The Ed Sullivan Shows By Mirror Spock

[nouncer]

Kwai,

There are some pics of the Sullivan Show from Studio 50 as well as Miami on the "Eyes Of A Generation" website:
https://eyesofageneration.com/?s=beatles

A Rare View Of 'The Ed Sullivan Show'

This is the only photo I know of that shows the RCA television projection system in use at Studio 50. The screen is roughly 16 x 19 and gives a good look at the broadcast image to those in the upper balcony. The balcony was built as a two tier affair with an upper and lower section separated by a an aisle. On the night The Beatles played, there was a camera in the balcony isle and most of the screaming girl shots were from that camera. If you look closely at the lower left, in silhouette, you can see what looks like a camera there now and this is possibly a regular position for one of the six cameras. This photo is from a regular, non Beatles show. The act is Rickie Layne and his wooden friend Velvel. The lower portion of the balcony was removed when the Letterman remodeling took place. By the way, notice the RCA TK30 just above the projection head. It is atop of the stage right scaffold mentioned here last week. Also, you can just barley see a few of the orchestra members on the bottom right.

RCA television projection system in use at Studio 50. The screen is roughly 16 x 19 and gives a good look at the broadcast image to those in the upper balcony.jpg

[Nairb1956]

That is so cool!

[Nairb1956]

I went to CBS Studios at Studio 50 on a class trip a year after the Beatles' first Ed Sullivan Show, and was amazed at how small the stage area was. On TV, it looked gigantic. No wonder John Lennon stood so rigid as to keep himself from falling off the sate! Our class sat in the lower stands and looked straight ahead to the stage. I never saw the giant TV screen above, but looking back CBS was ahead of their time.

[Kwai Chang]

Kwai,

There are some pics of the Sullivan Show from Studio 50 as well as Miami on the "Eyes Of A Generation" website:
https://eyesofageneration.com/?s=beatles

A Rare View Of 'The Ed Sullivan Show'

This is the only photo I know of that shows the RCA television projection system in use at Studio 50. The screen is roughly 16 x 19 and gives a good look at the broadcast image to those in the upper balcony. The balcony was built as a two tier affair with an upper and lower section separated by a an aisle. On the night The Beatles played, there was a camera in the balcony isle and most of the screaming girl shots were from that camera. If you look closely at the lower left, in silhouette, you can see what looks like a camera there now and this is possibly a regular position for one of the six cameras. This photo is from a regular, non Beatles show. The act is Rickie Layne and his wooden friend Velvel. The lower portion of the balcony was removed when the Letterman remodeling took place. By the way, notice the RCA TK30 just above the projection head. It is atop of the stage right scaffold mentioned here last week. Also, you can just barley see a few of the orchestra members on the bottom right.

RCA television projection system in use at Studio 50. The screen is roughly 16 x 19 and gives a good look at the broadcast image to those in the upper balcony.jpg

Thank you, nouncer!!! What a champ. You've solved a mystery that I was baffled about. The screen grab below comes from a 3-4 second shot during an official Ed Sullivan dvd of the 3rd appearance. It is bizarre enough to watch but at least it turned out to be just what it looked like. However I have given up about the audience. Why aren't there any real pictures that include audience and performer. I don't get it. Every other venue has photos of the crowd AND performer. I also don't get why a Hotel would build a stage that was 8 feet tall when the place doesn't even have a balcony. And, to use modern TV cams, you must build military grade scaffold and rack mounts and gantries for a huge amount of equipment. What is it really all about with the Deauville, really? Did it have its own dog or horse track? Then I'd say Brian might have an upset stomach because I bet the most exciting moment in his life was the concert at Washington DC. This hotel looks way subdued. I bet by the time they flew home, SELTAEB had ruined Brian's image of America. I bet Brian didn't get to say much. He was only here to listen. Maybe it never occurred to him. In a week EVERYTHING in the U.S.A. would say Beatles on it. Does the giant camera on the balcony aisle turn to capture audience? Then why not capture the performer as the camera points back to the stage? Anyway, I checked your link for the Eye Of A Generation website. Great GREAT material. There are two videos. One is about the horse track in Florida. The second is about The Beatles playing the Deauville! Check out the last scene of the video. When they cut from stage Beatles to applauding audience...look at the size of the audience! It is massive. That sure wasn't the Napolean Ballroom that the dressed rehearsal, and broadcast were shown in. Also something strange about the mirror on the wall shpwing audience and Beatles. Why isn't there any audience in the mirror reflection? Anyway, I'm including my comment regarding my own confusion. Thanks for the invaluable help!

BELOW From Re: Ed Sullivan Show-Clips 5/31/22

Thank you, KitsuHitsuyy! This is from the Ed Sullivan DVD set. 5:30 into the third show(2-24-64). There is one other photo from the control room way in the back that looks like this. This is very brief and I consider it to be suspicious only because it looks like it was shot in front of a monitor. There is considerable distortion of the group below that doesn't occur to the figures (audience backs) in the foreground. I congratulate you for finding it. I must be mistaken. I would hope that there are some better ones since there were so many cameras. But, I know that there was a lot going on. So, maybe it was that exciting. Maybe only two pictures got taken. I think the control room photo was from the 9th! But, it is a photo not video...and a lot more dubious than this screen shot. So, That is all I needed. You changed my mind. Thank you. I wonder what the studio audience thought about the Beatles not being on the show on the 24th in person. They must have known in advance that they were already at home in England.
Was The Beatles tape played for the audience in the studio?
Thanks.
KC

[Computer Gary]

I wonder what the studio audience thought about the Beatles not being on the show on the 24th in person. They must have known in advance that they were already at home in England.
Was The Beatles tape played for the audience in the studio?

You mean the 23rd, not the 24th.

It's always been my understanding that the show broadcast 2/23 was taped in the afternoon of 2/9, prior to the well-known live broadcast. And it's also always been my understanding that the entire 2/23 show, not just the Beatles' segment, was taped on the 9th.

Or am I incorrect, and it was only the Beatles' segment that was pre-recorded and the rest of the 2/23 show was live?

I haven't watched it in a while, but I don't recall hearing a disclaimer about the Beatles' segment being taped ahead of time (unlike, say, at the end of the 2/9 broadcast where an announcer says Fred Kaps' performance was previously recorded.) (Kaps was the act that followed the Beatles.)

[BradPuett]

I'm told mirror spock never put out his version of the Ed Sullivan shows … So maybe this is just a copycat …

hxxps://we.tl/t-3aEDOjYdqB

Any chance of a repost? I'm playing catch up … Thanks!

[Kwai Chang]

I'm told mirror spock never put out his version of the Ed Sullivan shows … So maybe this is just a copycat …

hxxps://we.tl/t-3aEDOjYdqB

Any chance of a repost? I'm playing catch up … Thanks!

Ed Sullivan Shows by Mirror Spock(Audio CDs)-----> hxxps://we.tl/t-jF03Oj4Caw <-----ReUp
Ed Sullivan Shows by Mirror Spock(DVDs)-----> hxxps://we.tl/t-SccPyTZMZY <-----ReUp
Okay, Brad...Thank you and good luck!
KC

You mean the 23rd, not the 24th.

It's always been my understanding that the show broadcast 2/23 was taped in the afternoon of 2/9, prior to the well-known live broadcast. And it's also always been my understanding that the entire 2/23 show, not just the Beatles' segment, was taped on the 9th.

Or am I incorrect, and it was only the Beatles' segment that was pre-recorded and the rest of the 2/23 show was live?

I haven't watched it in a while, but I don't recall hearing a disclaimer about the Beatles' segment being taped ahead of time (unlike, say, at the end of the 2/9 broadcast where an announcer says Fred Kaps' performance was previously recorded.) (Kaps was the act that followed the Beatles.)

Thank you, for the help, Gary!
Check the Beatles on Ed Sullivan at this site-----> https://eyesofageneration.com/?s=beatles
I appreciate your assistance!
KC

[BradPuett]

Ed Sullivan Shows by Mirror Spock (Audio CDs)-----> hxxps://we.tl/t-jF03Oj4Caw <-----ReUp
Ed Sullivan Shows by Mirror Spock (DVDs)-----> hxxps://we.tl/t-SccPyTZMZY <-----ReUp
Okay, Brad … Thank you and good luck!
KC

Thank you, Kwai Chang!!

[Kwai Chang]

It's always been my understanding that the show broadcast 2/23 was taped in the afternoon of 2/9, prior to the well-known live broadcast. And it's also always been my understanding that the entire 2/23 show, not just the Beatles' segment, was taped on the 9th.

Or am I incorrect, and it was only the Beatles' segment that was pre-recorded and the rest of the 2/23 show was live?

I haven't watched it in a while, but I don't recall hearing a disclaimer about the Beatles' segment being taped ahead of time (unlike, say, at the end of the 2/9 broadcast where an announcer says Fred Kaps' performance was previously recorded.) (Kaps was the act that followed the Beatles.)

I was always under the impression that all the Ed Sullivan Shows were LIVE...except, of course, the Hialeah Race Track segments. Then, after owning the Complete Chronicles(Lewisohn) for many years, I decided to read it. It took another year to wrap my brain around the Feb. 9, 1964 entry. I promise NOBODY on the 23rd broadcast said ANYTHING about the show being recorded previously. That would lead to all kinds of skepticism! At least it did for me after reading it. But, lo and behold...the same thing was done on the 1965 appearance. That was taped in August, the first day after arriving to start the tour. Ed Sullivan Show was dark on that day. So, 2 of 4 shows were deflated of a their LIVE structuring by Lewisohn. I spent a lot of time trying to disprove the truth. But, all I could find were photos that showed no audience...other than the usual 10 or 15 people that didn't really look like an audience. So, in the end, I gave up and so far, we have NO photos of the group on Ed Sullivan that show a real audience in New York other than the ones shown here with that 16 X 19 projection monitor for the people in the balcony. Hence, you can only imagine my bewilderment by the info found here: https://eyesofageneration.com/?s=beatles (posted by nouncer above). It seems more odd than anything I could have imagined, but it is supposedly direct from the horse's mouth. Does the following statement make ANY sense? If it does, say THANK YOU to nouncer! Like this: "Thank you, nouncer!!!"
and now, here they are:
"The photo on the left was taken from the control room during the dress rehearsal for the February 9 live show. Most of the screaming girl footage was shot during this very long rehearsal and inserted via videotape into the live broadcast. Remember, The Beatles had already taped the February 23 show earlier this same day and all the audio settings had been worked out in the days first rehearsal (closed to the public) and worked well in the taping at 3, BUT…during the lunch break (3:30 -4:30) someone in maintenance wiped off the grease pencil marks on the audio board! The day’s second dress rehearsal lasted well over an hour as The Beatles asked for playbacks of the first session to compare the sound. Candy Cushing and others that were there have told me that there was quite a bit of back and forth with the band as they worked out the audio problems. Sullivan also did some back and forth with the audience during the long lulls and this is when the famous shot of him in a Beatle wig was taken."
AND the comment that followed:
"Jamie Litty
Thanks for the info. I also found those cutaways of the screaming girls to be of dubious origin for a live switch."
So, WHERE are the AMPLIFIERS? Or, was it PA System, or boom mic???
Audio problems? I've never heard of it!!
Thank you, nouncer!
KC

[rtbcIII]

Thurber: "Perhaps this will refresh your memory!"