48 Years Ago In TIME

Long before Survivor and Joe Millionaire, TV critics were puzzling over the success of another TV phenomenon, THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW:

He moves like a sleepwalker; his smile is that of a man sucking a lemon; his speech is frequently lost in a thicket of syntax; his eyes pop from their sockets or sink so deep in their bags that they seem to be peering up at the camera from the bottom of twin wells. Yet, instead of frightening children, Ed Sullivan charms the whole family...After whipping up a new show every Sunday night for seven years, Ed has formulated some definite theories. Each program must contain 1) something children will like, 2) comedy...His added ingredient is a shrewd combination of news and human interest...Sullivan presented Helen Hayes shortly after the tragic polio death of her 19-year-old daughter; Broadway director Josh Logan, who had suffered a breakdown, spoke feelingly on Ed's show about the problems of mental health. Observes Ed: "It's things like these that people remember about a show, things that touch their emotions. They're far more important than the acts." --TIME, Oct. 17, 1955