In 1956, Ed Sullivan initially wanted nothing to do with Elvis Presley.
Elvis’s hip movements during “Hound Dog” on The Milton Berle Show had caused national controversy. Sullivan worried about bringing that criticism onto his family-oriented Sunday program and publicly said he would not book Elvis.
Then Elvis proved just how valuable he was.
On July 1, 1956, Elvis appeared on rival Steve Allen’s NBC show. Allen dressed him in a tuxedo and had him sing “Hound Dog” to an actual basset hound.
Elvis reportedly hated the gimmick.
But the ratings were impossible for Sullivan to ignore.
Steve Allen’s show beat Sullivan that night, and suddenly the performer Sullivan had resisted became someone he needed.
Colonel Tom Parker had the advantage.
Sullivan eventually agreed to pay Elvis $50,000 for three appearances, an unprecedented amount for a performer on a television variety show at the time. The official Ed Sullivan archive even notes that Sullivan had previously passed on an opportunity to book Elvis for about $5,000.
Elvis Presley’s First Ed Sullivan Performance
This is Elvis performing “Don’t Be Cruel” on September 9, 1956, during his first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
That first appearance became enormous.
Around 60 million viewers tuned in, making it the program’s biggest audience in years. Ironically, Ed Sullivan himself was not even there. He was recovering from a serious automobile accident, so actor Charles Laughton introduced Elvis from New York while Elvis performed from CBS Television City in Los Angeles.
Elvis returned twice more.
By his final appearance on January 6, 1957, Sullivan’s attitude had changed so dramatically that he praised Elvis on-air as a “real decent, fine boy.”
The turnaround was remarkable.
Ed Sullivan initially thought Elvis was too risky for his television show. A ratings defeat later, he paid $50,000 to put Elvis in front of America three times.