“Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan”

These days, you can view your favorite shows on multiple streaming platforms and devices, binge-watching to your heart’s content. But in the early days of television, watching a favorite program or beloved movie was a communal event, with families settling down together to watch their favorite shows. One such program was The Ed Sullivan Show, a variety series which ran on CBS from 1948 to 1971.

The series, originally titled Toast of the Town, featured memorable performances by Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and a multitude of others. The show was a Sunday night viewing staple for many years and was even lovingly spoofed in the hit musical Bye Bye Birdie, and the song “Hymn For A Sunday Evening.”

Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan, a new documentary on Netflix, takes a look at the show and its host through a different prism, paralleling the story of Sullivan’s rise with the story of the Civil Rights movement in America. Sullivan was a pioneer in presenting black artists, despite pushback from sponsors in the still-segregated South. The Ed Sullivan Show spotlighted black artists throughout the show’s run, including Harry Belafonte, Sammy Davis, Jr., Nat King Cole, Lena Horne, Pearl Bailey, Dionne Warwick, James Brown, The Temptations, The Supremes, and The Jackson Five.

This compelling documentary, directed by the late Sacha Jenkins, is a fascinating story of Sullivan’s life and his rise from sportswriter and Broadway columnist to the host of one of the most popular variety series on television. Sullivan, who was born in Harlem, was of Irish and Jewish descent. As detailed in Sunday Best, he was exposed to the evils of segregation and prejudice during his time as a columnist, and he wrote about it in his articles, much to the chagrin of his editors. When he later had the chance to take a stand against racism by booking black performers despite the objections of powerful sponsors like Lincoln-Mercury, he did so without hesitation.

Sunday Best features absorbing interviews with Harry Belafonte, Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson, and Dionne Warwick, among others. There are clips of fantastic performances by artists such as Nina Simone, Mahalia Jackson, The Supremes, Ray Charles, and Ike and Tina Turner, many of whom were on the show multiple times.

In addition to quotes from Sullivan’s own letters and correspondence, the movie includes archival footage from important historical events from those turbulent times. Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan is an engrossing film that shines a light on an important part of our history and also reveals a deeper side to a celebrated television icon.

-John Visconti

Fair use image from Sunday Best