Editing Ed Sullivan (section)

==Later life and death==
[[File:Ed Sullivan Hollywood Walk of Fame.jpg|thumb|Sullivan's star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]]]

In the fall of 1965, CBS began televising its weekly programs in color. Although the Sullivan show was seen live in the [[Central Time Zone|Central]] and [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern time zones]], it was taped for airing in the [[Pacific Time Zone|Pacific]] and [[Mountain Time Zone|Mountain time zones]]. Excerpts have been released on [[home video]], and posted on the official Ed Sullivan Show YouTube Channel.

By 1971, the show's ratings had plummeted. In an effort to refresh the CBS lineup, CBS cancelled the program in March 1971, along with some of its other long-running shows throughout the 1970–1971 season (later known as the [[rural purge]]). Angered, Sullivan refused to host three more months of scheduled shows. They were replaced by special Sullivan episodes with guest hosts until May 1971, followed by reruns until June, with Sullivan taping a final tag in the last episode rerun, announcing the show's departure from its Sunday night slot. He remained with the network in various other capacities and hosted a 25th anniversary special in June 1973.

In early September 1974, Sullivan was diagnosed with an advanced stage of [[esophageal cancer]]. Doctors gave him very little time to live, and the family chose to keep the diagnosis secret from him. Sullivan, a lifelong smoker, believed his ailment to be yet another complication from a long-standing battle with gastric [[ulcer]]s. He died on October 13, 1974, at New York's [[Lenox Hill Hospital]]. His funeral was attended by 2,000 people at [[St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York]], on a cold, rainy day.<ref>{{cite news |title=Beame Leads 2,000 Mourners At Sullivan Rites in St. Patrick's |url=https://nyti.ms/3oPHhZW |access-date=August 2, 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 17, 1974}}</ref> Sullivan is interred in a crypt at the [[Ferncliff Cemetery]] in [[Hartsdale, New York]].<ref name="Liebson">{{cite web |last1=Liebson |first1=Richard |title=Famous people buried or cremated at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale: list |url=https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/2018/07/19/ferncliff-cemetery-famous-people-buried-cremated/801782002/ |date=July 19, 2018 |website=The Journal News |access-date=December 12, 2021}}</ref>

Sullivan has a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] at 6101 Hollywood Blvd. In 1985, Sullivan was welcomed to the [[Television Academy Hall of Fame]].