<P> In September 1965 , CBS started televising the program in compatible color , as all three major networks began to switch to 100 percent color prime time schedules . CBS had once backed its own color system , developed by Peter Goldmark , and resisted using RCA 's compatible process until 1954 . At that time , it built its first New York City color TV studio , Studio 72 , in a former RKO movie theater at 2248 Broadway ( 81st Street ) . One Ed Sullivan Show was broadcast on August 22 , 1954 , from the new studio , but it was mostly used for one - time - only specials such as Rodgers and Hammerstein 's March 31 , 1957 Cinderella . ( The facility was later acquired by TeleTape Productions and notably became the first studio where the PBS children 's program Sesame Street was produced . ) CBS Studio 72 was demolished in 1986 and replaced by an apartment house . CBS Studio 50 was finally `` colorized '' in 1965 . The 1965 -- 66 season premiere starred the Beatles in an episode airing on September 12 , which was the last episode to air in black and white . This occurred because the episode was taped at the Beatles ' convenience on August 14 , the eve of their Shea Stadium performance and a two - week tour of North America , slightly before the program was ready for color transmission . </P>
<P> In September 1965 , CBS started televising the program in compatible color , as all three major networks began to switch to 100 percent color prime time schedules . CBS had once backed its own color system , developed by Peter Goldmark , and resisted using RCA 's compatible process until 1954 . At that time , it built its first New York City color TV studio , Studio 72 , in a former RKO movie theater at 2248 Broadway ( 81st Street ) . One Ed Sullivan Show was broadcast on August 22 , 1954 , from the new studio , but it was mostly used for one - time - only specials such as Rodgers and Hammerstein 's March 31 , 1957 Cinderella . ( The facility was later acquired by TeleTape Productions and notably became the first studio where the PBS children 's program Sesame Street was produced . ) CBS Studio 72 was demolished in 1986 and replaced by an apartment house . CBS Studio 50 was finally `` colorized '' in 1965 . The 1965 -- 66 season premiere starred the Beatles in an episode airing on September 12 , which was the last episode to air in black and white . This occurred because the episode was taped at the Beatles ' convenience on August 14 , the eve of their Shea Stadium performance and a two - week tour of North America , slightly before the program was ready for color transmission . </P>
when did the beatles first appear on ed sullivan
when did the beatles first appear on ed sullivan
September 1965
September 1965