From Wikepedia: On September 9, 1956, Presley made his first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show (after earlier appearances on shows hosted by the Dorsey Brothers and Steve Allen) even though Sullivan had previously vowed never to allow the performer on his show. At the time Presley was filming Love Me Tender so Sullivan's producer Marlo Lewis flew to Los Angeles, California to supervise the Hollywood side of the show taping. Sullivan, however, was not able to host his show in New York City because he was recovering from a near fatal automobile accident. Oscar-winner Charles Laughton guest-hosted in Sullivan's place. Laughton appears in front of plaques with gold records and states, "These gold records, four of them... are a tribute to the fact that four of his recordings have sold, each sold, more than a million copies. And this by the way is the first time in record making history that a singer has hit such a mark in such a short time. ... And now, away to Hollywood to meet Elvis Presley".

Once on camera, Elvis cleared his throat and said, “Thank you Mr Laughton, ladies and gentlemen. Wow”, and wiped his brow. “This is probably the greatest honor I’ve ever had in my life. Ah. There’s not much I can say except, it really makes you feel good. We want to thank you from the bottom of our heart. And now.." Don't Be Cruel, which was, after a short introduction by Elvis, followed by Love Me Tender. Elvis's second set in the show consisted of "Ready Teddy" and a short on air comment to Sullivan, “Ah, Mr Sullivan. We know that somewhere out there you are looking in, and, ah, all the boys and myself, and everybody out here, are looking forward to seeing you back on television.” Next, Elvis declares, “Friends, as a great philosopher once said, “You ain’t nothin’ but a Hound Dog...”, as he launches into a short (1:07) version of the song. ^[1] The show was viewed by a record 60 million people which at the time was 82.6% of the television audience and the largest single audience in television history.