With the 50th Anniversary of the Beatles invasion commemorating the appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday, February 9th, 1964 the personal memories come flooding to my head. It was a household family tradition of togetherness to watch Sullivan’s 8 P.M. CBS show and his special way of spotlighting guests. My father, Earl Turner was born on Feb. 7, 1918 and in 1964 his birthday also fell on a Friday as it does this year, 2014
. My dad loved variety and musical television hosts like Gary Moore, Mitch Miller and Sullivan. His favorite broadcasts featured the standup comedians like George Burns, Alan King, Carol Burnett, Jonathan Winters and Bob Newhart. As soon as an LP was released by any of these performers he’d be the first to buy it. He never missed a chance to take me to see live performances of Gary Moore, Danny Kaye and Martin and Lewis. When Alan King came to our family bookstore, Under Cover Books, it was one of the highlights of my dad's bookselling career.
. My dad loved variety and musical television hosts like Gary Moore, Mitch Miller and Sullivan. His favorite broadcasts featured the standup comedians like George Burns, Alan King, Carol Burnett, Jonathan Winters and Bob Newhart. As soon as an LP was released by any of these performers he’d be the first to buy it. He never missed a chance to take me to see live performances of Gary Moore, Danny Kaye and Martin and Lewis. When Alan King came to our family bookstore, Under Cover Books, it was one of the highlights of my dad's bookselling career.
We counted on watching Ed Sullivan every Sunday, always a perfect night to complete the weekend and not worry about homework. In 1964, when I appeared in the chorus of the musical show, BYE BYE BIRDIE, the fact that Conrad Birdie was to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show made sense to all of us teenagers who personally knew the significance and national popularity of the show.
When the Beatles made their first appearance at Cleveland’s Public Hall in September 1964, I skipped school to wear my Lennon cap, a Chesterfield overcoat to camp outside at Public Square in Downtown Cleveland. They were staying on the square at the Sheraton Hotel and George, Paul, John and Ringo waved to the crowd through the windows of their presidential suite and press conference room.
I went to the concert with friends Barbara Turner and Sharon Oscar and our seats on the floor made it difficult to see the stage. We liked the songs of Jackie DeShannon but the anxiety was building to see the Fab Four. Everyone stood on their seats and during ALL MY LOVING, the police were concerned that some of the fans were about to storm the stage and others could be trampled. They stopped the concert and brought down a metal curtain, which was a first for the Beatles. Frustrated, we cried and booed for the next ten minutes. But Brian Epstein, although upset, conceded that the police were concerned with the safety of the performers as well as the young audience members. The concert started up again and although I recall hearing nothing but screaming, it was a special experience to be in the audience on that night. And I suppose carried on my father’s tradition of being present for memorable events.
His days as a kid working as a "go to" boy backstage at the Palace Theatre allowed him to meet all the performers on the Keith Vaudeville circuit. Once when we were in NYC we saw Ray Bolger at our hotel and Earl went up to him and introduced me to him. Same also when we were visiting the Fairmount Hotel in New Orleans and crashed a special dinner for Alice Faye and Phil Harris. Although my dad never appeared in any acts, as an enormous fan, he always felt an important part of the entertainment industry.
