In June 1956, NBC offered Allen a new prime-time, Sunday night variety hour, "The Steve Allen Show". NBC's goal was to dethrone CBS's top-rated "The Ed Sullivan Show". The show included a typical run of star performers, including early television appearances by rock and roll pioneers Frank Zappa, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Fats Domino. Many popular television and film personalities were guest stars, including Bob Hope, Kim Novak, Errol Flynn, Abbott and Costello, Esther Williams, Jerry Lewis, Martha Raye, the Three Stooges, and a host of others.