June 20, 1948…Ed Sullivan’s CBS TV Debut, ‘Toast Of The Town’

Before there was ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’, there was ‘Toast Of The Town’ which debuted on this date 66 years ago today. This is a very rare photo from that first show which aired from 9 till 10, Sunday nights live from CBS Studio 51, The Maxine Elliott Theater.

In the photo below you see the guests for this premiere show at the finale, and in the white circles are two people you may recognize. Do you know who that is? I’ll tell you in a second, but some of the others on that stage are Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein II, six June Taylor Dancers who were dubbed The Toastettes, John Cocoman, Rudy Goldstein, Kathryn Lee, Eugene List and Monica Lewis, wife of the shows creator and producer Marlo Lewis. Speaking of Lewis…yes that’s Jerry Lewis on the left and Dean Martin on the right. Enjoy and share!

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