Toast of the Town

TV Series
1948–1971
TV-G
1h

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

1.6K

YOUR RATING

Home video trailer for the release of Elvis's live performances on the Ed Sullivan Show

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4 Videos

99+ Photos

Music Talk Show

The classic prime time variety show most famous for its vaudeville acts and rock music performances.The classic prime time variety show most famous for its vaudeville acts and rock music performances.The classic prime time variety show most famous for its vaudeville acts and rock music performances.

Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

1.6K

YOUR RATING

Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Won 1 Primetime Emmy
- 6 wins & 7 nominations total

Episodes1075

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Trivia
The program was a victim of the "Rural Purge." In 1970, CBS was derisively called "The Country Broadcasting System." The next year, Chief of Programming Fred Silverman ordered several highly-rated shows canceled because their audience was considered too old or too rural. Other canceled shows included Hee Haw (1969) (which aired in first-run syndication until 1997), Lassie (1954) (which aired in first-run syndication until 1974), The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), and Les arpents verts (1965).

Connections
Edited into Braverman's Condensed Cream of the Beatles (1974)

User reviews16

Featured review

6/10

Great Music and a Lot of Filler

What everyone remembers are the Beatles and Elvis. What they forget is what people were forced to sit through.

This was before Tivo, videotape, or streaming. The only way to see the classic performances was to sit through 40 minutes of tedious bad circus performers, over the hill vaudeville comics with jokes that were old before you were born, and corny schmaltzy over the top "singers."

If you had to work, or even ran to the bathroom, you missed it. This also means even the greatest performances on Sullivan became badly overrated. The Beatles were amazing songwriters, but as live performers were just slightly better than average. Elvis was amazing live, that is, before his Vegas days. But on Sullivan they notoriously censored him from the waist down.

So watch, but be prepared to fast forward a lot. A lot. You'll finish a 40 minute episode in seven minutes.