Throwback Thursday Musical Showcase: Sammy Davis Jr. Sings "Something's Gotta Give" in 1955

On this Throwback Thursday let's revisit an appearance by Sammy Davis Jr. singing Something's Gotta Give on The Ed Sullivan Show in1955. 

Sammy Davis Jr. was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician who converted to Judaism in 1960. He found a deep spiritual connection to the faith after a near-fatal 1954 car accident and related heavily to the shared histories of oppression and perseverance between African Americans and Jewish Americans.

Davis lost his eye when he crashed his car driving home to California from Las Vegas in November 1954. One of several stories about what sparked Davis’ path to conversion originates with the aftermath of the accident. He wrote in his 1965 autobiography, Yes I Can, that his friends Tony Curtis, who was Jewish, and Janet Leigh, who was not, arrived at the hospital and Leigh gave him a religious medal with St. Christopher on one side and a Star of David on the other. “Hold tight and pray and everything will be all right,” Leigh told him.

Davis later told Alex Haley in a Playboy interview that he gripped the object so tightly that the Star of David left a scar on his hand, “like a stigmata.” He took it as a sign that he should convert.

Enjoy!

 

   #Throwback Thursday      #TBT

Throwback Thursday Musical Showcase: Ron Eliran and Nechama Hendel as Ran and Nama

Ron Eliran (Menachem Leizerovich) was born in Haifa, British Mandate of Palestine. He was the middle child among three siblings. His Polish-Jewish parents ran a bakery. In the late 1950s, he formed one of the first Israeli folk-style duos, Ran and Nama with Nechama Hendel. 

 

In 1958, Ed Sullivan visited Israel looking for young performers to appear on a special show celebrating Israel's tenth anniversary. Eliran and Hendel were the finalists. While the name Ran was not a problem for English speakers, they could not pronounce Nechama, so the duo became known as "Ran and Nama." After their television appearance, the duo toured the United States for a year and a half. Eliran was the first Israeli singer to perform in Las Vegas.

 

Here are Ran and Nama singing Ana Pana Dodech on The Ed Sullivan Show 68 years ago.

 

 

   #Throwback Thursday       #TBT

Throwback Thursday Musical Showcase: Eddie Fisher Singing "I Need You Now" on The Ed Sullivan Show

Today we're turning the calendar back 72 years to 1954 when Eddie Fisher sang I Need You Now, a popular song written by Jimmie Crane and Al Jacobs, on The Ed Sullivan Show. The recorded version reached number 1 on Billboard charts in 1954.

The Ed Sullivan Show was a television variety program that aired on CBS from 1948-1971. For 23 years it aired every Sunday night and played host to the world's greatest talents. 

We remember Eddie as a giant (although he was short) of the pop music world after he was discovered by Eddie Cantor at Grossinger's in the Catskills where he was working as a bus boy. 

Fisher was born in Philadelphia in 1928 and was the fourth of seven children. He was the son of Russian-born Jewish immigrants, Gitte Winokur and Joseph Tisch. His father's surname was changed to Fisher by the time of the 1940 census.

He was not an observant Jew, but returned many times to sing at Grossinger's, and that's where he and Debbie Reynolds were married.  

Enjoy!

 

   #Throwback Thursday       #TBT

Sunday Standup Comedy Showcase: An Early Alan King Routine: Dogs

Some of the best standup comedy was on TV shows and comedy specials in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Today we continue our Sunday Standup series, sharing some of the classic routines by iconic comedians on Sunday editions of Jewish Humor Central.  

Today we're sharing one of Alan King's early standup comedy routines, recorded 57 years ago on The Ed Sullivan Show. Let's turn the clock back to 1969 and watch Alan in his prime. 

Enjoy!

Throwback Thursday Musical Showcase: The Barry Sisters Sing "I Love You Much Too Much"

For almost half a century, from the 1930s to 1976, The Barry Sisters, Claire and Merna, were the voice of Jewish jazz in recordings, nightclub acts, and television appearances on The Jack Paar Show, The Tonight Show, and The Ed Sullivan Show.

Born in the Bronx to Yiddish speaking immigrants from Kiev, Clara and Minnie Bagelman started out in show business using their real names as The Bagelman Sisters, but after awhile, Clara became Claire, Minnie became Merna, and Bagelman became Barry. They performed songs in nine languages.

Looking glamorous and sparing no expense for their orchestrations, they sang to a full house at the Concord and other Catskills resorts.

In this Throwback Thursday special, Claire and Merna perform "I Love You Much Too Much" in Spanish and English in a 1962 TV appearance.

Enjoy!

 

  #Throwback Thursday      #TBT

Throwback Thursday Musical Showcase: Abbe Lane Sings "Never on Sunday" in 1961

Abbe Lane (born Abigail Francine Lassman to Jewish parents in 1932) is an American singer and actress. Lane was known in the 1950s and 1960s for her revealing outfits and sultry style of performing. Her first marriage was as the fourth wife of Latin bandleader and musician Xavier Cugat, more than thirty years her senior. 

Because of her work in Europe, Lane was known as an actress before she became recognized for her singing and dancing. She had a television program in Europe and made 21 films there early in her career.

In 1952, she married bandleader Xavier Cugat. During the 1950s and early 1960s she worked as a nightclub singer and was described in a 1963 magazine article as "the swingingest sexpot in show business."Cugat's influence was seen in her music, which favored Latin and rumba styles. 

In this 1961 video from the Ed Sullivan Show, Lane sings Never on Sunday, in English and in French.

Enjoy!

  

  #Throwback Thursday     #TBT

Throwback Thursday Musical Showcase: Rivka Raz, Israeli Superstar, Sings "I Could Have Danced All Night"

Rivka Raz,  known in Israel and abroad as" The First Lady of  Israeli Musical Theatre", has played leading roles in the major Hebrew productions of such classical Broadway and West-End musicals as My Fair Lady (directed by the Broadway director Sam Liff), Oliver (at the Habimah National Theatre; directed by Peter Coe, who created the show at the London West End), The King and I (directed by J. Hammerstein II, son of the musical's librettist; at the Godik Theatre, and again at the Tel-Aviv Cameri Theatre) and Fiddler on the Roof (with Haim Topol, in Hebrew).

In this video clip from 1965 on the Ed Sullivan Show, Rivka sings I Could Have Danced All Night in Hebrew, a song she sang in Israel when she originated the role of Eliza Doolittle in the original 1964 Israeli production of My Fair Lady.

Enjoy!

 

  #Throwback Thursday      #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Joan Rivers on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1970

Today is another Throwback Thursday and we're going back 56 years to an appearance by Joan Rivers on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1970.

In this segment, Joan reflects on her life after being married for five years, including observations about her husband, her kids, and hosting a party for nine 2-year-olds.

Enjoy! 

 

 #Throwback Thursday      #TBT

Throwback Thursday Musical Showcase: Eddie Fisher Singing "If She Walked Into My Life" on The Ed Sullivan Show

Today we're turning the calendar back 58 years to 1967 when Eddie Fisher sang If She Walked Into My Life, the hit ballad from the Broadway musical Mame on the Ed Sullivan Show.

The Ed Sullivan Show was a television variety program that aired on CBS from 1948-1971. For 23 years it aired every Sunday night and played host to the world's greatest talents. 

We remember Eddie as a giant (although he was short) of the pop music world after he was discovered by Eddie Cantor at Grossinger's in the Catskills where he was working as a bus boy. 

Fisher was born in Philadelphia in 1928 and was the fourth of seven children. He was the son of Russian-born Jewish immigrants, Gitte Winokur and Joseph Tisch. His father's surname was changed to Fisher by the time of the 1940 census.

He was not an observant Jew, but returned many times to sing at Grossinger's, and that's where he and Debbie Reynolds were married.  

Enjoy!

 

  #Throwback Thursday      #TBT

Sunday Standup Comedy Showcase: Morty Gunty on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964

Some of the best standup comedy was on TV shows and comedy specials in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Today we continue our Sunday Standup series, sharing some of the classic routines by iconic comedians on Sunday editions of Jewish Humor Central. 

Nightclub comic Morty Gunty (1929-1984) , the son of Austrian Jewish immigrants, began his stand-up routine in the Catskills in the early 60's, appearing on various television programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show and The Jack Paar Show. He made the talk/variety show rounds like most up and coming comics did. 

He debuted on Broadway in 1967 in "Love in E Flat" and hosted his own local television show for children called "The Funny Company". His only venture into films would be What's So Bad About Feeling Good? and Woody Allen's film Broadway Danny Rose.

Here's a video clip of Gunty doing his stand-up comedy on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. 

Enjoy! 

Throwback Thursday Musical Showcase: Neil Sedaka Sings Medley on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1963

Today we're going back 62 years to watch Neil Sedaka sing a medley of songs that were popular in 1963 on The Ed Sullivan Show. The medley includes Blame It On The Bossa Nova, Slightly Out Of Tune (Desafinado), Fly Me To The Moon and A Felicidade.

Sedaka was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1939. His father, Mordechai "Mac" Sedaka, was a taxi driver of Sephardi Jewish descent from Turkey. Sedaka's paternal grandparents came to the United States from Istanbul in 1910. 

Sedaka's mother, Eleanor (née Appel), was an Ashkenazi Jew of Polish and Russian descent. He grew up in Brighton Beach. Sedaka (the name is a variant of the Hebrew word Tzedaka - charity) is a cousin of singer Eydie Gorme.

Enjoy!

  

 #Throwback Thursday     #TBT

Throwback Thursday Musical Showcase: Ed Ames Sings a Medley on The Ed Sullivan Show (1968)

Ed Ames (Edmund Urick) (1927-2023) was a pop singer and actor. He was also part of the popular 1950s singing group with his siblings, the Ames Brothers.

Best known for his singing career with three of his brothers as The Ames Brothers, and his acting in the role of Mingo, a Cherokee tribesman in the TV series Daniel Boone, Ames was a committed Zionist and president of the California chapter of the Zionist Organization of America.

In this video from the Ed Sullivan Show 57 years ago, Ames sings a medley including Gentle On My Mind, My Cup Runneth Over, The Look Of Love and Kiss Her Now.

Enjoy!

 

  #Throwback Thursday       #TBT

Sunday Standup Comedy Showcase: Alan King on Married Life in 1965

Some of the best standup comedy was on TV shows and comedy specials in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Today we continue our Sunday Standup series, sharing some of the classic routines by iconic comedians on Sunday editions of Jewish Humor Central.

Alan King (1927-2004) was synonymous with classic Jewish comedy during his career which lasted about 50 years starting in 1955. He had roles in many movies, but we remember him most vividly for his stand-up comedy routines in the Catskills and on television.

King began his comedy career with one-liner routines and other material concerning mothers-in-law and Jews. King's style of comedy changed when he saw Danny Thomas performing in the early 1950s. He realized that Thomas was talking to his audience, not at them, and was getting a better response. King changed his own style from one-liners to a more conversational style that used everyday life for humor. His comedy inspired other comedians such as Joan Rivers, Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, Billy Crystal, Robert Klein, and Bill Cosby.

In one of his earliest appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1965, with his wife and two sons in the audience, King talks about married life.

Enjoy! 

Throwback Thursday Musical Showcase: The Barry Sisters Sing "Ev'ry Street's a Boulevard" in1965

For almost half a century, from the 1930s to 1976, The Barry Sisters, Claire and Merna, were the voice of Jewish jazz in recordings, nightclub acts, and television appearances on The Jack Paar Show, The Tonight Show, and The Ed Sullivan Show.

Born in the Bronx to Yiddish speaking immigrants from Kiev, Clara and Minnie Bagelman started out in show business using their real names as The Bagelman Sisters, but after awhile, Clara became Claire, Minnie became Merna, and Bagelman became Barry. They performed songs in nine languages.

Looking glamorous and sparing no expense for their orchestrations, they sang to a full house at the Concord and other Catskills resorts.

In this Throwback Thursday special, Claire and Merna perform "Ev'ry Street's a Boulevard", on The Ed Sullivan Show. The song was written by Jule Styne and Bob Hilliard. It was featured in the 1954 movie Living It Up.

Enjoy!

 

  #Throwback Thursday        #TBT

Sunday Standup Comedy Showcase: An Early (1969) Performance by Rodney Dangerfield

Some of the best standup comedy was on TV shows in the 1960s. Today we continue our Sunday Standup series, sharing some of the classic routines by iconic comedians on Sunday editions of Jewish Humor Central.

Born Jacob Cohen and initially going by the stage name of Jack Roy, the 19-year old Rodney Dangerfield ventured into the world of stand-up only to find disappointment.  After nine years of going nowhere, he completely dropped out of showbiz and, to support his family, sold household aluminum siding.  Twenty-five years later, at the age of 45, Rodney decided to give comedy another try, appearing in clubs at night while still selling siding during the day.  He ultimately found success, due to luck, persistence and his enormous comedic talent.  

On March 5th 1967, he appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time.  Having seen what the show had done for other comics like Richard Pryor on The Ed Sullivan Show and Joan Rivers on The Ed Sullivan Show, Rodney knew that he was finally getting somewhere.  Luckily for viewers, Dangerfield had twenty-five years worth of pent-up comedy when he finally “made it.”  He appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show a total of 17 times between 1967 and 1971.   Audiences loved his stand-up routines and related to his famous catchphrase, “I don’t get no respect! No respect at all…” His self-deprecating style of comedy, ranging from childhood stories to shopping trip tales, to problems with his wife always resonated with middle America.  

Here's a classic performance by Rodney Dangerfield on the The Ed Sullivan Show in 1969.  

Enjoy!

Throwback Thursday Musical Showcase: Joel Grey Sings "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and "Grand Old Flag" in 1968

Today we turn the clock back to 1968 when Joel Grey and the cast of the Broadway musical George M performed two of the hit numbers from the show on The Ed Sullivan Show.

George M was based on the life of George M. Cohan and covered the period from the late 1880s until 1937. It focused on Cohan's life and show business career from his early days in vaudeville with his parents and sister to his later success as a Broadway singer, dancer, composer, lyricist, theatre director and producer.

Joel Grey, born Joel David Katz in 1932, and son of comedian and musician Mickey Katz, is an American actor, singer, dancer, photographer, and theatre director. He is best known for portraying the Master of Ceremonies in the musical Cabaret on Broadway and in Bob Fosse's 1972 film adaptation. He has won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony Award for his performances in the Cabaret stage musical and film. He earned the Lifetime Achievement Tony Award at the 76th Tony Awards in 2023.

Enjoy!

Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Alan King on Doctors in 1964

Alan King (1927-2004) was synonymous with classic Jewish comedy during his career which lasted about 50 years starting in 1955. He had roles in many movies, but we remember him most vividly for his stand-up comedy routines in the Catskills and on television.

King began his comedy career with one-liner routines and other material concerning mothers-in-law and Jews. King's style of comedy changed when he saw Danny Thomas performing in the early 1950s. He realized that Thomas was talking to his audience, not at them, and was getting a better response. King changed his own style from one-liners to a more conversational style that used everyday life for humor. His comedy inspired other comedians such as Joan Rivers, Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, Billy Crystal, Robert Klein, and Bill Cosby.

In this video clip from the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, Alan King tells stories about the frustrations associated with doctors' offices, waiting rooms, and the indignities suffered while waiting to see the doctor.

Enjoy!

   

    #Throwback Thursday          #TBT

Throwback Thursday Musical Showcase: The Barry Sisters Sing "Nevertheless" in 1961

Today our Throwback Thursday time machine takes us back 64 years to 1961 when the Barry Sisters appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show to sing the ballad Nevertheless, written in 1931 by Harry Ruby and Bert Kalmar.

Born in the Bronx to Yiddish speaking immigrants from Kiev, Clara and Minnie Bagelman started out in show business using their real names as The Bagelman Sisters, but after awhile, Clara became Claire, Minnie became Merna, and Bagelman became Barry. They performed songs in nine languages.

Looking glamorous and sparing no expense for their orchestrations, they sang to a full house at the Concord and other Catskills resorts.

 Enjoy!

  

  #Throwback Thursday     #TBT

Throwback Thursday Musical Showcase: Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme Sing a Big Medley on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1967

Today we're turning the clock back 58 years to 1967 when Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme sang a medley of songs too many to count on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Gormé was born in the Bronx to Sephardic Jewish parents Nessim Hasdai Gormezano and Fortuna "Fortunee" Gormezano. Both her parents were born in Turkey. The Gormezanos spoke several languages at home, including Ladino (also referred to as Judaeo-Spanish). Due to its close relationship with Castilian Spanish, Gormé was able to speak and sing in Spanish. She was distantly related (by marriage) to Neil Sedaka.

Eydie and her husband and singing partner Steve Lawrence (born Sidney Liebowitz) have been among our favorite singers for many decades. Eydie died in 2013 and Steve in 2024. We miss them both but we still enjoy their duets and solos thanks to YouTube.

Enjoy the flashback!

 

   #Throwback Thursday     #TBT

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Showcase: Allan Sherman Sings Parodies on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1966

Allan Sherman dominated the world of song parody during the 1960s and recorded eight albums, starting with My Son the Folksinger.  

Listening to or reading his lyrics is a crash course in pop culture of the 1960s, with Sherman taking satiric swipes at summer camp, psychiatry, fad diets, Hadassah ladies, school dropouts, and upward mobility.

The popularity of his parodies got him many guest appearances on TV variety shows.

We just came across a rare video of Sherman on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1966 singing a medley of takeoffs on classic popular songs including Auld Lang Syne, Aura Lee, On Top of Old Smoky, Charmaine, Too Young, Coming Through the Rye, and Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home.

Enjoy!