Great Deadline article discussing the prolific careers and similarities between Ed Sullivan and David Letterman.

Excerpt:

“While we’re all thanking David Letterman for tossing the genteelTonight Show mold and recasting post-primetime comedy in his own rebellious image, here is a heresy worth considering: Letterman’s debt to Ed Sullivan goes way beyond just the name of the theater in which he’s hosted Late Night since August 30, 1993. It was Sullivan, after all, who could showcase prima diva Joan Sutherland and puppet Topo Gigio on the same night; Sullivan who, despite his own conservatism, embraced the winds of change by bringing Elvis Presley and the Beatles, not to mention George Carlin, Richard Pryor and Señor Wences into the national spotlight along with Richard Burton singing the title song from Camelot.”

Full Link:

http://deadline.com/2015/05/david-letterman-johnny-carson-new-york-city-1201430250/