SUNDAY BEST: THE UNTOLD STORY OF ED SULLIVAN
US, 2025, 90 minutes, Colour.
Interviews: Harry Belafonte, Berry Gordy, Jackie Jackson, Smokey Robinson, Dionne Warwick, Otis Williams.
Performances by: Ray Charles, Billy Preston, Jackie Wilson, Bo Diddley, James Brown, Ike and Tina Turner, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Harry Belafonte, Nat King Cole, Elvis Presley, Nina Simone, Mahalia Jackson, The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson 5, The Supremes.
Directed by Sacha Jenkins.
Ed Sullivan was one of the earliest television celebrities, hosting his own show. He completed 25 years as host, finishing in 1971 – and dying three years later.
For Americans, in their millions, who watched his show every Sunday night, he was a welcome figure in their homes. For those who observed him from afar, he seemed somewhat of severe face, rather stilted introductions. In fact, early in his career, there were complaints about his unsmiling presence, some even claiming that he had a steel plate in his head (and he received many sympathetic letters!).
This is a very sympathetic portrait of Ed Sullivan, using a great deal of footage from the 1930s to the 1970s, often his own words, and, as indicated, some voice impersonation of his words.
Sullivan began his career as a journalist, interested in writing, then becoming a sports journalist and significant in his field. He was then transferred to theatre and Broadway, and from the mid 1930s was a popular host for many years of an annual concert. This brought him to the attention of CBS and the offer of hosting a show – but with some scenes of critique of his poor performance and bad reviews.
However, Sullivan had an ability for tapping into talented performers, offering opportunities for a whole host of stars – and the film incorporates substantial performances from many of these stars, as indicated in the above credits, which means that we are not only watching Ed Sullivan but we are getting a strong impression of the Ed Sullivan show.
One of his most significant stances was against racism, welcoming a whole host of African-American performers, especially with Harry Belafonte in the early 1950s, Belafonte challenging him, their forming a very strong friendship. And there was great hostility to the show in the southern states – although, it seems, a number of people did watch the show in their homes without letting this be known. To highlight this theme, there are quite a number of inserts of footage of racism and segregation of those years, Rosa Parks, a number of politicians from the South.
By the end of this documentary, audiences will have a very favourable impression of Ed Sullivan as a person, despite the limitations of his sometimes stern-looking presentation, his talent for promoting so many significant performers of the 20th century, and, importantly, his contribution to the breaking down of many racist attitudes of the period.
