In an interview about this particular show Rod Steiger said he and Gary Cooper did a scene from The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell. He added that it was the only time Cooper did a live performance and that he was very nervous about doing it. I think this comment really belongs in the trivia section, but I could not pull it up.
The Ed Sullivan show was one of the most popular shows on the new medium of Television for its entire run and exposed America to everyone from Elvis to the Rolling Stones to the Beatles. Ed Sullivan was a pioneer of this type of TV program which has disappeared from American life but made great viewing during its run.
