September 9: Elvis Presley was first introduced on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1956, after previous appearances in other programs that increased their "rating" with Elvis Presley.

Elvis Presley: First Appearance: The Ed Sullivan Show : September 9, 1956

On September 9, 1956, Presley made his first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show (after previous appearances in programs organized by the Dorsey brothers Milton Berle and Steve Allen) even though Sullivan had previously promised never to allow Presley is present in his program.

Ed Sullivan, never a fan of controversy, had already refused an offer to hire Elvis for $5,000.

Ed Sullivan's comments after the presentation of Elvis in the program of Milton Berle, were clashing with superlative reviews.

Viewers got to see the full Elvis - legs, hips, and all - during the second segment, when he performed the up-tempo Little Richard song 'Ready Teddy' and two verses of 'Hound Dog.' – 

For example, Sullivan said: "I do not know why everyone is hooked with Presley, thought the whole show was filthy and vulgar".

The viewing audience certainly wasn't so offended that it changed the channel. The September 9 Sullivan show reached 82.6 percent of the TV audience, and Steve Allen hadn't even seen fit to offer an alternative; NBC had showed a movie instead.

The Steve Allen Show Elvis introduced on 1 July and defeated Sullivan in the ratings so Carlo Sullivan to have to hire Elvis because he was losing pros.

Elvis Presley:The Ed Sullivan Show: Rehearsals : September 9, 1956. 

Sullivan had a car accident so he had to be replaced by his friend Charles Laughton as host.

Elvis Presley:The Ed Sullivan Show: Rehearsals : September 9, 1956. 

Although Sullivan had said he would focus only Elvis from the waist up, not show hip twists, Laughton stated as full body and that was crazy: More than 60 million viewers watched the show, which once constituted 82.6% of the national rating: The largest audience in television history until then!

Elvis Presley:The Ed Sullivan Show: Rehearsals : September 9, 1956.