Wednesday, January 25, 2017

#1 Ed Sullivan

Mack and Peggy MacDonald's regular appearance on the Sullivan Show with "Opal" was established long before we joined Polack Bros. Circus.
Here are a few clips from one of our later visits there.
It was a ....."Really Big Shoo!

Posted by Buckles at 1/25/2017 06:52:00 AM

12 comments:

Chic Silber said...


Any idea what year this was ?

25 January, 2017 09:26
Bardon said...

Back in the day, I imagine the appearance was well received and applauded. Must have been a pretty big thrill for all of you.

25 January, 2017 11:18
Bob Momyer said...

There were plenty of variety shows on TV that featured animal acts that had audience approval without all the commotion from animal rights groups who should find better use for their time and energy. We are fortunate who remember those days.

25 January, 2017 12:13
Buckles said...

Pretty sure this was 1966,,,,,,a long time ago!

25 January, 2017 12:47
Chic Silber said...


Herta Klauser has a funny

story from an Ed Sullivan

appearance when 2 of her 3

bears ran offstage maybe

with John Cuneo chasing

them & leaving her with

only 1 to finish the act

25 January, 2017 14:29
BARBARA WOODCOCK said...

That was the first time that we did the Ed Sullivan Show. They were in the process of turning the show into color, as their show was black & white. They were not in their own building. And this is where I get mixed up. I am sure that Chic would know. Either the temporary building that we were showing in at that time ( 1965 ) was " Studio 54." Or the regular building that they showed in ( that was being switched to color ) was the " Studio 54." I just don't recall which way it went. Do you know Chic ? Or anyone else know. I know that " Studio 54 " was in there some place. But we made The Ed Sullivan Show two or three more times. So how ever it works itself out we did do "Studio 54." We also did "Hollywood Palace," & "Circus Of the Stars." And we did that one a few times. Dorothy Hamill Did the act with us one time, She was a dream to work with. She did the act in one shot and she said can't we do that again? That was fun. Then another time Gil Gerard & his wife Connie Sellecca did the two acts that Ben was working at that time. It was the three act, and the Anna May act. And Ben taught them the acts for real. Gill was great. He even bruised a rib doing the run up Anna May's back. He was on Merv Griffin's Show talking about it and said it was NOT Anna May's fault. It was his timing was off. And Ben told us Connie only had one leg carry left in her for she was bruised pretty bad. ( she was so thin, not much leg for AM to hold) And Ben said that Connie only had one whirl left in her, as her shoulder was coming out of place. But she was game. When the show went on they did it all. No pretending they really did it all. They would fly in to where ever Ben was to practice. Much to be admired there, as they were not easy acts. And if any one remembers they started out with elephant blankets on. But then they stopped the film and took the blankets off. BUT WHEN YOU ARE WATCHING THE ACT IT DIDN'T LOOK LIKE THEY STOPPED. So later some acts tried to copy it and a few elephant hands got hurt as the elephants just ran right over them.....Barbara....

25 January, 2017 20:46
Chic Silber said...


The theater you performed in

during any or all of the 60s

has a lengthy history since

it opened in the mid 20s as

the Gallo Opera House on 54th

Street just West of Broadway

CBS bought it in 43 & named

it Studio 52 which became a

primary radio & television

facility until the mid 70s

when they relocated to the

theater on 52nd Street now

known as The Ed Sullivan

& used the title Studio 52

The joint on 54th Street

became an famous nightclub

Steve Rubell & Ian Shrager

ran "Studio 54" on & off

through most of the 80s

After a few odd attempted

concert venues the theater

was sold to the Roundabout

Theater Company & returned

it to a legitimate theater

& it remains so today

26 January, 2017 09:05
Chic Silber said...


A favorite memory game played by

crusty old Broadway Stagehands like

myself is "what theater was that"

No money changes hands unlike the

upcoming high stakes Superbowl pool

26 January, 2017 09:11
Chic Silber said...


I've been corrected (& humbled)

The Current Ed Sullivan Theater

was bought by CBS after a long

lease from 1936 until the late

40s when it was a radio facility

It was retitled Studio 50 when

they converted it for TV in 1950

& the converted for color in 65

(as you mentioned before Barbara)

In 1967 it was renamed Ed Sullivan

& remains so to this day

26 January, 2017 10:33
Chic Silber said...


This theater also had a long

& interesting history from

1927 when it opened as the

Oscar Hammerstein's Theater

It is on the corner of 53rd

Street & Broadway & had many

incarnations over the years

26 January, 2017 10:38
Billie Lou Henderson said...

All I know is that Peggy and Mack always shared a dressing room. So they dressed in the basement! Once in a while the stage manager (or whatever they were called) gave them a hard time, but it was always soon straightened out. They played there once or twice every year from 1954 to 1964. Mack incurred Sullivan's displeasure early on when he refused to dress as Santa Clause for the Christmas show. Sort of set the tone for the next ten years. I have videos of seven performances which I guess is all they have. Mostly of Peggy and Opal, once of Mack and Opal and once of the two of them with Opal and Kay. As Barbara said the show was black and white, and the music was not circus. Always the same. Pretty much what Sullivan wanted at the time.

26 January, 2017 11:42
Billie Lou Henderson said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
26 January, 2017 11:43

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