{"id":1218,"date":"2017-11-07T16:06:58","date_gmt":"2017-11-07T21:06:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/nyc-history\/?p=1218"},"modified":"2017-12-06T20:25:05","modified_gmt":"2017-12-07T01:25:05","slug":"ed-sullivan-theater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/nyc-history\/2017\/11\/07\/ed-sullivan-theater\/","title":{"rendered":"Ed Sullivan Theater"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Ed Sullivan Theater at Broadway and West 53rd<\/sup> Street is most famous for the Beatles\u2019 first appearance on American television on The Ed Sullivan Show<\/em> on February 9, 1964. Garnering 73 million viewers (over 40% of the entire American population), it broke television records and changed music forever[1]<\/a>. Built in 1927 by Oscar Hammerstein\u2019s son Arthur, the theater housed musicals and a nightclub before being bought out by CBS, which started broadcasting there in 1936. From 1948 to 1971, Ed Sullivan hosted a variety show there that featured and manufactured the biggest stars of the day, including Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Supremes. After Sullivan\u2019s program ended, the theater hosted a number of game shows and sitcoms before being used as the set for The Late Show with David Letterman <\/em>and finally The Late Show with Stephen Colbert<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Originally known as \u201cHammerstein\u2019s Theatre,\u201d the venue first opened its doors on November 30, 1927. It was built by producer and playwright Arthur Hammerstein, who named it for his father, opera impresario Oscar Hammerstein I (not to be confused with his grandson, Oscar Hammerstein II, of songwriting partnership Rodgers and Hammerstein).[2]<\/a> It was designed by theater architect Herbert J. Krapp, who also designed the thirteen-story office building above. The theater had a gothic design almost resembling a Catholic church, with scenes from Hammerstein\u2019s operas featured on stained glass windows.[3]<\/a> It was first used for Broadway productions. Its opening show was poorly reviewed musical \u201cGolden Dawn\u201d featuring Cary Grant.[4]<\/a> Arthur Hammerstein ended up selling the theater to make ends meet during the Great Depression in 1931, and it subsequently became a nightclub.<\/p>\n

CBS leased the property in 1936, turning it into a radio studio, \u201cCBS Radio Playhouse #1.\u201d Architect William Lescaze changed much of the interior, covering the walls with white paneling.[5]<\/a> It would soon become \u201cCBS Studio No. 50,\u201d and would be used for television production for a few years before becoming the main home of The Ed Sullivan Show <\/em>in 1948.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

Ed Sullivan in 1955. Visitors to the theater can almost feel his presence as they pass by this large portrait in the lobby.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ed Sullivan\u2019s variety program became the <\/em>show to be featured on as a musician trying to make it in the United States. Elvis Presley\u2019s 1956 appearance made him a national star, and the Beatles\u2019 first American television appearance on the show in 1964 during their first visit to the United States unleashed chaos over New York and the rest of the country. So many people tuned into the Beatles\u2019 February 9 appearance that, to this day, a popular wives\u2019 tale persists that the national crime rate dropped significantly during their performance because just about everyone was inside watching television.[7]<\/a> Nonetheless, the show\u2019s musical director Ray Block told The New York Times<\/em>, \u201cI give them a year.\u201d[8]<\/a><\/p>\n

Sullivan with the Beatles during their first appearance on his show in 1964.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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