Behind The Scenes at THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW…Part 2 (of 7)
The RCA TK30 Era Extends to Studio 50: This second TK30 part is to commemorate the move from CBS Studio 51 (The Maxine Elliott Theater at 109 W. 39th Street) to CBS Studio 50 (at 1697 Broadway) in January of 1953. The cameras were still RCA TK30s but it was a much larger venue. (THE TOAST OF THE TOWN ran from 1948-1955 when the name changed to THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW).
These first 4 photos are from 2 years before Sullivan’s show moved in, but do show the first television configuration for Studio 50 and the show set seen here is what I believe is ARTHUR GODFREY AND FRIENDS.
These historical images are from the CBS Photo Archives available through Getty Images and are presented here to assist researchers and television historians in identifying the television equipment in use over the decades and is offered here in a purely educational/instructional forum.
NEW YORK – JULY 31: CBS Radio Playhouse number 3. Interior view. 1697 Broadway at West 53rd Street, New York, NY. Image dated July 31, 1951. Originally known as Hammerstein’s Theater, later became the Manhattan Theater. In 1936, leased by CBS, it became CBS Radio Playhouse number 3, and later as CBS Television Studio 50. Finally, as The Ed Sullivan Theater. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)NEW YORK – JULY 31: CBS Radio Playhouse number 3. Interior view. 1697 Broadway at West 53rd Street, New York, NY. Image dated July 31, 1951. Originally known as Hammerstein’s Theater, later became the Manhattan Theater. In 1936, leased by CBS, it became CBS Radio Playhouse number 3, and later as CBS Television Studio 50. Finally, as The Ed Sullivan Theater. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)NEW YORK – JULY 31: CBS Radio Playhouse number 3. Interior view. 1697 Broadway at West 53rd Street, New York, NY. Image dated July 31, 1951. Originally known as Hammerstein’s Theater, later became the Manhattan Theater. In 1936, leased by CBS, it became CBS Radio Playhouse number 3, and later as CBS Television Studio 50. Finally, as The Ed Sullivan Theater. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)NEW YORK – JULY 31: CBS Radio Playhouse number 3. Interior view. 1697 Broadway at West 53rd Street, New York, NY. Image dated July 31, 1951. Originally known as Hammerstein’s Theater, later became the Manhattan Theater. In 1936, leased by CBS, it became CBS Radio Playhouse number 3, and later as CBS Television Studio 50. Finally, as The Ed Sullivan Theater. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)NEW YORK – AUGUST 11: Jayne Mansfield appears with Ed Sullivan on “The Ed Sullivan Show” on August 11, 1957. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 10: Johnny Carson performs on “The Ed Sullivan Show” on February 10, 1957. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)NEW YORK – AUGUST 07: Bill Haley and His Comets perform on The Ed Sullivan Show on August 7, 1955 in New York, New York City. (Photo by Steve Oroz/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)American comedian and actress Lucille Ball (1911 – 1989) stands on the side of the stage at ‘The Ed Sullivan Show,’ New York, New York, February 5, 1956. (Photo by CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)NEW YORK – JANUARY 20: Ed Sullivan hosts “Toast of the Town” on January 20, 1952. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)Anthony Perkins, 1957, Ed Sullivan Show at the Sullivan Theatre, NYC, NY Singing (Photo by Dwayne and Gina DeJoy/Corbis via Getty Images)American singer and musician Harry Belafonte sings to the camera on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show,’ New York, New York, October 11, 1953. (Photo by CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)NEW YORK – MARCH 1: American singer-songwriter and musician Johnnie Ray (1927 – 1990) performs on the Ed Sullivan Show on March 1, 1953 in New York City, New York. (Photo by Steve Oroz/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)Ed Sullivan, on the Television Show, 1957 NYC, Ed Sullivan Theater (Photo by Dwayne and Gina DeJoy/Corbis via Getty Images)LOS ANGELES – JANUARY 14: Ed Sullivan is seen on set of “The Ed Sullivan Show” on January 14, 1957. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)
FRANKLY, I think the photo above is mislabled and is acutally in Studio 50 as the man with the cigarette to Ed’s right is NYC Stage Manager Eddie Brinkman.
American television personality Ed Sullivan (1902 – 1974) on the set of his show ‘Talk of the Town, New York, New York, June 26, 1955. (Photo by CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)American television personality Ed Sullivan (1902 – 1974) (left) jokes with a clown from the Ringling Brothers Circus on his program, ‘The Ed Sullivan Show,’ New York, New York, April 5, 1953. (Photo by CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)
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