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Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan

Original title: Sunday Best
  • 2025
  • TV-14
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
Ed Sullivan in Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan (2025)
BiographyDocumentaryHistory

Ed Sullivan broke barriers by booking Black artists on his Sunday night variety show. This documentary spotlights the TV pioneer's legacy of equality.Ed Sullivan broke barriers by booking Black artists on his Sunday night variety show. This documentary spotlights the TV pioneer's legacy of equality.Ed Sullivan broke barriers by booking Black artists on his Sunday night variety show. This documentary spotlights the TV pioneer's legacy of equality.

  • Director
    • Sacha Jenkins
  • Stars
    • Ed Sullivan
    • Louis Armstrong
    • Peg Leg Bates
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.8/10
    1.1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Sacha Jenkins
    • Stars
      • Ed Sullivan
      • Louis Armstrong
      • Peg Leg Bates
    • 21User reviews
    • 13Critic reviews
    • 83Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos7

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    Top Cast52

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    Ed Sullivan
    Ed Sullivan
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Louis Armstrong
    Louis Armstrong
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Peg Leg Bates
    Peg Leg Bates
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    The Beatles
    The Beatles
    • Themselves
    • (archive footage)
    Harry Belafonte
    Harry Belafonte
    • Self
    James Brown
    James Brown
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Cab Calloway
    Cab Calloway
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Diahann Carroll
    Diahann Carroll
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Johnny Carson
    Johnny Carson
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Ray Charles
    Ray Charles
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Chubby Checker
    Chubby Checker
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Nat 'King' Cole
    Nat 'King' Cole
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Walter Cronkite
    Walter Cronkite
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Sammy Davis Jr.
    Sammy Davis Jr.
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Bo Diddley
    Bo Diddley
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Ella Fitzgerald
    Ella Fitzgerald
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    David Frost
    David Frost
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Berry Gordy
    Berry Gordy
    • Self
    • Director
      • Sacha Jenkins
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews21

    7.81K
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    Featured reviews

    7SurferDude68

    You go Ed

    What a great tribute to Ed Sullivan as well as all of the Black artists. I remember watching Ed his last few years and he had a lot of guests that were singers as well as dancers, acrobats, comedians and everything else you can image. I had no idea he was such a champion for the colored artists and that he hand picked every act! It's safe to say that many of the colored artists in the 60's owe Ed their careers.

    Barry Gordy Jr and Motown was especially appreciative.

    I knew a little about his back ground, getting started as a sports writer and columnist and then moving up the ladder and finally getting chosen by CBS to be the host of his own show and changing the way we spent Sunday nights..
    10zconkerite

    The Very Best!

    As a child, I was raised on the Ed Sullivan Show and it was because of his many Black guests and artists that I realized that I was Black. With only the "Amos and Andy" representation on national television, which I could not relate to and my being light-skin, I thought I was white even though my family represented many cultures and races. Programmed to believe that Black folks did not have nor deserve a presence in this country, Ed Sullivan did something about it. "Leave It To Beaver" was not my brother. "Donna Reed Show" was not my mother. To be brave enough in spite of the naysayers, he accomplished what many were afraid to. Music heals and music, much like a buffet, offered us a variety of complex emotions to just plain feel good vibes. It's all documented in this documentary. I only wish Ed was alive to see this. Thumbs up to this production and its crew.
    10VickieJ-75

    Absolutely amazing!

    This documentary should definitely be a 10/10! It never ceases to amaze me to see how the power of GOOD music can bring people together...a nation together! Thanks to Mr. Sullivan, the nation experienced the power of music of various genres by Black Americans, loved by people of all races and backgrounds. Beautiful!
    10sherrio-8

    Fabulous for everyone in the family !

    Loved this!!! Beautiful , entertaining, interesting and rich with history and talent ! A must see especially for younger folks who might not know who Ed Sullivan was. Thank you to Netflix for offering a masterpiece that we can watch with our children. Kudos to the producer Margo Speciale for sharing this story with the world!
    8masonfisk

    AH THE GOOD OL' DAYS...!

    A 2023 Netflix documentary about the great host & entertainer, Ed Sullivan. Tracing his roots from being a sports journalist to eventually hosting his own program which went off the air in 1973, the doc argues the case, w/talking head support from the likes of Harry Belafonte, some of the Jackson 5, Smokey Robinson & Motown head Berry Gordy, that Sullivan was quite instrumental in getting talent of color on the air when other outlets wouldn't do so. Showcasing early footage from our beloved Balck performers in their heyday, we get a sense of the pressure Sullivan was under (one car manufacturer threatened to pull their support from his show if he didn't change course) but possibly knowing he was doing God's work, he pushed ahead & we're the richer for it. If the performance samplings doesn't put a spring in your step, you may have to get your pulse checked.

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    Related interests

    Ben Kingsley, Rohini Hattangadi, and Geraldine James in Gandhi (1982)
    Biography
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    Documentary
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    History

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Sunday Best producer Margo Precht Speciale is also the granddaughter of legendary TV host Ed Sullivan.
    • Connections
      Featured in BriouxTV: The Podcast: Ed Sullivan doc producer Margo Precht Speciale (2025)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 7, 2025 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Website
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Sunday Best
    • Production companies
      • Delirio Films
      • Diamond Docs
      • MPS Legacy Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 30m(90 min)
    • Color
      • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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