Jack Harold Paar (May 1, 1918 - January 27, 2004) was an American radio and television talk show host most noted for his iconic status as host of The Tonight Show.
This was a variety show, hosted by Jack Paar, that had live and filmed interviews with famous people; comedy and musical acts; and home movies of trips Paar took with his wife Miriam and his teenage daughter Randy. Written by J.E. McKillop
On 11 February 1960, Jack Paar tearfully announced that he was walking out on the show. He told a joke the night before about a "water closet" which is an archaic term for a restroom. The joke was considered in bad taste by NBC censors and was edited from the show. Paar protested the edit by leaving the show for one month.
Became host of the Tonight Show in 1957 and quickly view very popular with viewers. So popular, in fact, that the show was renamed "The Jack Paar Show" after only one year of hosting. Paar's trademark was his great ability to engage in conversation with guests that went above and beyond the generic "chat" that other hosts never rose above. He was very emotional and was known to weep on camera at times. Once he walked off the show in a huff when the network censored a joke he made referring to a "water closet". On his program he developed a regular roster of favorite guests including Zsa Zsa Gabor, Cliff Arquette, Genevieve, Hans Conreid, Hermoine Gingold, Genevieve, and Dody Goodman. After five years of hosting, he tired of the routine and switched to a weekly NBC variety series in 1962 that flopped. He next purchased a television station in Poland Springs, Maine, and sold it several years later. In 1973 he signed with ABC to compete with his NBC successor, Johnny Carson, on a limited schedule of one week a month, but failed to garner the acclaim he was once famous for.
