Alicia
I love this movie so much
Roman Sampson
One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.
rixter
One of the most popular shows of that era. You would never see a show like it on television today. Except, now you can watch the original by tuning to the Decades network. If you do be prepared to watch something almost surreal. Opera singers, ballet dancers, stand up comedians, vaudeville acts, mimes, circus acts, ventriloquists, the best rock and pop acts of the day(The Beatles!) and of course weird acts like Senor Wences, and the guy with the spinning dinner plates. Want to feel nostalgic, amused, and beguiled? Check it out.
edwagreen
Toast of the Town was another Sunday night specialty of CBS. What a great show that was with Daily News syndicated columnist, Ed Sullivan, headlining a memorable show. The show was produced by his son-in-law Bob Precht.Ed always gave an opportunity for has beens to be on. Who can forget Senor Wenses, the mime? He had the last laugh by dying over the age of 100 several years ago.Remember the various imitations of Sullivan? The imitators would clasp their hands or stretch them. They'd always say that we have a really big "shoe" here.Ed would never forget those stars of yesteryear from his audience. A brief segment would be devoted to having a star of the past stand up in the audience when their name was called. I remember Lillian Roth's name being called out and she stood up. This was either around the time that her biography "I'll Cry Tomorrow" came out or when the great film starring Susan Hayward came out.What made "The Toast of the Town" so good was the variety of acts that came out. Obviously, Sullivan spared no expense in hiring show people.The show began with a rousing dance routine with a great theme played. "The Toast of the Town" was a great part of the New York scene of the late 1950s and 1960s.
allanintogreen
A truly energizing and fun DVD. Almost doesn't seem real that life was ever so innocent and filled with joy and confidence. These shows bring back an incredible time in American history and popular culture. You can almost re-live these experiences ( the way we all did when we saw this on television ) when the world changed it's axis at the precise moment Ed Sullivan threw out his arm and and we saw - for the first time - the Beatles! And the world was theirs!And we were all better for it - and more connected than ever.A minor footnote:A performance from the Broadway production of "Oliver!" features a very young (and professional) Davey Jones who less than three years later would be the "cute one" in an absurd children's show called "The Monkees" - a supposed take-off on the Beatles.Overall, the shows presented here give us a view of what real live television was like - and when there actually was a curtain on the stage. The auditorium where the historic events took place can still be visited in New York, is still in use as a production facility, under the name " The Ed Sullivan Theatre ".
trewalkr
I saw both shows as a young almost teenager. I had older siblings whose friends crowded our TV room. The girls were shrieking so loud the guys almost could not hear the singing. My mom was right there shrieking with the girls and I remember my dad saying, "What is the big deal?" Well the big deal was the fact that every TV in our town was tuned into to that same show each night. If someone dared to walk outside I bet shrieks would have been heard all over the neighborhood. The kids at school were talking about those shows for weeks. In fact, we knew when the Beatles were going to be on weeks before and parties were planned in advance. On the day of the event, the guests started arriving in the early afternoon. We were seeing musical history right in front of our eyes.
