild String Quartet | January 17, 1971 | Mahna Mahna fills in for a violinist named Beagleman, though Mahna Mahna plays drums, not violin. Performers: Jim Henson (Mahna Mahna), Jerry Nelson (Lead Violinist), Frank Oz (Grump), and Richard Hunt (Blue Violinist).
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The Glutton | February 12, 1971 | A really fat man called The Glutton keeps eating things. After the sketch is over, he attempts to eat Ed Sullivan. |
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