I Heard Nothing But The Screams

I was notified to go downstairs and get ready to go on. Which I did. I went downstairs and stood in the wings. Somebody had just finished performing, and Sullivan was saying, “And now ladies and gentlemen… creating a sensation everywhere they go… let’s really hear it for the Beatles!” Well, pandemonium broke out. It was nothing but screams. Kids jumping up and down. I had never witnessed that kind of adulation. The Beatles did their numbers, but I didn’t really hear them. I heard nothing but the screams. I was consumed with the idea that they could do this to people–that they could get this kind of reaction.

Then the Beatles finished. When Sullivan came back on the stage, the kids kept screaming–right through his introduction of me! So when I walked on, already I was getting screams. I went through all my bits, and they just kept screaming. I did a routine called “Stars Over Washington.” The premise was that actors were becoming so involved with politics that I could see the day when they’d be running the government. I finished up, and those kids were still screaming.