In the fall of 1965, CBS began televising its weekly programs in color.
Although the Sullivan show was seen live in the Central and Eastern time zones, it was taped for airing in the Pacific and Mountain time zones.
Most of the taped programs, as well as some early kinescopes, were preserved, and excerpts have been released on home video.

By 1971, the show's ratings had plummeted.
In an effort to refresh its lineup, CBS canceled the program in June 1971, along with some of its other longtime shows throughout the 1970–1971 season (later known as the rural purge).
Sullivan was angered and refused to do a final show, although he remained with the network in various other capacities and hosted a 25th anniversary special in June 1973.

In early September 1974, X-rays revealed that Sullivan had an advanced growth of esophageal cancer.
Doctors gave him very little time to live, and the family chose to keep the diagnosis secret from him.
Sullivan, still believing his ailment to be yet another complication from a long-standing battle with gastric ulcers, died five weeks later on October 13, 1974, at New York's Lenox Hill Hospital, two weeks after his 73rd birthday.
His funeral was attended by 3,000 at St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, on a cold, rainy day.
Sullivan is interred in a crypt at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.

Sullivan has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6101 Hollywood Blvd.
In the fall of 1965, CBS began televising its weekly programs in color. Although the Sullivan show was seen live in the Central and Eastern time zones, it was taped for airing in the Pacific and Mountain time zones. Most of the taped programs, as well as some early kinescopes, were preserved, and excerpts have been released on home video.
By 1971, the show's ratings had plummeted. In an effort to refresh its lineup, CBS canceled the program in June 1971, along with some of its other longtime shows throughout the 1970–1971 season (later known as the rural purge). Sullivan was angered and refused to do a final show, although he remained with the network in various other capacities and hosted a 25th anniversary special in June 1973.
In early September 1974, X-rays revealed that Sullivan had an advanced growth of esophageal cancer. Doctors gave him very little time to live, and the family chose to keep the diagnosis secret from him. Sullivan, still believing his ailment to be yet another complication from a long-standing battle with gastric ulcers, died five weeks later on October 13, 1974, at New York's Lenox Hill Hospital, two weeks after his 73rd birthday. His funeral was attended by 3,000 at St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, on a cold, rainy day. Sullivan is interred in a crypt at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.
Sullivan has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6101 Hollywood Blvd.
Ed Sullivan