Always On Sunday

Always On Sunday: An Inside View of Ed Sullivan, the Beatles, Elvis, Sinatra & Ed's Other Guests by Michael David Harris  215 pp.

If you grew up in the 1950s & 60s and owned a television chances are at least a few Sunday evenings were spent watching Ed Sullivan introduce his "Really Big Shew." Personally I have fond memories of watching random comics, singers, plate spinners, animal acts, Topo Gigio, a 13 year old Itzhak Perlman, and of course, The Beatles. This book chonicles Ed Sullivan's life from childhood, through his beginnings as a newspaper reporter, through his days on radio and then on television with "Toast of the Town" (later "The Ed Sullivan Show." This book was published in 1968, three years before the show ended. It includes anecdotes about a myriad of performers, his "feuds" with various personalities including talk show host Jack Paar, and journalist Walter Winchell. But what impressed me the most was Sullivan's devotion to his family and close friends and his generosity to charities and others in need. This book brought back lots of memories of sitting on the floor in front of a big old black & white television. I'd say the 99 cent Kindle version was money well spent.