09/09/1956 AD performed
More than any other single event, it was this first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show that made Presley a national celebrity of barely precedented proportions. Sullivan booked Presley for three appearances for an unprecedented $50,000.
The first, on September 9, 1956, was seen by approximately 60 million viewers—a record 82.6 percent of the television audience. Actor Charles Laughton hosted the show, filling in while Sullivan was recovering from a car accident.
Presley appeared in two segments that night from CBS Television City in Los Angeles. According to Elvis legend, Presley was shot only from the waist up. Watching clips of the Allen and Berle shows with his producer, Sullivan had opined that Presley "got some kind of device hanging down below the crotch of his pants—so when he moves his legs back and forth you can see the outline of his cock. ... I think it's a Coke bottle. ... We just can't have this on a Sunday night. This is a family show!"
Sullivan publicly told TV Guide, "As for his gyrations, the whole thing can be controlled with camera shots." In fact, Presley was shown head-to-toe in the first and second shows. Though the camerawork was relatively discreet during his debut, with leg-concealing closeups when he danced, the studio audience reacted in customary style: screaming.
Presley's performance of his forthcoming single, the ballad "Love Me Tender", prompted a record-shattering million advance orders.
Lattitude: 40.7128° N
Longitude: 74.006° W
Region: North America
Modern Day United States
Subjects Who or What performed?
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Elvis Presley American singer and acto...
Objects To Whom or What was performed?
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The Ed Sullivan Show (Toast of the Town) Broadcast for 23 years f...
Events in 1956 MORE
