The Ed Sullivan Show Quotes

Context

This line is spoken by Ed Sullivan in the TV show The Ed Sullivan Show (1948-1971).

The Ed Sullivan Show wasn't just some show on TV in the 50s and 60s. It was the show on TV.

Millions of eyeballs tuned in every Sunday evening to see who Ed would feature on his variety show. Famous singers, actors, opera stars, ballet dancers, and circus acts all got their first national exposure on The Ed Sullivan Show. The guy was a major kingmaker. Heck, he kind of started the British Invasion when he hosted the Beatles in 1964.

Talk about a cool claim to fame.

So, it was no lie when Ed Sullivan would start off nearly every broadcast by telling the audience, "We have a really big show tonight." It really was huge.

Oh, and his slightly awkward pronunciation of the word "show"—which sounded a whole lot like "shew"—made it all the more charming. Yup, that's one really big quote.

Where you've heard it

If you've got a really big anything coming up, this is the perfect catchphrase to break out. Mispronouncing some of the words makes it all the more Sullivan-esque.

Additional Notable References

• The Kirby Stone Four recorded a song called "It's a Really Big Show Tonight," with help from Ed himself.
• Ed Sullivan was such a big deal that he even makes an appearance in the musical Bye Bye, Birdie and gets his own song.
• The show was filmed at The Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City, where episodes of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert are still being made.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Will your show be featuring the Beatles tonight? How about Elvis? Hmm… then it might not be quite as big as Ed's. (And no, that's not just because these guys aren't all with us anymore.) Still, this is a funny (and only slightly braggy) thing to break out when you've got something major coming up.