Today in History: Monday, June 20, 2021

Television:
“Toast of the Town,” the original title of legendary “The Ed Sullivan Show,” debuted on CBS in 1948. The first episode featured Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein II, concert pianist Eugene List, and the six original June Taylor Dancers (then called the Toastettes). For more on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” click here.…In 1966, The U.S. Open golf tournament was broadcast in color for the first time…NBC summer replacement variety series, “Dean Martin Presents” (or, more specifically, “Dean Martin Presents the Golddiggers”) launched in 1968.

News:
Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel was murdered in Beverly Hills, California, at the order of mob associates angered over the soaring costs of his project, the Flamingo resort in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1947…Muhammad Ali was convicted in Houston of violating Selective Service laws by refusing to be drafted in 1967. The U.S. Supreme Court later overturned the conviction.

Celebrity Birthdays: 
Brian Wilson from The Beach Boys is 79; pop singer Anne Murray is 76; R&B singer Lionel Richie is 72; “Roseanne” star John Goodman is 69; Oscar winner Nicole Kidman is 54.

-Did You Know?:
It was a “Really Big Shew!” The list of performers on “The Ed Sullivan Show” over the course of the variety hour included Elvis Presley, The Jackson 5, The Supremes, The Beach Boys, The Dave Clark Five, Janis Joplin, The Rolling Stones, The Mamas & the Papas, The Lovin’ Spoonful, The Doors, Herman’s Hermits and, of course, The Beatles. For more on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” click here