but ed sullivan was very much a king maker. could ed sullivan make or break a career?>> reporter: producer-director andrew solt, who owns the ed sullivan archives, says 60 million people watched that elvis appearance. ♪ you never going ♪ >> reporter: some had been reluctant to put elvis on at first but booked him for three shows. giving him a record-breaking $50,000. ♪ and i don't want no other love ♪ >> reporter: what was more valuable, his blessing. >> this is a real decent, fine boy. we want to say we have never had a pleasanter experience on our show with a big name than we have hitadu. wyoh >> reporter: truth is, if you made on "the ed sullivan show," there is a good chance you could make it big anywhere. the show premiered 75 years ago, june 20th, 1948, and for more than two decades it was appointment tv. >> oh, yes. yes. every sunday at 8:00 my house would be quiet. i mean, watching ed sullivan, it was a glorious event. ♪ ain't no mountain ♪ >> reporter: otis williams and his group the temptations were on the show six times. how do you look? >> we look good. sca

but ed sullivan was very much a kingmaker. >> could ed sullivan make or break a career?/director andrew , suivanares saivi arance ♪well you a't a >> reporr: some of them had been reluctant to put elvis on at first, but ended booking him for three shows, giving hum a record-breaking $50,000. >> nope i don't want no other love ♪ >> and what may have been even more valuable, his blessing. >> this is a real, decent, fine boy. we want to say that we've never had a pleasanter experience on our show with a big name than we've had with you. ♪ >> reporter: truth is if you made it on the ed sullivan show, there's a good chance you could make it big anywhere. the show premiered 75 years ago, june 20th, 1948, and for more than two decades, it was appointment tv. >> oh, yes. yes. every sunday at 8:00, my house would be quiet. i mean watching ed sullivan, that was a glorious event. ♪ ain't no mountain ♪ >> otis williams and his group the temptations were on the sho ♪ when it's cold outside ♪ >> how do you look? >> we look good. scared but -- yeah, we were scared ♪ my girl, my girl ♪ ♪

you know, smothers brothers. >> stephen: ed sullivan. >> wanda: ed sullivan, yes.to my grandmother laugh, my mother laugh. that always just stayed with me. and then, you know, after college and everything, i just hated every job that i had. it was like... [laughs] this was like, this is not what i want to be doing the next 40 years. come on. i would just end up being a raging alcoholic if i stayed here this long. >> stephen: you can do both. >> wanda: i can do both. >> stephen: a lot people do. >> wanda: yeah. so i just remembered how much i love comedy and how much i loved making people laugh. >> stephen: do you have early memories of making people laugh? >> wanda: yeah. i knew i had something, i think it was the sixth, seventh grade. we were having a block party. the neighbor across the street, an older gentleman, war vet. you know, he may have been throwing them back a little bit too much. he was retired. come on. the man fought in the war. and he fell and he cracked his head open, basically. all the other adults were a little sloshed too. so it was one woman wh

for the record, the ed sullivan holds about 450 people. guess at least 142 of them would make a better congressman than george santos. later, when asked about that weirdly specific amount, santos told a reporter he meant the "142,000 voters who voted for me," claiming the elevator cut that part off. no, it didn't! he knows about cameras, right? let's watch it again. >> if 142 people ask for me to resign, i'll resign. >> stephen: the number 142 was in the middle of the sentence! if we are to believe george santos -- and i don't remember it -- what he was going to say was "if 142 people asked me to resign, i'll resign... thousand. [cheers and applause] we've got an update on what caused yesterday's massive f.a.a. glitch that grounde nearly every flight in the united states. don't worry, the reason is very dumb, because the system crashed when an engineer accidentally "replaced one file with another." oh, my god. if that's all it takes to ground every flight in america, the computer system is way too simple. for pete's sake, even my toaster h

and now, live on tape from the ed sullivan theater in new york city, it's stephen colbert! [cheers and applause] >> stephen: hello, my friends. nice to see you again. ♪ ♪ good to see you. happy wednesday. happy, happy, happy, happy. hey, everybody! thanks, everybody. please have a seat. you are too kind. welcome in here, out there, up there, down there. welcome to "the late show." i'm your host, stephen colbert. folks. [cheers and applause] i want you to check your calendars because today is officially opposite day. which means it's not opposite day. or am i? another thing about today, it's volodymyr zelenskyy's birthday. and joe biden -- [applause] yeah. and joe biden got him exactly what he asked for, 30 m1 abrams tanks. yeah. this wasn't exactly a huge surprise. zelensky kind of figured it out while it was still wrapped. the abrams is a game changer for this war in ukraine. it's a state-of-the-art battle tank that weighs 70 tons. yet is capable of speeds up to 42 miles an hour. plus it comes with a free month of sirius xm. so while you're breaching enemy lines, you can l

and now, live on tape frm the ed sullivan theater in new york city, it's stephen colbert!hen: there you go! hey! hey! [cheers and applause] have a good show. happy monday. happy monday, happy monday. thanks, everybody. thank you very much. welcome. welcome one and all to "the late show." i'm your host, stephen colbert. well, ladies and gentlemen. [cheers and applause] listen to that! listen to that, lampley! >> i know! >> stephen: that is -- there is an electricity in the air. everybody knows it. this is it! it's midterms eve! [cheering] yeah. be sure to leave out a plate of cookies and a cold glass of xanax. because a lot of people are anxious, and that is exactly the way the news media wants you. remember, i warned you a couple of weeks ago that the media was going to spend every waking minute leading up to the midterms yanking your chain like they were trying to start a flooded lawnmower? well, one day, the tv news is out there saying, "oh, democrats are up in the polls. it's shattering historical precedent!" then it's, "republicans will sweep the senate, rule the night

and then they play on the ed sullivan show, which the populace was sunday night variety show and it was watched by 73000000 people, which was an unprecedented tv audience. and that name, it was kind of a watershed mainland coat, trudy, and sort of read, find the id or same and label fame. in these brief moments, pull mccartney is the viewer, not the viewed. the contact sheets for develops the photos never. well, the crowds decides the frenzy they knew to what was to become a cultural revolution. say beatles experts produced music didn't being very much at that time. the big office with the ones in america like elvis presley and little richard and such. and then along came the be tools and i think it was the timing was just right for the move is time for someone to break through in a big way. and they did, i mean the perfect personalities and great songs. everything about the my like really like well it's not to like, i'm like most photos taken and posted on social media today because he never intended to share these with the world. with his camera, he was making memories, a many know wh

and now, live on tape from the ed sullivan theater in new york city, it's stephen colbert. [cheers and applause] >> stephen: good to see you. very nice. happy wednesday. happy wednesday. there you go. thanks, everybody. you are very kind. welcome, one at all. welcome one and all two of the late show. i am your host, stephen colbert. anybody and from out of town? i assume you drove here because this morning, and faa computer glitch grounded all departing domestic flights. this happens when you run your system off a going go hot spot. it says i am connected but i can only go to delta.com. the problem started last night thanks to a crash of faa software, which shares information about hazards in the air and on the ground, if the air travel equivalent of that was the talk your dad gives you before the road trip. you are going to want to skip 95, i have cds from the library, mail them back to me when you get there and call your mom, not from the road. the problem is notam is a little antiquated because it was created in 1947 and modeled after messages used to alert ship captains

and then they play on the ed sullivan shade, which is the populace. it is sunday night variety shaped and it was watched by 73000000 people, which was an unprecedented tv audience. and that made me, it was kind of a watershed mainland coat, trudy, and sort of read, find the idea of fame and label fame. in these brief moments pull mccartney is the viewer, not the viewed. the contact sheets with develops the photos never. well, the crowds decides the frenzy they knew to what was to become a cultural revolution. say, beatles experts produce music didn't being very much of the time. the big office for the ones in america like elvis presley and richard and such. and then along came the b tools and i think it was the timing was just wrong. so the moves time for some was a breakthrough in a big way. and they did. i mean, the perfect personalities and great songs, everything about my like really like, well, it's not to like, unlike most photos, take it and posted on social media today because he never intended to share these with the world. with his camera, h

and now, live on tape from the ed sullivan theater in new york city, it's stephen colbert! late show." i am your host, stephen colbert. i hope you all had a great weekend. but no matter what kind you had, you didn't have as much fun as president biden, who wrapped up his tour of ireland. it was everything he dreamed. he met with relatives, toured some castles, he got to visit the malarkey factory. throughout the trip, he delivered a bunch of speeches, including this one in dublin, where he ended with these inspiring words. >> there's nothing our nations can't achieve if we do it together. i really mean it. so thank you all, god bless you all and let's go... let's go lick the world, let's get it done. >> stephen: yeah, baby! lick the world! lick the world! lick the world! [audience chanting] i have no idea what the hell that means that if anybody can do it, it's joe biden. then biden was off to his ancestral home of county mayo, where they gave one hell of an entrance. >> please welcome a son of ballina and the 46th president of the united states, joe biden! [dropkick murphy

and now, live on tape from the ed sullivan theater, in new york city, it's stephen colbert!eers and applause] >> stephen: hey! beautiful. [cheers and applause] oh, yes. tuesday, tuesday, tuesday, baby. two for tuesday. thank you. sit, sit, sit. welcome one and all to "the late show." i'm your host, stephen colbert. it was an absolutely beautiful day here in new york. you know? 70 degrees. [cheers and applause] 70 degrees and sunny with a chance of jail. because about four miles south of here, the former president was arraigned on 34 felony counts. he was supposed to arrive at the courthouse around 11:00 a.m., but he didn't leave his building until after 1:00 p.m. which is pretty late, but in his defense, those spongebob episodes just keep auto-playing. you've got to shut it. once he finally arrived, down at the courthouse, we heard these immortal words. >> this moment at 1:24 p.m. eastern time, donald j. trump is under arrest. [cheers and applause] >> stephen: all right, i understand. i know. [cheers and applause] i know. i know. it feels good. but remember, he's innocent un

and now, live on tape from the ed sullivan theater in new york city, it's stephen colbert!ood to see you. good to see you. good to see you. happy thursday. happy getaway day. thank you very much. welcome, one and all to "the late show." i am your host, stephen colbert. [cheers and applause] today -- today was the last day of this year's supreme court session. it's been a real roller-coaster ride, in that i am nauseous and scared we're all going to die. in the last week alone, the justices have weakened the separation of church and state, overturned "roe v. wade," struck down a 109-year-old new york law limiting guns in public, and today, they dropped a ruling that limits the e.p.a.'s regulation of carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. what are you thinking, supreme court? it's the environmental protection agency! if they can't limit the emissions, then the agency can't protect the environment! they're going to have to change what the "p" stands for. maybe "environmental punch-dolphins-in-the-taint agency." and the conservative majority that graphic took me by surprise

and now, live on tape from the ed sullivan theater in new york city, it's stephen colbert! ♪ >> stephen: hey! applause] oh! got to gather up the energy. good to see you. hello, louis. welcome, welcome, everybody, in here out there, to "the late show." i am your host, stephen colbert. [cheers and applause] hey, remember how anxious you were in the final days of the previous presidency? well, turns out, now that we're through it, i think we can say, in hindsight, that maybe we should have been a little more terrified, because we're getting new details about the last days of the last administration of "the lardfather," in the new tell-all from bob woodward and robert costa, "peril." turns out, two days after the january 6th insurrection, joint chiefs chairman, mark milley feared the former president would launch a nuclear war. bombl outomll could on er after all, he is a fat man who acts like a little boy. [applause] apparently... true story. true story. apparently, general milley believed the then-president had gone into a serious mental decline in the aftermath of the electi

and now, live on tape from the ed sullivan theater in new york city, it's stephen colbert. >> stephen: fantastic. you are a sight for sore eyes. beautiful. [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ >> audience: stephen! stephen! stephen! >> stephen: happy, happy, happy monday. hey! thanks, everybody! down here, up there. very nice. thank you very much. ♪ ♪ please have a seat, everybody. thank you so much. welcome one and all, down here, up there, out there, welcome to "the late show." i am your host, stephen colbert. [cheers and applause] it is march what? what is it, march 24th or something? 27th. march 27th. got to get a new calendar. it is our first show back from spring break. what did i miss? did anyone get indicted? did anyone go anywhere fun, like jail? no? okay. you'll recall that previously on "the late show," manhattan district attorney alvin bragg was expected to bring charges against the former president for an alleged hush money payment to porn star stormy daniels, which would make him the first former u.s. president ever to be criminally indicted. although... [cheers and applause] altho

and now, live on tape from the ed sullivan theater in new york city, it's stephen colbert!hen: i don't know. i don't know. hey! ♪ ♪ [cheers and applause] good tsee you. good to see you. >> audience: stephen! stephen! >> stephen: hey, everybody! thank you very much. ♪ ♪ [cheers and applause] keep loose. you've got to keep loose. welcome. welcome one and all to "the late show." i am your host, stephen colbert. now, i know... i know you all watch this show for one reason and one reason only. because i am an expert on international finance, macroeconomics, and money stuff. i know all about the dows, the joneses, all of the coins, bit, commemorative, chocolate. carrot. and as a market watcher, i've been a bit worried because a lot of folks out there have been forecasting a coming recession. well, today we got some positive news because the last quarter of 2022, the gdp increased 2.9%, ladies and gentlemen. [cheers and applause] unexpected. unexpected. nobody saw that coming. we're all 2.9% richer, and i'm going to blow it on 2.9 eggs. this means despite all the worry, economic g

and now, live on tape from the ed sullivan theater in new york city, it's stephen colbert!eers and applause] ♪ ♪ >> stephen: oh, oh, oh. >> audience: stephen! stephen! >> stephen: thank you very much, everybody. you're very kind. welcome one and all to "the late show." i'm your host, stephen colbert. now... we've been, we've been off for a week. we've been off for a week. we're tan. we're rested. we're ready. a lot of stuff happened. if you're a brit-o-phile, there's huge news in merry old u.k. because they're getting a new prime minister. i don't quite understand how they have a new one, because they vote on the other side of the road. but however they do it, it's official. the u.k.'s next prime minister will be former chancellor rishi sunak, who will be britain's first leader of south asian descent, its first hindu prime minister, and the nation's first leader of color. [cheering] which means... which means britons will be able to run their entire power grid off the turbines connected to queen victoria spinning in her grave. you know? she had a different view. different v

and now, live on tape from the ed sullivan theater in new york city, it's stephen colbert! lampley, whatsapp, endea. what's up? please have a seat, ladies enter gentlemen. welcome one and all to "the late show." i'm your host, stephen colbert. [cheers and applause] but enough about me. jon batiste won five grammys last night! five! come on! guys! come on. guys. that's -- we know that dude. that's our friend from work. now, jon is not here tonight. he's on his way back. he's on his way back. he is still an airport security in los angeles explaining the five grammy-shaped bulges in his pants. but t is represented up there in our dome this evening right there. yeah. d. jon took home trophies for best music video, best american roots performance, best american root song, best soundtrack for soul and the whole enchilada, album of the year. album of the year. whole year. one album, whole year. january to december. calendar, fiscal, the whole thing. "we are." of course the album's full name is "we are gonna win a butt-load of grammys." i'm not surprised at all that jon won album o

and now, live on tape from the ed sullivan theater in new york city, it's stephen colbert! [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ >> stephen: hello, hello. have a good show. hello. hey, everybody! girl. please have a seat, everybody. thank you very much. no, no, no please. have a seat. welcome, everybody, to "the late show." i'm your host, stephen colbert. let's get -- we don't have a lot of time tonight. let's get straight to the urgent breaking news everyone's talking about. queen elizabeth died six days ago. she meant a lot to a lot of people, and much of the world is still grieving. today, the queen's casket arrived at westminster, where she will lie in state till next monday, and people are already lining up for kilometers to give their respects. that's why it's always worth it to spring for the fast pass. okay? trust me. you can hit up space mountain. you hit up space mountain while you wait to pay your tribute. elizabeth ii was the longest reigning monarch in british history, providing comfort to britons for over 70 years. she helped the country weather several financial crises,

and now, live on tape from the ed sullivan theater in new york city, it's stephen colbert! [cheers and applause] >> stephen: that's what i'm talking about. ♪ ♪ good to see you. good to see you. hello. hello, lovelies. hello, beautiful people. happy wednesday. that's right. thank you very much. you're very kind. welcome one and all to "the late show." i'm your host, stephen colbert. and i want to start tonight... i want to start tonight's show with a very important announcement. after much soul searching, i have decided that i am ready to accept the results of monday's powerball lotto drawing. i am not the winner, 'cause they stole it from me, and i accept that. tonight, of course, they held a drawing for $1.2 billion, and even though we taped the show before the drawing, pretty sure i won that, because i used the exact same numbers. okay, all right? and what are the odds that these numbers don't win two times in a row? you know what they say, doing the same thing and expecting different results is the definition of genius. speaking of gambling, the midterms are just six day

the dressing rooms at the ed sullivan -- >> everybody i meet is a family member, so i would fit right've always thought of you as dave jr. >> jimmy: oh, boy. don't just say that. [ cheers and applause ] oh, every hair on my body is standing up right now. >> oh, i don't want to know that. [ laughter ] >> jimmy: i though you love hollywood -- >> i spent the day googling symptoms. >> jimmy: are you okay? >> according to the internet, i am. listen. >> jimmy: yeah? >> a good friend of mine, i think you know him, george miller. >> jimmy: yes. >> passed away, one of my very close friends. when i first came to california, george took me aside and he said, "dave, i want you to know something. in hollywood, oscar is king." and truer words have never been spoken. and so now you hosting the academy awards. >> jimmy: uh-huh? >> for a third time. and this was a sensational moment for the country and the network and yourself. you know what this makes you, don't you? >> jimmy: no. >> you are the prince of hollywood. >> jimmy: wow. [ cheers and applause ] that's exciting. ♪ i mean, that's very kind of

and now, live on tape from the ed sullivan theater in new york city, it's stephen colbert! ♪ ♪ [cheers and applause] >> stephen: we're back, baby! happy tuesday. hey, everybody! thank you very much. welcome. welcome one and all to "the late show." in here, out there, all around the world. i'm your host, stephen colbert. ladies and gentlemen. [cheers and applause] if you watch this show, you watch this show, and i suspect you are now, you know that i like wrestling with life's big questions, like "why do bad things happen to good people?" or better still: "why don't more bad things happen to terrible people?" [applause] people like florida governor and bodybuilder... [booing] florida governor and bodybuilder who always skips head day, ron desantis. you'll recall that governor desantis tried to score some cheap political points in florida by dragooning people off the streets in texas and smuggling them to massachusetts. well, good news. we just found out a texas sheriff is investigating desantis' role in flying migrants to martha's vineyard. hell yeah! get him! you can catch

and now, live on tape from the ed sullivan theater in new york city, it's stephen colbert! ♪ ♪ [cheers and applause] >> stephen: have a good one. have a good one. happy wednesday, that's right. hey, verybody! have a seat, ladies and gentlemen. here we go. great night out. thank you. very kind. thank you for that jolt of energy. welcome to "the late show." i'm your host, stephen colbert. you know... you know, i know i look young and spritely but spoiler: i am old enough to remember the apollo missions, when america was at its most ambitious. we were representing mankind in our reach for the stars. and specifically, the "man" part of mankind. because only men went to the moon. but in 2024, american women will be going to the moon as part of the artemis mission, named for apollo's twin sister. and that -- i'm excited. i'm excited. that's great news, because up 'til now, space has been a bit of a sausage fest. the program has been plagued by technical delays, but this morning, nasa finally launched the first step in our return to the moon, artemis 1. jimmy, let's light this can

ed sullivan was convinced that, in his world, to let miriam makeba come on the program and to sing inim it was an adventure, and he had been told by the programmers that they're not going to understand. and he said, "oh, they'll understand. harry likes it, it's good enough for me." and we got on the air and there was miriam makeba singing these songs, and her popularity became quite intense. amy: which was very important for the anti-apartheid struggle -- >> absolutely. amy: spreading into the united states. >> absolutely. not only the anti-apartheid struggle, which spread in the united states, but for a greater understanding of the liberation of the whole continent, because there was people like sékou touré and nyerere and tom mboya, and all of the entire continent was awakened with the idea of liberation. having african artists, eventually hugh masekela and others, the whole idea of world music was seeded in the fact that the banana boat songs from the caribbean -- it opened up more music from cuba and the whole power in afro-cuban jazz and what those great cuban artists did who pol

all is we come in from sweden, all kids at the airport, heathrow, and we didn't even know him, ed sullivan't know us either. so they just see the reaction we're getting and books us to come to new york, to come to america. you know, you can't plan that. >> jimmy: no, you can't. >> it's mad these things happen. >> jimmy: in the book, you told that story in the book but you said, i'm not sure that actually happened, but i think it happened. right? >> oh, that sounds like david. [ laughter ] [ applause ] no, that's what happened. coming to america was so huge for us. >> jimmy: well, we're really happy to have you. >> yeah. [ cheers and applause ] >> jimmy: i think i speak for all of us. this book, all proceeds go to charity, to your charity? >> the lotus foundation. >> jimmy: the lotus foundation. "lifted" is on sale exclusively at juliensauctions.com. the great ringo starr, everybody. [ cheers and applause ] we'll be back with shaun white! my a1c was up here; now, it's down with rybelsus®. his a1c? it's down with rybelsus®. my doctor told me rybelsus® lowered a1c better than a leading brande

and then they play on the ed sullivan show, which is the populace of sunday night variety shade. and it was watched by 73000000 people, which was an unprecedented tv audience. and that movement was kind of a watershed mainland coat, trudy, and sort of re defined the idea of fame and label fame. in these brief moments, pul mccartney is the viewer, not the viewed, the contact sheets for develop the photos never. well, the crowds, the funds, the frenzy, they lead to what was to become a cultural revolution, say beatles x, but british music didn't being very much at that time. the big office for the ones in america like elvis presley and little richard and such. and then along came the be tools on the i think it was the timing was just right for the move this time for some was a breakthrough in a big way. and they did, i mean the perfect personalities and great songs. everything about them. i like really we've got lots and lots to like and like most photos taken and posted on social media today, because he never intended to share these with the world. with his camera, he was making m

. >> reporter: -- they played the ed sullivan show. ♪ close your eyes and i'll kiss you ♪ ♪ tomorrow the moment all hell breaks loose. >> i mean, you know, you've got to think about it. we're kids from liverpool. >> yeah. >> and we're trying to get famous. and it's not easy. and we were like stars in america, and people loved us. so we loved it. and having that number one was really the secret because if the journalists -- you know, new york journalists, hey, beatle. we sort of say, why are you here, whatever? we said, we're number one in your country. bingo. >> reporter: mccartney captured the commotion on the streets around new york's plaza hotel and the crowd that chased them when they snuck out the side door. from new york, the beatles traveled by train to washington, d.c. mccartney's camera took the ride too. >> is this from the train too? >> yeah. they're pretty much all on the train or from the train. but i love this guy. he's like from where i'm from. he looked great. he's got his hand up like this. >> he's got a little smile too, i think. >> yeah, a smile. >> it's a great mo

. >> reporter: then the stars appeared on ed sullivan. ♪ ♪ >> and overnight the show became a huge success-author alan jay lerner. >> what drew your father to this subject matter? >> he was an idealist, and i think he saw this play as a way of expressing some of that idealism through arthur. this idea that arthur was a link between barbarity and civilization was very appealing to him. >> mrs. kennedy was in the car as we said with president kennedy. he slumped into her lap. >> reporter: sadly, it was a barbaric act that would immortalize the show. after president john f. kennedy was murdered, jack kin kennedy told life magazine her late husband listened to the album before going to bed each night. ♪ each evening from december to december ♪ >> i think that we cannot overstate the impact that not just the president's assassination had on the story but more importantly the fact that jackie kennedy chose to link those two things together. it was as if the idea of camelot, a thing that had been great, that had reached for excellence and then had fallen short was remembered, mourned. >> civilize

smart kids are getting shunted in special ed because they want to do with me or put me in special ed sullivan. i won't mess up their algebra scores, the state tests. now state is different, so not all do that kind of stuff, but some states do. and i'm very, very concerned about skill loss because the visual the person that after stormers wrecked the water system and tore up the electric wires and stuff like that, many like me to put this stuff back together. see, this is where we got big skill a lot. and then. the other problem, once a kid gets a label, the parents are getting so locked into that label. they can't imagine a kid can do anything. i've seen a situation where you got two parents in computer programs. they're in the tech industry. they got eight year old super smart in math and they don't think to teach their kid programing because of locked into the light. see, you get kids that get a label. skills tend to be uneven. good at one thing, terrible at something else. and we need to be building up the thing that they are good at because visual thinkers overgeneralize. you might talk a