The Ed Sullivan Show

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 between 1966 and 1971. Twenty 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 a partial clip of 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. 1.
The Ed Sullivan Show was especially known for airing breakthrough performances by popular musicians such as Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Stevie Wonder, The Rolling Stones, and Itzhak Perlman. The show was housed in the 13-story Ed Sullivan Theater, which was once named Hammerstein's Theatre after Oscar Hammerstein II's father. The theater later became home to the Late Show with David Letterman (1993-2015) and Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS.
Based on the response to the Muppets' recurring appearances on the show, Sullivan agreed to produce and narrate Henson's 1970 television special The Great Santa Claus Switch and aired it in the show's regular Sunday evening time slot. The Muppets later appeared in the 1992 retrospective special Holiday Greetings from the Ed Sullivan Show performing "It Feels Like Christmas" from their then-new movie The Muppet Christmas Carol.
==Appearances==
Picture	Title / Date 	Description
center 	Rock 'n' Roll MonsterSeptember 18, 1966 	Ed Sullivan introduces "Jim... uh, Newsom's Puppets."Finch, Christopher Jim Henson: The Works (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."
center 	The Art of Visual ThinkingOctober 2, 1966 	Based on a segment from Sam and Friends. Grump studies the art of visual thinking while a hip and trendy Kermit the Frog teaches him.Performers: Jim Henson (Kermit), Jerry Juhl (Grump, voice) and Frank Oz (Grump, puppetry).
 	Monster FamilyOctober 23, 1966 	A father monster talks to his son about being a monster. Splurge appears as their mother.Performers: Jim Henson (father), Jerry Juhl (son), and Frank Oz (Splurge).
center 	JavaNovember 27, 1966 	Two tube-like muppets, designed by Frank Oz, dance on-stage to Al Hirt's Java.
center 	The Glow-WormNovember 27, 1966 	Kermit sits on a wall and hums "The 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.
 	"Music Hath Charms"January 15, 1967 	Kermit plays the piano while a couple of Muppet Monsters dance to it. At the end, the piano comes to life and eats Kermit.
center 	"I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face"February 5, 1967 	Kermit, in drag, lip-synchs to the Rosemary Clooney cover while Yorick hides underneath a handkerchief, slowly eats his way out, and then attempts to eat Kermit.
center 	"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. The original script featured Scoop and Skip instead." Jim Henson's Red Book," 3/26/1967 - Sullivan - (Easter) - Amanda?
 	The Art of Visual ThinkingJune 4, 1967"Jim Henson's Red Book," 6/4/1967 – Sullivan "Visual Thinking" 	Second performance of sketch.
center 	Monster Eats MachineOctober 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.
 	Rowlf and Jimmy DeanOctober 8, 1967 	Jimmy Dean and Rowlf appear together for the last time. They sing "Friendship" and do the "herd of cows" gag.
center 	Santa Claus Routine with Arthur GodfreyDecember 24, 1967Originally scheduled for December 21, 1967. Nancy Spraker, "The Whimsical World of Muppets," Woman's Day, December 1969 issue.	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 Frank Oz (Gleep).
center 	Business BusinessFebruary 18, 1968 	Two mean-looking creatures with tube necks scat about business while two friendlier creatures scat about values.Performers: Jim Henson (Blue Monster and Orange Creature) and Jerry Juhl (Green Monster and Purple Creature).
 	"I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face"April 21, 1968 	Second performance of sketch.
 	JavaMay 26, 1968 	Second performance of the sketch; recorded on May 20."Jim Henson's Red Book," 5/20/1968 – VTR Sullivan Show – "Java" An excerpt of this was shown on The World of Jim Henson.
 	The Monster Trash Can DanceOctober 13, 1968 	Parts of a monster hide in trash cans in an alleyway, as an increasingly suspicious Little Girl Sue wanders by.
center 	"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.
center 	Christmas ReindeersDecember 22, 1968 	The reindeer need it to snow by Christmas Eve.
center 	A Change of FaceMarch 30, 1969 	Rex Robbins changes the face and personalities of the Southern Colonel.
center 	Happy Girl Meets a MonsterMay 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.Performers: Jim Henson as Beautiful Day Monster and Little Girl Sue
center 	"Mah Na Mah Na"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
center 	Big Bird's DanceDecember 14, 1969 	In a sketch orchestrated by "The Minuet of the Robots" by Jean-Jacques Perrey, Big Bird dances while being watched by human birdwatchers. 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.The Jim Henson Company Archives, personal correspondence found here The bit was choreographed by Peter Gennaro."Jim Henson's Red Book," 12/14/1969 – 'Sullivan – used Big Bird in a Dance – Choreographed by Peter Generro.'
center 	"Octopus' 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).
 	"Come Together"April 12, 1970 	A bizarre Muppet band sing the classic Beatles song.
 	"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 (including the original Grover puppet) make cameo appearances in the finale. (see transcript)This appearance was recorded on May 4, 1970.Imagination Illustrated: The Jim Henson Journal, page 73
 	The Wild String QuartetJanuary 17, 1971 	Mahna Mahna fills in for a violinist named Beegalman, though Mahna Mahna plays drums, not violin.Performers: Jim Henson (Mahna Mahna), Jerry Nelson (Twill), Frank Oz (Grump), and Richard Hunt (Harrison)."Jim Henson's Red Book," 1/17/1971 – 'Ed Sullivan Show – String Quartet'
 	The GluttonFebruary 21, 1971 	An incredibly fat man called The Glutton keeps eating things. After the sketch is over, he attempts to eat Ed Sullivan.Performers: Jim Henson (The Glutton), Frank Oz (assisting in performing The Glutton), Richard Hunt (assisting)"Jim Henson's Red Book," 2/21/1971 'Ed Sullivan Show "The Glutton"?'Joe Raposo wrote the music used in this piece.
==References==
*When Gary Cahuenga is let out of the trunk in his introductory episode of Muppets Tonight, Gary thinks he and his partner Chick are about to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show. 
==See also==
*Muppets Magic from the Ed Sullivan Show
*Holiday Greetings from The Ed Sullivan Show
==Sources==
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Category:TV Appearances
Category:Christmas Appearances
Category:TV References