Unfortunately for our dad, the minute Ed Sullivan declared “THE BEATLES” we were hooked. To put the impact “The Ed Sullivan Show” had on American culture into perspective, think of the recently canceled “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.” The latest Nielsen ratings for this No. When Elvis made his debut on Ed Sullivan, 60 million people were watching. The life and career of Ed Sullivan, a true television pioneer, is worth watching for a variety of reasons. After their meeting where, according to Belafonte, each man stated their positions without apology, Sullivan called Belafonte’s priest to get another measure of the man.