Toast of the Town

Welcome to the Toast of the Town guide at TV Tome. The Toast of the Town guide covers the first 8 seasons of Ed Sullivan's long-running variety series. (Seasons 9 through 24 are on the The Ed Sullivan Show guide.) In 1948, the fledgling CBS television network was planning a weekly variety series. Newpaper columnist Ed Sullivan was chosen as host. The series premiered on June 20, 1948. From the very first broadcast, Mr. Sullivan was criticized for his lack of charisma. He looked stiff, awkward a…