The Best Episodes of The Ed Sullivan Show Season 13

Episode Rankings

1. #1 Fan Favorite
   

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   #1 - Louis Armstrong / Rosemary Clooney / Jose Ferrer / Alan King

   S13:E19/20/1959

   Special 90-minute episode (live from New York & Chicago with a taped sequence from Las Vegas). Guests include: --Jose Ferrer (actor) - makes a cameo dressed as a cowboy, riding a horse and speaking in Shakespearean English. --Rosemary Clooney - ""I Wish I Were In Love Again"" and ""For You"" --Louis Armstrong - ""When the Saints Go Marching In"" (from the Stardust in Las Vegas) --Audience bows: Ted Williams (of the Boston Red Sox), Moss Hart and Kitty Carlisle Hart --Eileen Farrell (opera singer) - ""Un Bel Di"" --Alan King (comedian) Please see ""Recap"" for more details.

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2. 

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   #2 - Invitation to Moscow

   S13:E29/27/1959

   ""Invitation to Moscow"" - Special 90-minute episode taped in and around Moscow. Guests: --Marge and Gower Champion (dancers) --Rise Stevens (mezzo-soprano opera singer) - ""Getting to Know You"" --The Barry Sisters (vocal group) - ""Dark Eyes"" --Charles K. L. Davis (Hawaiian tenor) - ""He Ono"" --Margaret Tynes (gospel singer) - ""Every Time I Feel the Spirit"" & ""Sometimes I Feel like a Motherless Child"" --Dick Contino (accordion player) - ""Hucklebuck"" --Eddy Manson (harmonica player) - Stephen Foster medley --Conrad Buckner (tap dancer) --Nora Kaye and Scott Douglas (ballet dancers) --Marvin Roy (magician) --John and Bonnie Shirley (a baloon act) --Hubert Castle (tight-wire aerialist) --Eric Brenn (plate spinner) Russian performers: --The Red Army Dance Ensemble --The Obratsov Puppets --a trained bear from the Moscow State Circus Note: ""Invitation to Moscow"" was repeated on 18-Sep-60 & 05-Aug-62. Both repeats were edited, 60-minute ver

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3. 

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   #3 - Danny Thomas / Eartha Kitt / Julius LaRosa

   S13:E310/4/1959

   Guests: --Jane Morgan, Julius LaRosa and Eartha Kitt - sing ""September in the Rain,"" ""Autumn Leaves"" and ""The September Song."" --Jane Morgan - ""I'm in Love (reciation) amd ""C'est La Vie"" --Eartha Kitt (singer) - ""Ki Ki Tsiun,"" ""In the Evening When the Sun Goes Down"" --Julius LaRosa (singer) - ""A Fine Romance"" and ""The Way You Look Tonight"" --Harvest Moon dancers - winners from different catagories (waltz, rock 'n' roll, tango, polka) --The Marquis Chimps (trained animal act) - chimp dressed up as Ed. Chimps on bicycles, unicycles & small motorbike. --Danny Thomas (comedian, remote from Chicago) - stand-up comedy routine, tells jokes about maids, bellboys, Lebanese jokes, Dean Martin. Then sings ""The Glory of Love."" --The Trio Rennos (acrobats from Europe) - use luggage as props. --Joe E. Lewis (comedian) - tells jokes about gambling, money, insurance policies, Ike, Senator Kennedy, Vice-president Nixon, etc. --Bernie Berns - opera spoof --Audience bow: Go

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4. 

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   #4 - Mario Lanza (on film) / Ethel Merman / Larry Blyden

   S13:E410/11/1959

   Guests: --Ethel Merman - I'm Glad There Is You"" (from ""Gypsy"") & ""There'll Be Some Changes Made"" --On film: Ed Sullivan interviews Mario Lanza --Shiela MacRea sings ""Plaza-0 Double 4 Double 3"" (from ""Bells Are Ringing"") --Gordon MacRea - ""I Met A Girl"" --Shiela & Gordon MacRea - ""Just In Time"" (from ""Bells Are Ringing"") and the couple do some celebrity impersonations. --Larry Blyden - appears in scene from the live TV drama ""What Makes Sammy Run?"" and, later in show, sings ""Carolina in The Morning"" (from ""The Flower Drum Song"") --Shelly Berman (stand-up comedian) --Margi Lee (ice skating routine) --Les Marrottes (French puppet act with snail & worm) --The Lucky Latinos (comedy dance acrobatics) --Antone & Curtis (comedy: Ed Sullivan impersonation; drunken airline pilot sketch; they sing ""Whole World In His Hands"") Audience bows: Gil Hodges & Carl Furillo; Rise Stevens; Ted Kluszewski (on-stage audience bow)

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5. 

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   #5 - Harry Belafonte (on film) / Ames Brothers / Wilt Chamberlain

   S13:E510/18/1959

   Guests: --The Harlem Globetrotters vs. the Ames Brothers in a basketball game. Wilt Chamberlain also participates. Duke Snyder is the referee. --The Ames Brothers - medley: (unknown song), ""Rag Mop,"" ""Melody D'amour,"" ""You, You,"" ""Sentimental Me,"" ""It Only Hurts For A Little While"" & ""Naughty Lady From Shady Lane"" --Joe Ames - ""Toreador"" --Vic & Gene Ames - ""By The Light Of The Silvery Moon"" (sung in Vaudeville style) --Ed Ames - ""You & Night Music"" --The Ames Brothers - ""Take Me Along"" --On film: (1) Harry Belafonte sings ""Odds Against Tomorrow"" (2) Ed Sullivan joins Harry Belafonte on the movie set of ""Kingston Town"". (3) Belafonte sings ""Kingston Town"" --Gretchen Wyler (musical-comedy performer) - ""Toreo"" (mock bullfight scene) --Chaim Fershko (Israeli concert pianist, with one arm) - Tchaikovsky's Piano Player --Jean Carrol (stand-up comedian, tells jokes about her husband) --Brascia & Tybee (dancers, doing a modern ballet Pas De Deux) --The Conyots

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6. 

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   #6 - scheduled: Della Reese; Wayne & Shuster; Betty Johnson

   S13:E610/25/1959

   Scheduled guests: --Della Reese (singer) --Wayne and Shuster (comedy duo, presenting a British Western) --Professor Backwards (comedian Jimmy Edmonson) --Betty Johnson (singer) --Corbett Monica (comedian) --Latona Graham and Chadel (European knockabout act/comic acrobats) --The Phil Jones Group (16 youthful dancers)

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7. 

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   #7 - Paul Anka / The Step Brothers / Castle Sisters

   S13:E711/1/1959

   Guests: --Paul Anka (singer) - ""Put Your Head on My Shoulder"" --The Step Brothers (dance team, tap dancers) - do a ""challenge dance"" --The Castle Sisters (vocal trio) - ""Tan Shoes with Pink Shoelaces"" --Dickie Henderson (English comedian) - plays a ""Wyatt Earp"" villian & sings ""Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"" while fighting the microphone cord. --The Trio Barantons (Barrantons?) (foot jugglers, act from France) - woman foot juggles basketballs with feet, then three people juggle tables with feet. Additional guests (scheduled to appear): --Joni James (singer) --Melvyn Douglas (actor, appearing in a scene from the Broadway play ""The Gang's All Here"") --Michael Flanders (comedian) --Donald Swann (comedian) --Ford and Hines (comedy team)

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8. 

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   #8 - Johnny Mathis / Gracie Fields / Jan Murray

   S13:E811/8/1959

   Guests: --Johnny Mathis - ""Witchcraft,"" ""The Best Of Everything"" and ""Misty"" --The Barry Sisters (vocal group) - ""Who's Sorry Now"" & ""I'm A Fool To Want You"" --Gracie Fields - sings ""Volare"" (comic version of song), ""Donkey"" and ""Wish Me Luck"" --Jan Murray (stand-up comedian, routine includes a song with Ray Bloch and a bit about hi-fi sets) --Rickie Layne & Velvel (ventriloquist act, uses a Yiddish accent) --Lentini Brothers (Italian tap dancers/comedy team doing a Vaudeville routine) --The Laszlos (adagio dance team from Sweden, doing lots of rolling and sliding on floor) --Princess Tajana (aerialist, circus trapeze act) --Baby Opal (elephant act with trainer) --Mismoune (listed as ""Miss Moon"" on transcript) - Poodle act from France, with trainer.

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9. 

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   #9 - scheduled: Suzanne Pleshette; Tom Poston; Georgia Gibbs

   S13:E911/15/1959

   Scheduled guests: --The cast of the Broadway comedy ""The Golden Fleecing"" appear in a scene from the play. The cast consists of Tom Poston; Suzanne Pleshette; Mickey Deems; Robert Carraway, Robert Elston, Constance Ford; and Richard Kendrick. --Georgia Gibbs (singer) --Earl Grant (singer) --Blossom Seeley (entertainer) --Sam Levenson (humorist) --The Polish State Folk Ballet --The Borjevs (plate-spinning act)

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10. 

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    #10 - scheduled: Carol Channing; Count Basie; Joe Williams

    S13:E1011/22/1959

    Scheduled guests: --Carol Channing --Count Basie and his band --Joe Williams (singer) --Wayne and Shuster (comedy team) --Shelley Berman (comedian) --Trude Adams (singer) --Dick Roman (singer) --Al Bernie (comedian) --Larible and Company (aerialists)

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11. 

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    #11 - Dick Van Dyke & Bess Halliday / Dorothy Collins / Marion Marlowe

    S13:E1111/29/1959

    Guests: --Dick Van Dyke & Bess Halliday - perform a sketch about a drunk husband coming home to sober wife. --Dorothy Collins - ""Baciare Baciare"" --Tony Pastor & family - ""Smile"" medley & ""Show Me The Way To Go Home"" --Helene and Howard (comedy dancers) - serious ballet turns comic --Ed announces each member of the 1959 All American Football Team

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12. 

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    #12 - scheduled: Lionel Hampton; Teresa Brewer; Jack Carter

    S13:E1212/6/1959

    Scheduled guests: --Lionel Hampton (jazz musician) and his band --Teresa Brewer (singer) --Jack Carter (comedian) --Wayne and Shuster (comedy team) --Yehudi Menuhin (violinist) with his sister Hepzibah (pianist) --The Vagabonds (vocal-instrumental group) --The Coronados (vocal trio) --Atilina Segura (novelty act from Spain) --The Willers (roller-skating group) --The college football coach of the year

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13. 

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    #13 - Dorothy Dandridge / Brook Benton / David Seville / Ames Brothers

    S13:E1312/13/1959

    Guests: --Dorothy Dandridge - ""What Is This Thing Called Love"" & ""Baby Baby All The Time"" --Brook Benton - ""This Time Of Year"" --David Seville with Alvin & The Chipmunks (Bunin Puppets). The Chipmunks sing ""Yankee Doodle,"" ""Chipmunk Song"" & ""Alvin's Harmonica"" --Ames Brothers - Christmas Medley --Sophie Tucker - ""The Beat Generation"" & ""Take A Step In The Right Direction"" --Channing Pollack (magician does sleight of hand with doves) --Tu Shiu Ni (novelty plate spinning act) --Antone & Curtis (comedy team doing a Western duelists skit with Ed as part of the act) Audience bows: Captain Gerhard Schwede & Captain Mark Hearn; Hy Gardner (journalist)

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14. 

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    #14 - Polly Bergen / Gertrude Berg / Paul O'Keefe / Harry Simeone Chorale

    S13:E1412/20/1959

    --Paul O'Keefe with the Baird Puppets - ""What Do You Want For Christmas"" --Baird Puppets - ""Christmas in Davey Jones Locker"" sketch --Betty Johnson - sings ""White Christmas,"" ""Winter Wonderland,"" ""Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)"" and ""Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"" --The Phil Jones Dance Group - dance to a medley of Christmas songs --The Harry Simeone Chorale - ""Little Drummer Boy"" --Polly Bergen (singer-actress) - sings ""I've Got Love to Keep Me Warm,"" ""Sleigh Ride"" and ""Silent Night"" --Victor Julian and his Pets (trained dog act) --'The Sound of Music' Chorus (dressed as nuns) - perform selections from the Broadway play --Gertrude Berg (actress) - recites ""Christmas Story"" --Patricia Neway (musical-comedy performer, Mother Superior from Broadway's ""The Sound of Music"") - sings ""Climb Every Mountain"" --Closing: Entire cast sings ""White Christmas""

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    #15 - Charlton Heston / Xavier Cugat & Abbe Lane / Leon Bibb

    S13:E1512/27/1959

    Guests: --On film: Charlton Heston: (1) Film clip from ""Ben Hur"" (2) Ed and Heston ride Chariot in Rome. --Charlton Heston (live on stage?) - Heston gives a dramatic Biblical reading on the Creation with a chorus in the background. --Leon Bibb - ""Sinner Man"" --Abbe Lane - I Enjoy Being A Girl"" & ""Witchcraft"" --Xavier Cugat - Hallelujah"" (with bongo playing musician) and ""Warsaw Concerto"" --Phil Ford & Mimi Hines (husband & wife musical-comedy team) - sing ""What A Thrill"" from Vaudeville, ""Pretty Baby"" & ""Someone To Watch Over Me"" --Dick Contino (accordion player) - ""Pretty Eyed Baby"" --On film: clip from ""Journey to the Center of the Earth"" --Trio Szekly (contortionists, 2 men & 1 woman)

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16. 

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    #16 - Bobby Darin & Connie Francis / Edgar Bergen / Gene Krupa & Sal Mineo

    S13:E161/3/1960

    Guests: --Bobby Darin - ""That's How It Goes"" & ""Beyond The Sea"" --Connie Francis & Bobby Darin duet - ""You Make Me Feel So Young"" & ""You're The Top"" --Connie Francis - Italian song (unknown song title) & ""Mamma"" --cameos: Gene Krupa, Sal Mineo (appear on stage, with clip from movie: ""Gene Krupa"") --Edgar Bergen (ventriloquist, with Mortimer Snerd dummy) --Noel Harrison (son of Rex Harrison) - sings ""I'm On My Way"" (and possibly ""Yellow Bird"") --Carol Haney & Larry Blydon - dance & sing ""Side By Side"" & ""Beginning To See The Light"" --Toni Fisher - ""The Big Hurt"" --Gimma Brothers (5 brothers in suits do flips & handstands) --Dewey Pigmeat Markham (stand-up comedian, re: buried treasure in a haunted house) --Bert Holt (juggles while hanging by his teeth) Audience bow: Kyle Rote (N.Y. Giants Football Star)

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    #17 - Wayne & Shuster (guest hosts) / Frankie Avalon / Birgit Nilsson

    S13:E171/10/1960

    Guests: --Frankie Avalon - ""Look What One Kiss Can Do"" & ""Why"" --Wayne And Shuster (guest hosts, comedy team) - sketch: an interview with Professor Vain Gartner, Arctic expert --Peter Palmer (star of movie ""Li'l Abner"") - ""They Call the Wind Mariah"" and ""Shadrack, Meshack, Abednigo"" --Birgit Nilsson (Swedish opera star) - ""Vissi D'arte"" and ""When I Was 14"" (Swedish folk song) --Calamac (illusionist-magician does levitation trick) --Susan Barrett sings ""The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea"" & does impressions of Hermione Gingold, Patti Page, Eartha Kitt. --Earl Grant - ""The Birth Of The Blues"" (Grant plays organ while singing, on stage with drummer, trumpeter & orchestra) --Calamac (illusionist, woman in box trick, makes car disappear) Note: Magician's name might be Kalanag --Norwegian Festival Dancers (Festival Company of Norway) - ""The Haling Dance""

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18. 

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    #18 - scheduled: Rosemary Clooney; Nelson Eddy; Carol Lawrence

    S13:E181/17/1960

    Scheduled guests: --Rosemary Clooney (singer) --Nelson Eddy (singer) with his partner Gail Sherwood --Carol Lawrence (musical-comedy star) --Billy Daniels (singer) --Jerome Robbins' ballets: U.S.A. (in a pre-recorded segment) --Kevin Corcoran (young actor) --Rickie Layne (ventriloquist) --The Trio Aristons

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19. 

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    #19 - Takarazuka Dance Theater / Ford & Hines / Kim Sisters

    S13:E191/24/1960

    --The Takarazuka Dance Theater of Japan. Female dance troupe doing traditional and modern dances. Other guests: --Ford and Hines (comedy team) --Ginny Tiu (five-year-old pianist & singer) --The Kim Sisters (singers from Korea) CBS repeated this show on August 28, 1960.

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    #20 - Rowan and Martin, The Wanderers

    S13:E201/31/1960

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    #21 - Charles Laughton / Dorothy Dandridge / Harry James / Wayne & Schuster

    S13:E212/14/1960

    Guests (St. Valentine's Day Show): --Dorothy Dandridge - ""Love"" and, later in show, ""Smooth Operator (I Like It Like That)""--Charles Laughton - (1) Valentine Greetings with cast (2) reads from the Book of Daniel ""Shadrach Meshach Abednegro"" --Harry James - ""You Made Me Love You"" & ""Lester Leaps"" --Wayne & Schuster (comedy team) - (1) spoof Ed as Cupid in a drawing (2) Later in show, do a routine about the Burning of Rome. --Birgit Nilsson - ""Norwegian Aria"" & ""Pace Pace Mio Dio"" --Jane Morgan - ""Valentine Song"" and ""My Love Loves"" --Peter Gennaro and Lisa D'orso (dancers) - (1) Valentine dance (2) Later in show, dance to ""The Peanut Vendor""

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    #22 - scheduled: Jack Carter; Myron Cohen; Earl Grant; Barry Sisters

    S13:E222/21/1960

    Scheduled guests: --Jack Carter (comedian) --Myron Cohen (comedian) --Earl Grant (singer) --Jerome Robbins' ""Ballets: U.S.A."" - in a pre-recorded segment, the dancers present a portion of a ballet titled ""The Concert."" --The Barry Sisters (singers / vocal duo) --Lee Lawrence (singer) --Giulietta Simionato (mezzo soprano) --Ricardi (illusionist / magician)

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    #23 - Bobby Darin / Connie Francis / Della Reese / Senor Wences

    S13:E232/28/1960

    Guests: --Della Reese - ""Blue Skies"" & ""I Won't Want You"" --Bobby Darin - ""Oh, My Darling Clementine"" & medley (""By Myself"" & ""When Your Lover Has Gone"") --Connie Francis - ""What Would Al Jolson Say About Rock And Roll"" (humorous lyrics to old songs) --Ken Murray & Marie Wilson (comedy team) - (1) do a few jokes about Sullivan, then do a humorous song (2) Later in show, she appears as Louis Prima & he's in drag as Keely Smith. They lip-synch to record. --Senior Wences (ventriloquist, does a ""Turn The Page"" routine using big book as prop) --Antone & Curtis (comedy team doing song impressions) --Noelle Adam (French dancer doing a dance routine titled ""Models for Painters."") --Corbett Monica (stand-up comedy, jokes about married life) Medley of songs sung in other languages: --Bobby Darin sings excerpt from ""Mack The Knife"" in French --Della Reese - sings in Italian (song title unknown) --Connie Francis sings excerpt from ""Who's Sorry Now"" in Swedish --Ke

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    #24 - scheduled: Eartha Kitt; Leon Bibb; Anna Maria Alberghetti

    S13:E243/6/1960

    Scheduled guests: --Eartha Kitt (singer) --Leon Bibb (folk singer) --Anna Maria Alberghetti (singer) --Bob Lewis (comedian) --The Happy Jesters (comedy impressionists) --Augie and Margo (dance team) --Pompoff Thedy and Co. (pantomime act) --Rickie Layne (ventriloquist) --Excess Baggage (trained animal act)

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    #25 - scheduled: Eileen Brennan; Pat Rooney; Sean O'Casey; Barry Fitzgerald

    S13:E253/13/1960

    Scheduled guests (St. Patrick's Day show): --Eileen Brennan (singer-actress, then appearing on the off-Broadway play ""Little Mary Sunshine"") --Pat Rooney (song-and-dance man) --Lee Sullivan --On film: Sean O'Casey (playwright) & Barry Fitzgerald (actor) appear from Dublin's Abbey Theatre.

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