Trying to obtain 2 old ed sullivan shows from the 1950's

Hi Guys,
Here is my problem. In 1955 and 1956, my uncle was stationed in the army around that time and he told me a few years ago that he was on the ed sullivan show in the army band. Once in 1955 and once in 1956, he was in the band that backed up all of the army talent on the shows. Each show he was on in each year, it was an all army talent show. Anyway, he told me he hasn't seen the shows at all and he would be nice if he could see them again, i told him i would try, he is still living, 90 years old and it would be a treat if i could get both shows for him and here is where the problem begins.
I emailed the ed sullivan people and they put me in touch with a guy that supposedly does the archives. I explained to him about the shows my uncle was on and gave him the exact dates of the show. Then the runaround started. Here are some emails from them starting with the earliest one.

Sullivan response:
"Thanks for reaching out. Before moving forward, for personal screeners we charge $350 for up to 10 appearances. The footage would contain visible timecode watermarked on bottom of the screen. We also are not allowed to sell the full episodes, only the parts of the performer. Please let me know if interested and I can move forward with sending you screenshots of the possible appearances you mentioned above"

My response:
"My uncle was on both shows and in the backline that backed up all the acts.
He wanted me to request both shows in their entirety. He is going to be 90 years old and my father is 94 years old and
they are both army veterans and they are requesting to see the shows. I am ordering these shows on their behalf.
I am willing to pay the $150.00 fee, if they are in their entirety and not edited.
Hopefully, this can be done"
.38 (364) Ed Sullivan-Toast of the town –All Army talent Show- June 12, 1955
8:39 (417) Ed Sullivan Show- All Army talent show-June 17 1956

Sullivan response:
Again, I can't give you the full episode, but I can give you there performances unedited with visible timecode watermarked on bottom of the screen. What were there names and what type of act was it?

My response:
" Again, he was in the army band backline that backed up all of the acts on both shows i mentioned. I understand i can't get full episodes, so i am willing to pay the fee but you will have to review the shows.

I didn't hear from him for a couple of weeks, so i sent him another email:

My response:
"Any news yet ? Were you able to review both shows ?"

Sullivan response:
"Please provide some more details on the act and the name of the act. That will help me with researching it"

My last response:
"As I have told you in the previous emails, he was in the backing band that backed up ALL of the army acts.
It was not the Ed Sullivan orchestra. If you are having a hard time understanding this, please ask somebody you work with or your supervisor
and have him read these emails. It’s not any one act. It is several acts that were with the army. All of the army acts.
Both shows consisted of nothing but army talent. I can’t tell you anymore than that until you review the tapes."

So, as you can see, i am at my wit's end with this.I haven't heard from the guy in weeks now. Is it a lost cause ? Any solutions as to what i can do ? I am dealing with the same guy and it is getting extremely frustrating. Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

I'm curious to know what instrument your uncle played.

 

I would try the personal connection, phone, for this disinterested jerk.

 

He played clarinet. A few years later he became a band director for a high school near Lansing Michigan.

 

I would call but it sounds like this guy is clueless so I don't know if you will get any further speaking to him.

 

That's the frustrating thing. I really need to speak to somebody that knows something there. It would be nice to have both programs in their entirety. I think my uncle and dad who both served ( my dad is a vet of ww2 ) at least deserve to see those shows. I'm not asking for shows that have celebrities in them. These are all army talent shows.

 

What happens if you call their office and have an actual voice conversation with the guy in charge?

Andrew Solt Productions
9121 West Sunset Boulevard

West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310) 276-9522

As far as I know, SOFA and Solt Productions have the same address and phone number, so try that and see what happens.

 

@t-man 54,

I hope you can get the information that you're looking for along with obtaining the episodes.

 

Good luck with getting copies. Hope you can get them. Sounds like the guy you are dealing with just doesn't care and is making no effort.

Do let us know what happens.

 

Just to give everybody an update, I still am not able to acquire these shows. After several phone calls and getting the runaround,
i am about ready to give up. The one man that i would like to talk to and so far, unable to is Andrew Solt. You would think that
they would try to help me, seeing as he is a 90 year old army veteran. I don't get it, myself.

 

Can you tell them to record 00:00 to 58:59 or something. Not sure how you would tell them what act is what if t's all Army acts. That sucks that you are getting this runaround. Especially that you are paying a fee for it. It's not like they are doing you a favor.

 

I have called them a total of 4 times. Each time I was told they would email me back or call me back. I would explain that he was not "one act" but played in the backing orchestra, which was actually the official army band. They backed up all the army acts. I would constantly repeat this to them and a secretary finally got it and promised to pass it along. No call back. Also spoke to two other people that were in charge of the archives and all I got was the standard company response. For all I know, my uncle may have got a camera shot or two, I don't know, but he was not part of just one act. It is very frustrating, I can tell you. I want to do this for my uncle, since his time is limited.

 

You're speaking one language and they're speaking another. Since they have no interest in speaking yours, you have to speak theirs.

Get the info about WHO was on those episodes and then request each segment separately. Chances are you'll get more traction than trying to explain what you've explained here. They are NOT going to sell you full episodes no matter what. So stop trying to make them understand this. Stitch them together yourself, if need be. Put a request for the performances/artists on both shows and see what happens.

 

Ask for a performance log of the show on paper that lists every act and every song based on timecode, from an episode on a specific date. From that, you could say, "OK, I want the segment from 1:06:49:00 to 1:10:00:13." And then they would send that 3-minute segment to you on a DVD or a digital file. If you call every day at a given time, maybe 10AM LA time, after 3-4 days I bet they'll give you want you want just to get you to stop. Persistence helps in this business.

Andrew Solt is only 70, but I tend to think he's semi-retired and has other people running that office. I don't have a name to give you, but generally they deal with music rights clearance people who want to use clips for TV shows, movies, and commercials. The problem with dealing with a person is the amount of money involved is very, very small; they'd much rather deal with a TV show wanting to use a 1-minute Sullivan clip that would net them like $5000 or $10,000.

 

It seems to me that if this was an all Army show, Sullivan and CBS would have given a print (of each) to the Army which should be in the National Archives - somewhere. And it also surely went out to the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service and collectors (50/50 chance) have them. Being all-Army shows, rights issues could be murky since all the "performers" were US Government "employees" on active duty, and Sullivan probably got them to perform for free!

I found this video on archive.org, "Big Picture: Army Talent Show", an Army-filmed short subject
archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.2569585

and Ken Berry (F Troop, Mayberry RFD, etc.) appears after 20:00 in possibly his first filmed performance, not noted on imdb.

Then wikipedia's page for Berry has some side info about those Ed Sullivan Army shows, because Berry appeared on one doing that same song.
Ken Berry - Wikipedia

The Armed Forces Radio and Television Service is now American Forces Network, and could have prints of them or a lead or access to the shows, or they can probably get access (from the ones who won't help you).
American Forces Network - Wikipedia

 

youtube has many Sullivan clips uploaded by many sources, including 'The Ed Sullivan Show'.

I would contact each and every one and explain what you're trying to do and see their clip source.

 

Thank you for all your help. I will try all your suggestions and come back with an update. Hopefully, this time i will get somewhere.

 

Don't give up!

 

I find their lack of effort on this disgusting. How busy could the folks at Ed Sullivan's archive be that they can't get some footage to United States military veterans?

They have this listed:

Products Page | Ed Sullivan Show

I wish you the best of luck tracking this down.

 

Lists of acts from June 12, 1955 and June 17, 1956:

http://www.tv.com/shows/toast-of-the-town/june-12-1955-u-s-army-talent-show-121218/

The Ed Sullivan Show: June 17, 1956: All-Army Talent Show

 

I was looking also for the acts and I couldn't find the complete listing for the 1955 show. It just mentions two finalists.

Like Vidiot said, they probably would prefer to deal with a TV show that would pay a lot more money for a 1 minute clip.

 

I would take the info listed for these 2 shows and pick out several from each which seem to be the most likely ones you would want and request those. Otherwise, you're going to be chasing your tail and get nowhere. None of these entities are in the business of providing material to performers who appeared on shows decades ago. They don't have the time or resources to do so as they get tons of requests coming in all of the time. The fact that they are willing to help you at all is miraculous in itself. If you went to any of the major studios for instance and told them your relative was an actor and was in an episode of some series, they would tell you to go fly a kite. So, my advice, is instead of being greedy and looking for the complete shows, pick out a few performances from that link above and request those.

 

Yes, i did come to the conclusion a little while ago that it was hopeless to ask for complete shows. Right now, i am starting on vidiots suggestion and asking for performance logs. I have yet to hear back from them. However, i will try all the suggestions and see what happens.

 

If it's any help, here are more of the finalists who appeared on the June 12, 1955 show:

--Pvt. Roger Balph of New Lexington, Ohio (clarinetist) - performs "The Twelfth Street Rag."
--Pvts. Lennell O. Jones of Williamston, NC, and James F. Green of High Point, NC, two members of the Five Harmonizers.
[Note: I have no idea who the other three "Harmonizers" were.]
--The Four Jays, a rhythm and blues vocal group.
--Lyn Smalling Cobb, of Meridian, Miss. (tenor)
--Pvt. James V. Cobb Jr. of Wilson, NC (vocal soloist) sings "Scarlett Ribbons."
--Cpl. (or Col.) Robert R. Measells, of Morton, Miss. (vocal soloist) sings "Through The Years."
--Sgt. Lloyd E. Lindroth (or Lindreth), a "swing harpist" who won the "instrumental soloist" category.
--Pfc. Robert Sherman, a concert pianist, performs "Au Village."
--The Zacchini Brothers, trampoline act.

I compiled this list from various newspaper archives. Most of these performers were mentioned in their local newspapers around the time of the broadcast.

I hope you're able to find a copy for your uncle.

Best,
Tom

By the way, I've now updated the
Toast of the Town: June 12, 1955: U.S. Army Talent Show
link with this new info.