<P> The chief difference is mostly one of pace . In those days, we had maybe six acts . Now we have 11 or 12 . Then, each of our acts would do a leisurely ten minutes or so . Now they do two or three minutes . And in those early days I talked too much . Watching these kines I cringe . I look up at me talking away and I say "You fool! Keep quiet!" But I just keep on talking . I've learned how to keep my mouth shut . </P> <P> The show enjoyed phenomenal popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s . As had occurred with the annual telecasts of The Wizard of Oz in the 1960s and' 70s, the family ritual of gathering around the television set to watch Ed Sullivan became almost a U.S. cultural universal . He was regarded as a kingmaker, and performers considered an appearance on his program as a guarantee of stardom, although this sometimes did not turn out to be the case . The show's iconic status is illustrated by the song "Hymn for a Sunday Evening" from the 1960 musical Bye Bye Birdie . In the song, a family of viewers expresses their regard for the program in worshipful tones . </P> <P> In September 1965, CBS started televising the program in compatible color, as all three major networks began to switch to 100 percent color prime time schedules . CBS had once backed its own color system, developed by Peter Goldmark, and resisted using RCA's compatible process until 1954 . At that time, it built its first New York City color TV studio, Studio 72, in a former RKO movie theater at 2248 Broadway (81st Street). One Ed Sullivan Show was broadcast on August 22, 1954, from the new studio, but it was mostly used for one - time - only specials such as Rodgers and Hammerstein's March 31, 1957 Cinderella . (The facility was later acquired by TeleTape Productions and notably became the first studio where the PBS children's program Sesame Street was produced .) CBS Studio 72 was demolished in 1986 and replaced by an apartment house . CBS Studio 50 was finally "colorized" in 1965 . The 1965--66 season premiere starred the Beatles in an episode airing on September 12, which was the last episode to air in black and white . This occurred because the episode was taped at the Beatles' convenience on August 14, the eve of their Shea Stadium performance and a two - week tour of North America, slightly before the program was ready for color transmission . </P> <P> In the late 1960s, Sullivan remarked that his program was waning as the decade went on . He realized that to keep viewers, the best and brightest in entertainment had to be seen, or else the viewers were going to keep on changing the channel . Along with declining viewership, Ed Sullivan attracted a higher median age for the average viewer (which most sponsors found undesirable) as the seasons went on . These two factors were the reason the show was canceled by CBS as part of a mass cancellation of advertiser - averse programming after the end of the 1970--1971 season . Because there was no notice of cancellation, Sullivan's landmark program ended without a proper finale . Sullivan would produce one - off specials for CBS until his death in 1974 . </P>

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