The BEST episodes of The Ed Sullivan Show season 24
Every episode of The Ed Sullivan Show season 24, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Ed Sullivan Show season 24!
From 1949 until its cancelation 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 9–10 p.m. E.T.) Virtually every type of entertainment appeared on the show; opera singers, popular 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 died a generation earlier, Sullivan presented many ex-vaudevillians on his show. Seasons 1-8 can be found listed under the series "Toast of the Town".
#1 - Four Tops / Carpenters / Freda Payne
Season 24 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/8/1970
Ed & guests entertain wounded GI's at Walter Reed Army Hospital --Four Tops - ""Put A Little Love In Your Heart"" & ""It's All in the Game"" --Carpenters - (medley of Burt Bacharach songs): ""Close to You,"" ""Easier on Yourself,"" ""Always Something There to Remind Me,"" ""Never Fall in Love Again,"" ""Walk on By"" & ""Do You Know the Way to San Jose"" --Freida Payne - ""Band of Gold,"" ""Deeper and Deeper"" ""Getting to Know You"" --Hank Williams, Jr. - ""All For The Love Of Sunshine"" --Rodney Dangerfield (stand-up comedy) --Ron Carey (stand-up, Sargeant Monk Bit) --Dick Ryan (magic act & card tricks)
Watch Now:Amazon#2 - scheduled: Bobby Sherman; New Seekers; Robert Merrill
Season 24 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/13/1970
Scheduled guests: --Bobby Sherman - ""Going Home"" & ""Song of Joy"" --The New Seekers - ""Your Song"" --Robert Merrill - ""If I Were a Rich Man"" --Marilyn Michaels --Guy Marks --Les Ballets Africains (troupe that performs traditional African dances)
#3 - Final Sullivan Show: Melanie; David Frye; Sandler & Young
Season 24 - Episode 25 - Aired 3/28/1971
Scheduled guests: --Melanie - ""Look What They've Done to My Song, Ma,"" ""Ruby Tuesday"" and ""Alexander Beetle"" --Joanna Simon (mezzo-soprano) - ""My Heart at Thy Sweet Voice"" --David Frye (impressionist) --Danny Davis & the Nashville Brass --Tony Sandler & Ralph Young (singers) --Norman Wisdom (comedian) --Vic Perry (sleight-of-hand artist) --Tony Fane (comedian) --Lennie Schultz (comedian)
#4 - Bernadette Peters / George Hamilton / Oliver
Season 24 - Episode 24 - Aired 3/21/1971
Guests: --Oliver - ""Early Morning Rain"" & ""Walking Down the Line"" --Bernadette Peters - ""Look for the Silver Lining"" --Bernadette Peters & Oliver - ""Yes, Yes, Bernadette"" --George Hamilton - ""If I Could Read Your Mind"" (and possibly ""This Time"") --The Phil Driscoll Explosion - ""California Dreamin'"" --Young Saints - ""Shout,"" ""Oh, Happy Day"" & ""Didn't It Rain?"" --Georgie Kaye (comedian) --Skiles and Henderson (comedy team)
#5 - Armed Forces Music Festival: Jeannie C. Riley; Teresa Graves
Season 24 - Episode 23 - Aired 3/7/1971
Armed Forces Music Festival: --Jeannie C. Riley - ""Oh, Singer"" & ""Harper Valley PTA"" (2nd song on film) --Teresa Graves - ""I'm Gonna Make You Love Me"" --Roy Clark - ""Foggy Mountain Breakdown"" (on banjo) --Joe Lewis (boxer, interviewed by Sullivan) --Louis Nye (stand-up comedian) --Brian Stewart (""Love Story"" theme) --Peter Gennero (""This is the Army"" dance routine) --General William Westmoreland (cameo, stage bow) Military talent: --Major Don Kidder & Sons (barbershop quartet from Clark AFB, the Phillippines) - ""Bring Back Those Good Old Days"" --Staff Sergeant Richard Martin (harmonica player from Kelly AFB, Texas) - ""St. Louis Blues"" --Old Guard Fife and Drum Corp (from Fort Myer) --The United States Army Drill Team --Fred (folk trio consisting of Sergeant Cruise, Army Specialist Hoffman & Bonnie Hoffman) - ""That's When I Come Running Into Your Mind"" Finale: Entire cast sings medley of Service songs: ""Anchor's Aweigh,"" ""Air Force Song, ""Marine's Hymn,"" ""A
#6 - Everly Brothers / George Carlin / Shirley Bassey
Season 24 - Episode 22 - Aired 2/28/1971
Guests: --Everly Brothers - ""Bowling Green,"" ""Mama Tried,"" ""All I Have to Do Is Dream"" and ""Bye Bye Love"" --Shirley Bassey - ""What About Today"" & ""Yesterday When I Was Young"" --George Carlin (comedian) - routine about eyes, hair & Muhammed Ali (upcoming fight with Joe Frazier plug) --Jerry Butler - ""Where Are You Going?"" --David Brenner --The Brockways (acrobatic/bicycle act) - man & woman do tricks on bicycles. --Tybee & Antonio (dancers) - couple dances to instrumental song. Jungle-themed exotic dance. Also: A French Restaurant skit with Ed Sullivan, Shirley Bassey & Sid Caesar.
#7 - Fifth Dimension / Tiny Tim & Miss Vickie / Connie Stevens
Season 24 - Episode 21 - Aired 2/21/1971
Guests: --The Fifth Dimension - ""Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes"" & medley: ""Up Up and Away,"" ""One Less Bell to Answer,"" ""Stoned Soul Picnic,"" ""Wedding Bell Blues,"" & ""Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In"" --Connie Stevens and the Fifth Dimension - ""Puppet Man"" --Tiny Tim and Miss Vicki - ""Why"" --Connie Stevens - medley: ""It's a Blue World,"" ""If I Didn't Care,"" ""Hey Daddy,"" ""Tell Me Why,"" ""Big Girls Don't Cry"" & ""You Keep Me Hanging On"" --Rodney Dangerfield --Jim Henson's Muppets --John Bryner (comedian doing celebrity impressions) --Dickie Henderson - ""One for My Baby""
#8 - Gladys Knight & the Pips / Sid Caesar & Carol Channing
Season 24 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/7/1971
Guests: --Gladys Knight & the Pips - ""If I Were Your Woman"" & ""Bridge Over Troubled Water"" --Sid Caesar & Carol Channing (do a scene from the play ""Four on a Garden"") --Robert Klein (stand-up comedian) - tells jokes about going to the dentist. --Jerry Vale - ""I Want To Make It With You,"" ""My Love, Forgive Me,"" & ""Peace in the Valley"" --Caterina Valente - ""Everybody Gets to go to the Moon,"" ""Mack the Knife"" (in German) & ""The Girl from Impanema"" (in Portuguese) --Peter Nero (pianist) - theme from ""Love Story"" --Pat Henry (comedian) CBS repeated this show on June 6, 1971. NOTE: The 1990's repeat of this episode includes performers from other shows: Jim Bailey (from 3Jan71); Santini Demon (from 15Feb70); O.C. Smith (from 3Jan71) and Jackie DeShannon (circa March 1970).
#9 - Temptations / Connie Stevens / Albert Brooks
Season 24 - Episode 19 - Aired 1/31/1971
Temptations (""Get Ready,"" ""Just My Imagination"" & medley of hits: ""Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours,"" ""Ain't No Mountain High Enough,"" ""I'll Be There"" & ""My Sweet Lord"") Other guests: Albert Brooks; Connie Stevens (""Tea for Two""); Connie Stevens & Peter Gennaro (spoof Ginger Rogers & Fred Astaire); Stiller & Meara; Doug Kershaw (Cajun fiddler - ""Glinda"").
#10 - B.J. Thomas / Rahsaan Roland Kirk / Nancy Ames
Season 24 - Episode 18 - Aired 1/24/1971
Guests: --B.J. Thomas - ""No Love At All"" & medley of songs (""Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head,"" ""Most of All"" & ""I Just Can't Help Believin'"") --B.J. Thomas & Nancy Ames - ""Your Song"" --Nancy Ames - ""Lady Love"" & ""Heaven Help Us All"" --Rahsaan Roland Kirk (jazz musician) - ""Haitian Fight Song."" (with other jazz musicians, please see ""Recap""). --Sergio Franchi - ""Close to You"" & ""No Man is an Island"" --Peter Gennaro (dancer) - ""Impossible Dream"" --Jim O'Brian (football player) --Godfrey Cambridge (comedian)
#11 - scheduled: Gary Puckett; Tony Bennett; Judy Carne
Season 24 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/17/1971
Scheduled guests: --Gary Puckett & the Union Gap - possibly ""I Who Have Nothing"" & ""Keep the Customer Satisfied"" --Tony Bennett --Norm Crosby --Judy Carne --The Muppets --Melina Mercouri --Irwin C. Watson (comedian)
#12 - scheduled: Rodney Dangerfield; Lana Cantrell; O.C. Smith
Season 24 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/3/1971
Guests: --O.C. Smith - ""Friend,Lover, Woman, Wife,"" ""Can't Take My Eyes Off You"" & ""Little Green Apples"" --Jim Bailey (female impressionist) out of costume, talks to Ed about how he got started doing his act. --Jim Bailey (female impersonator as Judy Garland) - ""The Man That Got Away"" Additional guests/songs (scheduled): --O.C. Smith - ""What the World Needs Now"" --Rodney Dangerfield (comedian) --Lana Cantrell - ""Being Alive,"" ""Put a Little Love in Your Heart"" & ""Reach Out and Touch"" --Sergio Franchi - ""Quando, Quando, Quando,"" ""Just Say I Love Her,"" ""Jean"" & ""What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?"" --The Bayanihan Philippine Dancers
#13 - scheduled: Bobbie Gentry; Friends of Distinction; Peter Nero
Season 24 - Episode 15 - Aired 12/27/1970
Scheduled guests: --Bobbie Gentry --Friends of Distinction - possible song: ""Grazing In The Grass"" --Peter Nero --Steve Rossi --Slappy White --Pat Cooper --Goose Creek Symphony --Billy Baxter
#14 - The Great Santa Claus Switch with Art Carney and the Muppets
Season 24 - Episode 14 - Aired 12/20/1970
Christmas special with Art Carney and the Muppets Art Carney plays two roles: Santa Claus and Cosmo, the King of Evil. Ed Sullivan narrates the show.
#15 - Grass Roots / Joey Heatherton / Pat Cooper
Season 24 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/6/1970
--The Veterans (comedy group) --The Three Degrees (female vocal trio) - do imitations of other female singering groups including the Supremes. --The Three Degrees - ""I Do for the Rest of My Life"" --Peter Gennaro (dancer, imitating Charlie Chaplin) --Pat Cooper (stand-up comedian) --The Oakland Raiders Football Team - sing Christmas song --Bobbi Martin - ""For the Love of Him"" --Scoey Mitchell (comedian) --The Grass Roots - ""Wait A Million Years"" & medley: ""Midnight Confessions,"" ""Live for Today"" & ""Temptation Eyes"" --Pat Cooper & Scoey Mitchell (comedians) - comedy sketch about Italian & Black neighbors --Audience bows: Walter Kennedy; Pearl Harbor survivors --Benitez (singer from Puerto Rico)
#16 - scheduled: Buck Owens; Joan Rivers; Norm Crosby
Season 24 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/29/1970
Scheduled guests: --Buck Owens - ""Bridge Over Troubled Water"" & ""Heartbreak Mountain"" --Joan Rivers --Norm Crosby --Doug Previn --Jim Bailey --Dick Jensen --Lahman & Barkley --Albert Lucas (magician)
#17 - Richard Rogers Tribute: Shirley Jones; Cass Elliott
Season 24 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/22/1970
A Salute to Richard Rodgers (broadcast from the Hollywood Bowl): --Johnny Mathis - ""My Funny Valentine"" --Johnny Mathis & the Lennon Sisters - ""Johnny One Note"" --'Mama' Cass Elliott - ""The Girlfriend"" --Johnny Mathis - ""The Lady Is A Tramp"" --The Lennon Sisters - ""Where or When"" ""Oklahoma"" songs: --John Davidson - ""Oh, What A Beautiful Morning"" --John Davidson - ""Surrey With A Fringe On Top"" (Davidson singing to Jeanie C. Riley & Minnie Pearl) --John Davidson & Jeannie C. Riley - ""People Will Say We're In Love"" --Oklahoma (Broadway cast) - ""The Farmer & The Rancher Can't Be Found"" & ""Oklahoma"" ""The King and I"" songs: --Shirley Jones - ""Whistle a Happy Tune"" --Herschel Bernadi and Shirley Jones dialogue from play --Shirley Jones & Herschel Bernadi - ""Shall We Dance?"" --Danny Kaye - (1) Ed Sullivan interviews Kaye (2) Kaye sings ""Two By Two"" ""Sound of Music"" medley: --Johnny Mathis, Cass Elliott, John Davidson, Lennon Sisters, Shirley Jones, Hersche
#18 - Tommy Roe / Billy Joe Royal / Joe South
Season 24 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/15/1970
Guests: --Tommy Roe - ""Dizzy"" & ""Oh Heather Honey"" --Billy Joe Royal - ""Cherry Hill Park"" & ""I Knew You When"" --Joe South - ""Don't It Made You Want to Go Home"" & ""Walk A Mile in my Shoes"" --Joe South, Billy Joe Royal & Tommy Roe - ""Games People Play"" --Dick Gregory (comedian) --Abbe Lane - sings a Gospel medley --Tony Fayne (comedian) --Jeremy Vernon (comedian) --Natalya Makarova (pas de deux from ""Swan Lake"")
#19 - Bobbie Gentry / Melba Moore / Roy Clark
Season 24 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/1/1970
Guests: --Bobbie Gentry - ""I Want You Back"" & ""Benjamin"" --Richard Pryor (comedian) - talks about life in the ghetto --Melba Moore - ""He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"" (and possibly ""Purley"") --Roy Clark - ""Malaguena"" & ""Thank God and Greyhound, You're Gone"" --Fenella Fielding (singer-comedian) - ""Don't Let Me Down"" --Stanley Myron Handelman (comedian) CBS repeated this show on April 25, 1971.
#20 - U.N. 25th Anniversary: The New Seekers / Ravi Shankar
Season 24 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/25/1970
25th Anniversary of United Nations celebration (with performers from all around the world). Guests: --Ravi Shankar - ""Raga"" (classic Sitar selection) --The New Seekers (from Australia) - ""Look What They've Done to My Song, Ma"" --Astrud Gilberto (from Brazil) - medley of Bossa-nova songs including ""The Girl from Ipanema"" --Vladmir Krainev (Russian pianist) - Chopin Etude # 3 ""Winter Winds"" --The Young Americans - ""Through Children's Eyes"" & ""What the World Needs Now Is Love"" --Tokyo Kid Brothers (dancers) --Ballet Africains (African ceremonial songs & dances) --The Lado Dancers (Yugoslavian folk dancers) --Raphael (from Spain) - ""Hallelujah"" & ""Hava Nagila"" --The Idla Girls (gymnastic drill team from Sweeden)
#21 - Carpenters / B.B. King / Tony Bennett
Season 24 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/18/1970
Guests: --The Carpenters - ""Close to You"" & ""We've Only Just Begun"" --B.B. King - ""Just A Little Bit of Love"" and medley: ""How Blue Can You Get"" / ""The Thrill Is Gone"" --Tony Bennett - ""Something"" (Beatles song), ""Get Happy"" & ""I'll Begin Again"" (song from the movie ""Scrooge""). --George Burns (stand-up comedy) - comments on nudity in show business (current movies, night clubs) --Robert Klein (stand-up comedy) - comments on the World Series (interviews with athletes, school bands in half-time show) --New York City Stickball Team (comedy routine) --Albert Almoznino - makes shadow puppets on wall --1970 Harvest Moon Ball Dance Champions (winners from different categories: polka, rhumba, etc. )
#22 - scheduled: Arthur Godfrey; Loretta Lynn
Season 24 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/11/1970
Scheduled guests: --Arthur Godfrey --Sonny James --Loretta Lynn - ""Coal Miner's Daughter"" --Archie Campbell --Stony Mt. Cloggers --Judi Ford (Miss America '69)
#23 - Melanie / Engelbert Humperdinck / Tiny Tim
Season 24 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/4/1970
Guests: --Melanie - ""Peace Will Come"" --Englebert Humperdinck - ""The Good Life,"" ""Sweetheart"" and ""My Way"" --The Blossoms - ""Get Ready"" --Tiny Tim - (medley of children's songs): ""On the Good Ship Lollipop,"" ""Water That's Hot, Water That's Cold"" & ""Two Times A Day I Always Brush My Teeth"" --David Steinberg (stand-up comedian) --Skiles & Henderson (comedy team) --A scene from play ""1776"" (with William Daniels, John Cullum, Roy Poole)
#24 - Bobby Vinton / Rare Earth / Holiday on Ice
Season 24 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/27/1970
Guests (live from the Baltimore Civic Center): --Bobby Vinton - medley: ""London Bridge,"" ""Knees Up Mother Brown,"" ""Whoops-A-Daisy,"" ""I'm A Londoner"" & ""The Old Bamboo"" --Bobby Vinton - ""It's a Long Way to Tipperary"" --Bobby Vinton - ""For Me and My Gal"" (with Karen Wyman) --Rare Earth - ""I'm Losing You"" & ""Let the Sunshine In"" (on ice w/ skaters) --Karen Wyman - Edith Piaf medley: ""Milord,"" ""If You Love Me,"" ""Love Is Like Champagne"" & ""La Vie En Rose"" --Joe Jackson (hobo clown rides a bike which falls apart) ""Holiday on Ice"" segments (1970 edition of ice show): --Tommy Allen & Juanita Percelly (ice skating pair) (1) skate in a Russian production number (2) skate to ""Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head"" & ""I'll Never Fall In Love Again"" --Marei Langenbein and Ray Balmer (skaters doing classical and modern ballets) --John LaDue & Alfredo Mendoza - skaters in a ""Ferdinand the Bull"" story --In a production number, the Holiday on Ice Corps de Ballet do a tribute to Sonja Hen
#25 - The Georgie Awards: Barbra Streisand / Blood Sweat & Tears / Tom Jones
Season 24 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/20/1970
The Georgie Award (Entertainer of the Year Award Show - from Caesars Palace) Performers: --Barbra Streisand - ""On A Clear Day"" --Blood Sweat & Tears - ""Lucretia McEvil"" --Tom Jones - ""Cabaret"" --Melba Moore - ""I Got Love"" --Peter Gennaro Dancers (production number) --The Flying Alexanders (trapeze act) Awards: --Lucille Ball presents award to Carol Burnett. --Marc Copage & Michael Ling present Outstanding Animal Act trophy to Tanya The Elephant. --Tom Smothers presents award to Flip Wilson. --Milton Berle presents award to Radio City Music Hall. --Milton Berle Presents award To James Gould, President Of Radio City Music Hall. --Danny Thomas & Jack Haley, Sr. presents Golden Award to Jimmy Durante (who's not there to accept award.) --Sullivan presents award to Bob Hope.