The Ed Sullivan Show: Season 17
Season 17 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of The Ed Sullivan Show Season 16.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 17 Progress Shield
Jimmy Durante / Frank Sinatra Jr. / Pied Pipers
Sep 29, 1963 · 60 min
Tommy Dorsey Band - ""Marie"" Jimmy Durante - ""A Piano Is A Delicate Thing"" & "" September Song"" Helen Forrest - ""Just One Of Those Things"" & ""Craziest Dream (with the To
Dick Dale / The Angels / Totie Fields
Oct 6, 1963 · 60 min
Guests: --Dick Dale - ""Swingin' & Surfin'"" (with some ""Miserlou"") --Totie Fields (comedian) - boasts about her diet, sings, and then flirts with men in the audience. --So
Lesley Gore / Tony Bennett / Frank Gorshin
Oct 13, 1963 · 60 min
Guests (confirmed): --Lesley Gore - ""It's My Party""/""She's A Fool"" medley --Szony & Claire (dancers) --The Baranton Sisters (foot jugglers) --Mr. Pastry (comedian Ric
Scheduled: Cliff Richard; Eydie Gorme
Oct 20, 1963 · 60 min
Scheduled guests: --Cliff Richard (singer) - ""Stranger In Town"" & ""Some of These Days"" --Eydie Gorme (singer) --the Kessler Twins (singing & dancing team) --Dave Madd
Moscow State Circus
Oct 27, 1963 · 60 min
The Moscow State Circus are a group of Animals, Acrobats, Jugglers, Clowns, Daredevils, High Wire Act, Dog Act, Trapeze Act & The Cannonball.
Richard Burton / Morecombe & Wise / Arthur Worsley
Nov 3, 1963 · 60 min
Guests: --Richard Burton - recites Dylan Thomas & does bar bit with drunken observations. --Arthur Worsley (British ventriloquist, his dummy does all the talking) --Dave Ma
scheduled: The Jane Russell, Connie Haines and Beryl Davis trio; Allen & Rossi
Nov 10, 1963 · 60 min
Scheduled guests: --The Jane Russell, Connie Haines and Beryl Davis trio --Shelley Berman --Allen and Rossi (comedy team) --Dennis Spicer (British ventriloquist) --the
scheduled: Tommy Sands & Nancy Sinatra; Robert Horton
Nov 17, 1963 · 60 min
Scheduled guests: --Tommy Sands and Nancy Sinatra - ""Old Straw Hat"" & ""Hey Good Lookin'"" --Robert Horton --Kim Sisters & Kim Brothers --The New Sounds (vocal group)
The Obratsov Russian Puppet Theatre
Dec 1, 1963 · 60 min
The Obratsov Russian Puppet Theatre --Ed dedicated the entire hour show to the Obratsov Russian Puppet Theatre. The puppet act, led by Sergei Obratsov, specialized in satire.
Ginger Rogers / Burt Lanchester (on film)
Dec 8, 1963 · 60 min
Guests: --Ginger Rogers - ""Something's Gotta Give"" & ""They Can't Take That Away from Me"" --Burt Lanchester (on film, interview & film clip from ""The Train"") --Sophie T
Burt Lancaster / Al Hirt / Milton Berle / Georgia Brown
Dec 15, 1963 · 60 min
Guests: --Burt Lancaster (actor) --Al Hirt - ""Java"" & ""Man with a Horn"" --Milton Berle (comedian) - running gag: keeps interrupting Ed throughout show --Milton Berle - p
scheduled: Buster Keaton; Teresa Brewer; Tessie O'Shea
Dec 22, 1963 · 60 min
Scheduled guests: --Buster Keaton --John Huston (director) --Teresa Brewer --George Kirby --Tessie O'Shea --Frank Ifield (British singer) --The Burke Family Singers
Hank Williams Jr. / Janet Blair / cast of Twice Over Nightly
Dec 29, 1963 · 60 min
Guests: --Hank Williams, Jr. - ""On The Bayou,"" ""Your Cheatin Heart"" & ""Lonesome Blues"" (and possibly ""Cold, Cold, Heart"") --Janet Blair (singer) - ""Some People"" -
Count Basie Orchestra / Keely Smith / Sister Sourie (Singing Nun)
Jan 5, 1964 · 60 min
Guests: --The Singing Nun (Sister Sourire) - ""Hallelujah,"" ""Dominique,"" & ""Les Piedes des Missionaires"" (performance filmed in Waterloo, Belgium) --Count Basie Orchestr
Connie Francis / Frank Sinatra, Jr. / Stiller & Meara
Jan 12, 1964 · 60 min
Guests include: --Connie Francis - ""With A Song In My Heart,"" ""I Left My Heart In San Francisco,"" ""You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You"" & ""Al Di La"" --Frank Sinatra
Bobby Vinton / Juliet Prowse / Pat Buttram
Jan 19, 1964 · 60 min
--Bobby Vinton - medley: ""If You Knew Susie,"" ""When My Baby Smiles at Me"" and ""Yankee Doodle Dandy"" --Dick Alberts (or Albers - trampoline act) - does comic tumbling --
scheduled: Eddy Arnold; Van Heflin; Sidney Blackmer
Jan 26, 1964 · 60 min
Scheduled guests: --Van Heflin and Sidney Blackmer (actors, scheduled to appear in a scene from their Broadway play ""A Case of Libel"" written by Henry Denker.) --Eddy Arnold
Ella Fitzgerald / Sammy Davis Jr.
Feb 2, 1964 · 60 min
Guests: --Ella Fitzgerald - ""Them There Eyes"" --Sammy Davis Jr. - ""Without A Song"" -- Sammy Davis Jr. & Ella Fitzgerald - ""S' Wonderful"" Other guests (scheduled to a
Beatles (1st appearance) / Oliver Broadway cast
Feb 9, 1964 · 60 min
Guests include: --The Beatles (first appearance): All My Lovin,'Til There Was You, She Loves You, I Saw Her Standing There and I Wanna Hold Your Hand. --Davy Jones (pre-Monke
Beatles (2nd appearance) / Mitzi Gaynor
Feb 16, 1964 · 60 min
--The Beatles (2nd appearance): She Loves You, This Boy, All My Lovin', I Saw Her Standing There, From Me to You and I Want to Hold Your Hand --Audience bows: Sunny Liston & and J
Beatles (3rd appearance) / Cab Calloway
Feb 23, 1964 · 60 min
--The Beatles (3rd appearance): Twist and Shout, Please Please Me and I Want to Hold Your Hand (Pre-recorded Beatles segments, taped 9 Feb 1964, inserted into a live show.) --Glor
George Raft / Jack Carter / John Byner
Mar 1, 1964 · 60 min
Guests: --George Raft (Hollywood star) - scheduled to appear in a tango sequence with the Hugh Lambert dancers --Jack Carter (comedian) - routine includes jokes about the Beatl
Dave Clark Five / A Salute to American Composers
Mar 8, 1964 · 60 min
Dave Clark Five - ""Glad All Over"" ""A Salute to American Composers"" --Jerry Vale - ""Ah, Sweet Mystery"" & ""You Can't Take That Away from Me"" --Florence Henderson - ""
Dave Clark Five / Peter O'Toole / Jack Jones
Mar 15, 1964 · 60 min
--Dave Clark Five - ""Do You Love Me,"" ""Bits and Pieces"" and ""Glad All Over"" Other guests: --Peter O'Toole (actor) - interview, sings ""When Irish Eyes Are Smiling"" wit
Bobby Vinton / Van Johnson / The Ladybugs
Mar 22, 1964 · 60 min
Guests: --Van Johnson - ""Just One of Those Things"" & ""I'm A Ham"" --Bobby Vinton - ""My Heart Belongs to Only You"" --The Ladybugs - ""I Saw Him Standing There."" The La
Harry Belafonte and the Belafonte Folk Singers
Mar 29, 1964 · 60 min
Guests: --Harry Belafonte --Jack Carter (comedian) --The Kessler Twins Additional guests (scheduled to appear): --Harry Belafonte and the Belafonte Folk Singers – ""
The Searchers / scheduled: Rowan & Martin; Senor Wences
Apr 5, 1964 · 60 min
The Searchers – ""Ain't That Just Like Me"" & ""Needles and Pins"" Other guests (scheduled): --Dan Rowan & Dick Martin (comedians) --Senor Wences (ventriloquist) --Nips
Moscow State Circus (taped in Minneapolis, MN)
Apr 12, 1964 · 60 min
Moscow State Circus (taped in Minneapolis, MN): Taped show with guests: --Oleg Popov (clown, appears throughout the show) --The Khodzhabaev Cossack Riders --Valentin Filat
Al Hirt / Roberta Peters / Itzhak Perlman / Kim Sisters
Apr 26, 1964 · 60 min
--Al Hirt - ""Begin the Beguine"" & ""Cotton Candy"" --Al Hirt & Roberta Peters - ""The Shadow Song"" --Itzhak Perlman - ""Rondo Capricione"" (on violin) --Peg Leg Bates & Li
Stevie Wonder / Gerry and the Pacemakers
May 3, 1964 · 60 min
Guests: --Stevie Wonder - ""Fingertips"" --Gerry and the Pacemakers - ""Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying"" & ""I'm the One"" --Patti Page (singer) - ""Call Me Irresponsi
Dusty Springfield / Gerry & the Pacemakers / Itzhak Perlman
May 10, 1964 · 60 min
Guests: --Dusty Springfield - ""Stay Awhile"" & ""I Only Want to Be with You"" --Gerry and the Pacemakers - ""I Like It"" & ""Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying"" --Bobby Ry
scheduled: Paul Anka; McGuire Sisters; Rita Pavone
May 17, 1964 · 60 min
Guests (2nd half of show): --Totie Fields (comedian) --The Mansville Marching Band - ""When The Saints Come Marching In"" --Audience bow: Eunice Kennedy Shriver --Jackie V
Liza Minnelli / Duke Ellington / The Beatles (on film)
May 24, 1964 · 60 min
--The Beatles (on film) - movie clip of ""You Can't Do That"" from ""A Hard Day's Night"" - song was cut from final edit of film. Also on film: Ed Sullivan interviews The Beatles i
Dave Clark Five / Bill Cosby / Helen Hayes
May 31, 1964 · 60 min
Guests: --Dave Clark Five – ""Can't You See That She's Mine"" & ""Do You Love Me"" --Bill Cosby --Helen Hayes - plays Mrs. Woodrow Wilson in a dramatic scene --Abbe La
Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas / Alec Guinness
Jun 7, 1964 · 60 min
Guests: --Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas - ""Pride,"" ""Little Children"" and ""Bad to Me"" --Alec Guinness (cameo & film clip from ""Bridge On The River Kwai"") --Nipsey Rus
Sammy Davis Jr./ A filmed tour of the JFK Library exhibit
Jun 14, 1964 · 60 min
Guests: --Sammy Davis Jr. - ""My Kind of Town (Manhattan),"" ""Where Do I Belong?"" ""Gonna Build Me A Mountain"" & ""What Kind of Fool Am I"" --Stiller & Meara (comedy team)
Debbie Reynolds (on film) / Trini Lopez / Harve Presnell
Jun 21, 1964 · 60 min
--Ed introduces the 50 candidates for the title of ""National College Queen,"" then announces the 6 finalists. --On film: Ed visits Debbie Reynolds at her home. In her screening r
Bobby Vinton / Connie Francis / Frank Sinatra / Ferrante & Teicher
Jun 28, 1964 · 60 min
Guests: --Frank Sinatra - cameo, brings out anniversary cake, sings ""My Kind of Town"" --Bobby Vinton - ""Tell Me Why"" & ""Mama Don't Allow"" + instrumental songs (""Hava Na
scheduled: Kay Stevens; Myron Cohen; Jerry Vale; Allen & Rossi
Jul 5, 1964 · 60 min
Scheduled guests: --Jerry Vale --Kay Stevens --Allen and Rossi (comedy duo) --Myron Cohen (comedian) --Brascia and Tybee (dance team) --The Neiman Brothers (tumblers)
Steve Lawrence / Helen Shapiro / Geula Gill
Jul 26, 1964 · 60 min
Scheduled guests: --Steve Lawrence --Helen Shapiro - ""Tip Toe Through The Tulips"" --Geula Gill (Israeli vocalist) --Maria Neglia (violinist) --los Chavales de Espana (
Della Reese / the Highwaymen
Aug 16, 1964 · 60 min
Guests: --Della Reese - ""Nobody's Sweetheart"" & ""His Eye Is On The Sparrow"" --The Highwaymen (vocal-instrumental quintet) - ""Standing by the Gate"" & ""Pretoria"" --Pat
Bert Lahr / Rita Pavone / The Kim Sisters
Sep 6, 1964 · 60 min
Guests (show taped earlier in the season): --Bert Lahr - ""Schneider's Miracle"" --Rita Pavone (Italian pop singer) - ""Remember Me?"" & ""Big Deal"" --Pat Buttram (comedian)