Elvis Presley’s first Ed Sullivan appearance on September 9, 1956 was seen by an estimated 55-60 million viewers. During his second appearance on the show, Presley only had to shake his legs to get screams from the audience, which a preoccupied Sullivan did not notice him doing when stood next to the singer. Elvis’s inspired performances as well as his growing reputation for hip shaking and sensual gyrations convinced CBS’s censors that The Ed Sullivan Show should film him only above the waist during his third and final appearance on January 6, 1957. On this final Sullivan show, Elvis performed “Hound Dog,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Love Me Tender,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Too Much,” “When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again” and “Peace In The Valley.” After the show went off without incident, Ed Sullivan proclaimed him, “A real decent fine boy.” Sullivan, in his unique style, further thanked Elvis by adding, “We’ve never had a pleasanter experience on our show with a big name than we’ve had with you…You’re thoroughly all right.” This was the last time Elvis would appear live on American television. For years people have wondered why Elvis was censored during his third appearance on Sullivan’s show. The simplest and most likely explanation is that Sullivan received negative criticism about Elvis’ earlier appearances. Another, more outrageous explanation was offered by a former director of The Ed Sullivan Show, who said that during his second appearance, Elvis put a cardboard tube down the front of his trousers and manipulated it to make the studio audience scream. To avoid a repeated occurrence of that behavior, Sullivan supposedly insisted on the above-the-waist coverage for Elvis’ final appearance. None of these explanations offers any real insight into Sullivan’s motivations but all add to the folklore surrounding this event, thereby enhancing Elvis’ image as a notorious rock ‘n’ roller.

Elvis Presley Enterprises
Elvis Gospel Service