Impresario: The Life and Times of Ed Sullivan

I thought it couldn't be done, but James Maguire did it. In his recently published book, "Impresario," he actually made Ed Sullivan come to life. I was little older than a toddler when "Toast of the Town" premiered in 1948 and we (my family) regularly watched the show during the '50s. Even though Mr. Sullivan was part of the culture of the country for so many years, I knew practically nothing about his private life. That has all changed, of course, now that I have finished "Impresario." I'm a pretty voracious reader and, honestly, I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a book so much. From the moment you pick up this beautifully-written book, you know that it is not the usual star biography-cum-gossip, written merely to pump up a star's image or to make a quick profit. Mr. Maguire's engrossing look at the public and private lives of this icon of American television is impossible to put down. The first page quickly turns into 200. Through exhaustive research and intensive interviews with people who knew and/or worked with Mr. Sullivan, James Maguire has the rare perspective of one who is able to bring to this biography a special understanding and appreciation of the somewhat private and troubled Ed Sullivan. The reward for the reader is a compelling view, written with candor, insight and affection. In closing, I'd like to emphasize again how much I enjoyed reading "Impresario." It's a pleasure to get my hands on a book with a subject that is interesting and that is written in a concise, articulate and very readable manner. Not a word is wasted. One last comment: James Maguire had made it easy for me to decide what I am going to giving friends for Christmas.

I greatly enjoyed reading "Impresario," and interviewing James Maguire on my radio show. As a long time Sullivan fan, I gained great insight into his personality both on and off the set. Ed Sullivan was a complicated and vibrant personality and Jim did an amazing amount of research on every aspect of his subject's life. He weaves a story that is at times as touching and emotional as it is informative. If you really want to understand American culture in the mid 20th century and the man who played such a huge part in it all, I highly recommend you read this engaging biography. Jordan Rich WBZ Radio Host - Boston

Those who began to watch television after 1971 probably know little (if anything) about Ed Sullivan. Having first gained some renown from a relatively successful career as a gossip columnist and entertainment reporter for the New York Daily News, in 1948 he was selected by CBS to host a new television program called "Toast of the Town." During the next 23 years, the popularity of the program gradually increased to a point at which it became the highest rated program on Sunday evening. When Sullivan's contract was renewed (in 1955) and he received a substantially increased salary, it was renamed "The Ed Sullivan Show" which continued until 1971. Here is an especially informative excerpt from Maguire's Epilogue: "For someone of a later age to ask: What was it like? What was the nature of American culture between 1948 and 1971? The answer lies in these [1,087] videotapes. The twenty-three seasons of live performances fully capture American tastes and views at a defining moment, both in the history of broadcast and in national history. They reveal the very birth of television, and from its technical infancy to its first maturity, from a period when commercials were performed live on stage to the era when demographics began to rule the medium. They also reflect the American zeitgeist, from the dawn of the country's status as a world power to the era when the Baby Boom generation first exerted its influence. That the library of [Sullivan's television] shows offers such a telling panoramic record of these arcs makes it more than worth considerable shelf space it occupies in the national archives." Fred Allen once suggested that "Ed Sullivan will stay on the air as long as other people have talent." In fact, that was Sullivan's greatest talent: recognizing others' talents, often well before anyone else did. Another of his most significant talents was his sensitivity to what mainstream America most enjoyed in a variety program. Week after week, Sullivan achieved a balance of traditional and edgy comedy (e.g. Myron Cohen and George Carlin) and popular and classical music (e.g. Elvis Presley and Maria Callas) as well as selected scenes from both serious dramas and Broadway musicals. Given the popularity of his weekly program, Sullivan offered a venue for major career breakthroughs just as Johnny Carson later did on The Tonight Show. As Maguire explains, Sullivan was a driven man...obsessed with achieving fame and fortune for himself, of course, but also with producing each week wholesome entertainment under his quite strict control. For example, the Rolling Stones reluctantly agreed to change "Let's spend the night together" to "Let's spend some time together" and Elvis Presley agreed to be shown on camera only from the waist up. On occasion, moments before a show began, Sullivan would rearrange the sequence of acts or eliminate those which (for whatever reasons) he considered inappropriate. He was in all respects both impresario and emperor. Eventual

Before he ever stepped in front of a television camera, before introducing Elvis, the Beatles and more plate spinners than you can shake a stick at, to American audiences, Sullivan had a career as a journalist and stage show producer worthy of biography. Maguire does an amazing job of not only chronicling Sullivan the sports writer, gossip columnist and of course, TV legend, he also uses that amazing life as a means to profile the evolution of the world of celebrity, not to mention movies, radio and television, from the Jazz Age to the TV Age. He beautifully evokes 1920s-30s New York, the heyday of Sullivan the bon vivant and journalist, whose punchy prose style rivaled, if not surpassed Walter Winchell's. He takes us through the whirlwind final years of Vaudeville, where Sullivan honed his craft and acumen as a producer and finally to the birth of television and the variety show, which Sullivan clearly pioneered. Through it all, Maguire manages to capture, as well as penetrate the persona of the withdrawn, combative and often contradictory Sullivan. This biography ranks right up there with Neal Gabler's masterful "Winchell". It is both show business history and insightful biography, putting you right on stage during Sullivan's shows. It is a fantastic book that will thrill anyone who ever enjoyed Sullivan's show and will make converts of those too young to remember him. A truly great read. Bravo, Mr. Maguire!

While reading "Impresario," I thought: If Ed Sullivan did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him. (Voltaire said that about God -- but to which higher power do we give credit for Elvis, the Beatles AND Topo Gigio?) This is a fascinating, well-researched portrait of the driven deity and the "shew" he begat -- with more ambition, power (and dour) than I realized. Mixing the dishy backstory with a parade of celebrity appearances, the book is like settling into the couch for a big Uber-Ed Show: applause, tears, spinning plates... ..and laughs! Of course I love it when Ed welcomes the "fierce Maori tribe from New England." (Pg. 204.) "Janis, from Joplin, Missouri!" (Pg. 286.) "Buddy Hollied and his Crickets!" (Pg.206.) But offstage, Ed is sharp and defensive, and responds to one critic with a simple, "You bitch." (Pg. 138.) The author has an expert eye for significance, but a historian's reserve; when chasing down the soul of the moment, he lets the details do the stalking. He knows when to pull the camera back for a wider angle, too, as right after the Beatles first appear (pg. 255:) "In the time it took to play three pop songs, America made a tectonic shift toward being a youth-oriented culture. As 'She Loves You' ended, the studio audience kept shrieking like the theater was on fire -- which, in a sense, it was." Beautiful. To be enjoyed both as transportive nostalgia and thoughtful deconstruction, this book is recommended for fans and students of 20th Century American pop culture -- including, but not limited to, those of us around for some of it.