Impresario: The Life and Times of Ed Sullivan

by James Maguire

  3 “I never worked so hard …”: Harris, p. 53.

  4 “ ‘Slim’ Kelly played a fine …”: Port Chester Daily Item, July 6, 1919.

  5 “a laughingstock”: The New York Post, March 20, 1956.

  6 “Oh, you Irish!”: Ibid.

  7 “Good for him …”: Ibid.

  8 “Even to a young Democrat …”: Ibid.

  9 “built up its sports page …”: Port Chester Daily Item, October 2, 1920.

  10 “I read about the Hartford …”: Sullivan, p. 10.

  11 All headlines from The New York Evening Mail, January-February, 1921.

  12 “The Columbia Spectator…”: The New York Evening Mail, January 13, 1921.

  13 “How do they wash …”: Harris, 57.

  14 “The truth of the matter …”: The New York Evening Mail, February 12, 1921.

  15 “The former class …”: Ibid.

  16 “I became more and more …”: Harris, p. 57.

  17 “The challenge was met …”: The New York Evening Mail, May 14, 1921.

  18 “Miss Wainwright ordered …”: The New York Evening Mail, 1922, exact date unknown.

  19 “died a thousand deaths …”: The Daily News, September 10, 1937.

  20 “hottest of the ‘hot’ spots …”: Ibid.

  21 “soft shoe man, tough guy, gambler …”: Bakish, David. Jimmy Durante: His Show Business Career. London: McFarland & Company, 1994.

  22 “Moore, who is reported to be a Klu [sic] Klux …”: The New York Evening Mail, March 7, 1923.

  23 “Slipping the gentle razzberry …”: Ibid.

  24 “Down and out a hundred Times,…”: The New York Evening Mail, July 25, 1923.

  25 “At the club, we used to sit …”: The New York Post, March 28, 1956.

  26 “Fay had just bought the Rendezvous …”: Ibid.

  27 “brought some sunshine …”: Bakish, p. 27.

  28 “There are winsome girlies …”: Ibid.

  29 “When I knocked at Dempsey’s door …”: Harris, p. 58.

  30 “more than a propaganda organ …”: The New York Leader, October 1, 1923.

  31 “Printers Win …”: The New York Leader, October 5, 1923.

  32 “Eugene V. Debs, former political prisoner …”: The New York Leader, October 1, 1923.

  33 “Russian Workmen …”: The New York Leader, October 3, 1923.

  34 “Instead of acknowledging …”: The New York Leader, October 1, 1923.

  35 “Battling Siki, the Senegalese dark horse …”: The New York Leader, October 5, 1923.

  36 “Army never got over …”: The New York Leader, October 26, 1923.

  37 “It seemed in every way right …”: The New York Times, November 13, 1923.

  38 “When you are broke …”: The New York Post, March 21, 1956.

  39 “a very human note,”: Harris, p. 62.

  40 “a barney refuge …”: McIntyre, O.O. The Big Town: New York Day by Day. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1935, p. 116.

  41 “very stunning brunette youngster.”: Harris, p. 72.

  42 “Of course I said I loved it …”: The New York Post, March 30, 1956.

  43 “From what I understand …”: Betty Sullivan Precht, interview with author.

  44 “her life had contradicted …”: International Swimming Hall of Fame, undated document.

  45 “Sybil, a girl from Chicago …”: Bowles, p. 91.

  46 “I can’t stand it …”: and “Afterward we would …”: The New York Post, March 30, 1956.

  47 “I guess Ed was the first Christian boy …”: Sylvia Sullivan, Ladies Home Journal, June, 1967.

  48 “Oh, you mean Ed …”: Harris, p. 74.

  49 “regular Marjorie Morningstar,”: The New York Post, March 30, 1956.

  50 “I can honestly say …”: Ibid.

  51 “Her family was thrilled …”: Rob Precht, interview with author.

  Chapter Three

  1 All headlines, The New York Evening Graphic, 1928–1931.

  2 “Does your boyfriend’s …”: The New York Evening Graphic, May 23, 1931.

  3 “after peering …”: The New York Evening Graphic, February 24, 1928.

  4 “Why does Tex shy …”: Ibid.

  5 “For the next week …”: The New York Post, March 23, 1956.

  6 “erased any immediate …”: The New York Evening Graphic, February 29, 1928.

  7 “While his associates …”: Mallen, Frank. Sauce for the Gander. White Plains, NY: Baldwin Books, 1954, p. 159.

  8 “Those who mistook his …”: Ibid.

  9 “This is a family …”: Winchell, Walter. Winchell Exclusive: “Things That Happened to Me—And Me to Them” Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1975, p. 42.

  10 “Walter, what can …”: The New York Post, March 12, 1952.

  11 “Along Broadway they are selling extras …”: The New York Evening Graphic, June, 1929, exact day unknown.

  12 “I really thought a lot of Camera …”: The New York Post, March 28, 1956.

  13 “Speaking for the Duffy interests …”: The Daily Mirror, April 25, 1930.

  14 “Eddie picked the argument …”: The Daily Mirror, October 15, 1930.

  15 “facetious twitting …”: Supreme Court, State of New York, Docket 36151, quoted in The New York Post, March 28, 1956.

  16 “I settled with the Hearst lawyers …”: The New York Post, March 28, 1956.

  17 “I was will to call the whole thing off …”: Ibid.

  18 “Ed had no intention of getting married …”: Harris, p. 73.

  19 “At that point …”: The New York Post, March 30, 1956.

  20 “all devout Catholics …”: Harris, p. 73.

  21 “I didn’t want the job …”: Harris, p. 64.

  22 “He takes my ringside …”: Winchell, p. 79.

  23 “Ellmaker … called him to his office …”: Mallen, p. 163.

  24 “on [the] condition …”: Ibid.

  25 “not a newcomer …”: The New York Evening Graphic, May 29, 1931.

  26 “He’s a curiosity …”: Ibid.

  Chapter Four

  1 “So many have asked …”: The New York Evening Graphic, July 1, 1931.

  2 “The uppermost stratum …”: Ibid.

  3 “Divorces will not be propagated …”: Ibid.

  4 “Sullivan is well known …”: Variety, July 9, 1931.

  5 “Did you mean … in the toilet bowl.”: The New York Post, March 12, 1952.

  6 “Empty vessels …”: Gabler, Neal. Winchell: Gossip, Power, and the Culture of Celebrity. New York: Random House, 1994, p. 131.

  7 “I’ll rip your …”: Bowles, p. 86.

  8 “To my former …”: The New York Evening Graphic, June 8, 1931.

  9 “velvet hammer…Variety box score.”: The New York Evening Graphic, June 3, 1931.

  10 “desperate need for …”: Ibid.

  11 “ALWAYS CONSIDERED YOU A FRIEND …”: The New York Evening Graphic, March 29, 1932.

  12 “A First-night …”: The New York Evening Graphic, June 5, 1931.

  13 “Grover Cleveland Alexander …”: The New York Evening Graphic, June 17, 1931.

  14 “Everyone who played …”: The New York Evening Graphic, July 19, 1931.

  15 “Jean Malin belted …”: The New York Evening Graphic, August 1, 1931.

  16 “Eddie,”: I cooed …”: Winchell, p. 81.

  17 “those cocktails at Alice Brady’s …”: The New York Evening Graphic, January, 1932

  18 “6,000 Hunger Marchers …”: The New York Evening Graphic, January 5, 1932.

  19 “Mid-West Farmer …”: The New York Evening Graphic, January 16, 1932.

  20 “If you find …”: The New York Evening Graphic, September 1, 1931.

  21 “Before Larry Hart …”: The New York Evening Graphic, November 28, 1931.

  22 “In a speakeasy …”: Ibid.

  23 “Jack Benny felt …”: The New York Evening Graphic, September 14, 1931.

  24 “I said he would
…”: The New York Evening Graphic, March 30, 1932.

  25 “Every time one … Paramount Building clock.”: The New York Evening Graphic, September 2, 1931.

  26 “So many have …”: The New York Evening Graphic, September 1, 1931.

  27 “They say that Broadway …”: The New York Evening Graphic, January, 1932, exact date unknown.

  28 “I remember my mother saying …”: Betty Sullivan Precht, interview with author.

  29 “one of the unhappiest days …”: Sylvia Sullivan, The New York Post, March 30, 1956.

  30 “He didn’t have national prominence …”: Ibid.

  31 “I linked Thelma Todd …”: The New York Evening Graphic, September 2, 1931.

  32 “Claire Windsor …”: The New York Evening Graphic, January, 1932, exact date unknown.

  33 “The Ginger Rogers-Mervyn Le Roy …”: The New York Evening Graphic, September 28, 1931.

  34 “conspicuous on the …”: The New York Evening Graphic, January 4, 1932.

  35 “Mrs. Violet Swanstrom …”: The New York Evening Graphic, September 17, 1931.

  36 “Al Jolson …”: The New York Evening Graphic, July 7, 1931.

  37 “wound up by blowing …”: September 2, 1931.

  38 “The idea is that we go along …”: Variety, January 16, 1932.

  39 “It puts them in the same …”: The New York Evening Graphic, January 15, 1932.

  40 “a he-man …”: The New York Evening Graphic, May 29, 1931.

  41 “Bert Savoy …”: The New York Evening Graphic, July 1, 1931.

  42 “the late spots …”: The New York Evening Graphic, January 4, 1932.

  43 “Not long ago …”: The New York Evening Graphic, July 1, 1931.

  44 “I watched Maurice Chevalier …”: Ibid.

  45 “In case you don’t know …”: The New York Evening Graphic, March 26, 1932.

  46 “I wouldn’t be …”: Winchell, p 80.

  47 “The greatest thrill …”: The New York Evening Graphic, February 4, 1932.

  48 “The mail from St. Louis …”: March 18, 1932.

  49 “Good evening, folks …”: The New York Evening Graphic, April 16, 1932. Ed slightly misquoted Benny’s words; I’ve used the popularly accepted version of the quote. In his column, Ed quoted Benny as opening with “This is Jack Benny. There will be a second’s pause, just long enough for you who are listening to say ‘what of it’?”

  50 “In announcing Sullivan doesn’t …”: Variety, February 2, 1932.

  51 “My operatives …”: The New York Evening Graphic, January 19, 1932.

  52 “At the premiere of Jewelry Robbery…”: The New York Evening Graphic, January 19, 1932.

  53 “The rubbing out …”: The New York Evening Graphic, February 10, 1932.

  54 “Like Broadway …”: The New York Evening Graphic, February 20, 1932.

  55 “Success on Broadway …”: The New York Evening Graphic, June 16, 1932.

  Chapter Five

  1 “uncomplimentary ballyhoo.”: Variety, July 12, 1932.

  2 “no private scandal …”: Stevens, John D. Sensationalism and the New York Press. New York: Columbia University Press, 1991, p. 127.

  3 “ ‘You can’t do …’ ”: The Daily News, August 2, 1932.

  4 “nationally-known comic …”: The Daily News, date unknown, 1932.

  5 “his refusal …”: The Daily News, date unkown, 1932.

  6 “Overhead the L trains rattled …”: The Daily News. December 1, 1934.

  7 “He seldom …”: As quoted by Nick Tosches, Vanity Fair, July, 1997, p. 126.

  8 “Take, for instance …”: The Daily News, March 10, 1933.

  9 “Phil Baker …”: The Daily News, July 23, 1923.

  10 “Maurice Chevalier …”: Ibid.

  11 “Romances fizzle …”: Ibid.

  12 “Funny, the reactions …”: Ibid.

  13 “By far the smartest …”: The Daily News, January 26, 1933.

  14 “Jack Benny …”: The Daily News, July 23, 1932.

  15 “secretly registered”: The Daily News, July 28, 1932.

  16 “On the way …”: Ibid.

  17 “Months before Wild Bill …”: The Daily News, October 12, 1932.

  18 Walker would be cleared: Ed wrote “After Walker is cleared …”: on July 12, 1932.

  19 “The information I got …”: The Daily News, October 12, 1932.

  20 “Hugest individual hit …”: The Daily News, April 17, 1933.

  21 “I left them at 5 A.M…”: The Daily News, January 26, 1933.

  22 “My parents never ate at home …”: Betty Sullivan Precht, interview with author.

  23 “When I was about two years old …”: Ibid.

  24 “wasn’t in his nature,”: Ibid

  25 “didn’t like it all …”: Bowles, p. 94.

  26 “There is nothing …”: The New York Times, September 14, 1933.

  27 “As entertainment, it fails to measure up …”: Variety, September 26, 1933.

  28 “I can’t give Cantor …”: The Daily News, January 24, 1933.

  29 1:04 A.M.—“Hello …”: The Daily News, January 25, 1933.

  30 “I suggest Cantor …”: Ibid.

  31 “How about establishing …”: The Daily News, December 13, 1934.

  32 “We think the time …”: The New Yorker, as quoted by Winchell, p. 102.

  33 “We endorse …”: The New York Daily Mirror, December 18, 1934.

  34 “There’s one letter …”: The Daily News, December 19, 1934.

  35 “Your Monday column …”: Sullivan to Winchell, July 20, 1931, from Sullivan file, Walter Winchell personal papers, Gabler, p. 132.

  36 “fit to be with decent people”: Grady, Billy. The Irish Peacock. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1972, Gabler, p. 142.

  37 “If you let me know …”: Sullivan to Winchell, February 1, 1932. Ibid., Gabler, p. 143.

  38 “you are the only …”: Sullivan to Winchell, December 16, 1932, Ibid., Gabler, p. 161.

  39 “The other night …”: The Daily News, October 12, 1932.

  40 “Picking the first …”: The Daily News, November 1, 1932.

  41 “You must be crazy.”: Harris, p. 85.

  42 “No longer does …”: The New York Evening Graphic, July 6, 1932.

  43 “knows when to strike …”: The New York Times, November 27, 1933.

  44 “Though at war …”: Time, October 17, 1955. The Time article does not verify the date of the show.

  45 “During a single evening twenty …”: Radio Guide, May 12, 1934.

  46 “has been renewed …”: Radio Guide, April 7, 1934.

  47 “Ed Sullivan, who writes a mean column …”: Radio Guide, May 5, 1934.

  48 “sat in complete silence …”: The Daily News, October 22, 1937.

  49 “a variety of singers”: The New York Herald-Tribune, July 7, 1934.

  50 “In customary fashion …”: The New York Journal-American, August 27, 1937.

  51 “in the true Harlem manner”: The New York Journal-American, November 2, 1935.

  52 “in the accepted …”: Bowles, p. 95.

  80 “a one-legged Negro tap …”: Ibid.

  54 “swift, funny …”: The New York Journal-American, October 31, 1936.

  55 “Some weeks ago …”: The New York Evening Journal, 1936, exact date unknown.

  56 “Ed Sullivan’s Dawn Patrol revue …”: The New York Journal-American, September 1, 1937.

  57 “In his third appearance …”: Bowles, p. 95.

  58 “Harry Rose with …”: Variety, exact date unknown.

  59 “In Person—Ed Sullivan …”: Brooklyn Citizen, April 26, 1935, advertisement.

  60 “Booking agents …”: The Daily News, Harvest Moon promotional article, July 16, 1937.

  61 “Oh, just like …”: Harris, p. 87.

  62 “Notice how …”: The Daily News, July 12, 1932.

  63 “This is the new …”: The Daily News, June 11, 1936.

 
64 “When Gary Cooper …”: The Daily News, July 13, 1936.

  65 “When I arrived …”: The Daily News, May 30, 1936.

  66 “I pleaded with …”: Frank Hause personal letter to Walter Winchell, Rose Bigman collection of private papers, quoted by Gabler, p. 252.

  67 “Broadway columns …”: Variety, September 15, 1937.

  68 “the Cole Porters …”: The Daily News, July 16, 1937.

  69 “Then a boy …”: Ibid.

  70 “You get a funny …”: The Daily News, September 9, 1937.

  71 “There is a letter …”: Ibid.

  72 “Patronize the standard clubs …”: The Daily News, September 9, 1937.

  Chapter Six

  1 “As I devoured them …”: The Daily News, September 13, 1937.

  2 “curly-haired youngster”: The Daily News, September 15, 1937.

  3 “ ‘I am not envious …”: The Daily News, November 8, 1938.

  4 “Fred Astaire and your correspondent …”: The Daily News, February 19, 1939.

  5 “One wonders how Joan …”: Bowles, p. 93.

  6 “cheap, tawdry …”: Ibid.

  7 “ ‘The night we had …”: The Daily News, September 15, 1937.

  8 “Are you sure she didn’t say columnist …”: Skolsky, Sidney. Don’t Get Me Wrong, I Love Hollywood. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1975, p. 43.

  9 “Dr. Harry Martin …”: The Daily News, November 7, 1938.

  10 “I know of no performer …”: The Daily News, October 25, 1937.

  11 “There are certain things …”: The Daily News, November 5, 1938.

  12 “Midnight—the guests have departed …”: The Daily News, November 7, 1938.

  13 “I wish you could …”: The Daily News, November 6, 1938.

  91 “Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr.…”: The Daily News, August 15, 1938.

  15 “Don’t be startled …”: The Daily News, February 19, 1939.

  16 “Greta Garbo …”: The Daily News, October 24, 1937.

  17 “Howard Hughes …”: The Daily News, November 7, 1938.

  18 “Tyrone Power …”: The Daily News, October 24, 1937.

  19 “The Ross girl …”: Ibid.

  20 “A Filipino …”: The Daily News, October 9, 1937.

  21 “Hollywood dance director …”: The Daily News, November 7, 1938.

  22 “I asked Joan Crawford …”: The Daily News, August 14, 1938.

  23 “Business perked up …”: The Daily News, August 15, 1938.