On this day in ’74, television host Ed Sullivan passed away in New York at the age of 73. The Ed Sullivan Show ran for a total of 23 years, from 1948 to 1971, on CBS every Sunday night at 8PM, making it one of the longest-running variety shows in TV history. He also made TV history with the first live American appearance of The Beatles, on February 9th, 1964, drawing in over 73 million viewers.