Jack Paar
Encyclopedia
Jack Harold Paar was an author, American
radio
and television
comedian
and talk show host, best known for his stint as host of The Tonight Show
from 1957 to 1962. Time
magazine's obituary noted that: "His fans would remember him as the fellow who split talk show history into two eras: Before Paar and Below Paar."
, the son of Howard and Lillian M. Paar. He moved with his family to Jackson, Michigan
, 30 miles south of Lansing
, as a child. As a child he had a stuttering problem which he conquered. He contracted tuberculosis when he was 14, and left school at 16.
in Jackson and later as a humorous disc jockey
at Midwest stations, including WJR
in Detroit, WIRE
in Indianapolis, WGAR in Cleveland and WBEN
in Buffalo. In his book P.S. Jack Paar, he recalled doing utility duty at WGAR in 1938 when Orson Welles
broadcast his famous simulated alien invasion, War of the Worlds
over the CBS
network (and affiliate WGAR). Attempting to calm possible panicked listeners, Paar announced, "The world is not coming to an end. Trust me. When have I ever lied to you?"
Paar was drafted into the military during World War II and assigned to the U.S.O in the South Pacific to entertain the troops. He was a clever, wise cracking master of ceremonies whose impersonations of officers nearly got him into trouble.
, who had been impressed by Paar's U.S.O. performances, suggested that Paar serve as his 1947 summer replacement. Paar was enough of a hit on Benny's show that Benny's sponsor, American Tobacco Company
decided to keep him on the air, moving him to ABC
for the fall season. Paar later refused American Tobacco's suggestion that he come up with a weekly running gag or gimmick, saying he "wanted to get away from that kind of old-hat comedy, the kind being practiced by Jack Benny and Fred Allen
." The show was then terminated, earning Paar an enduring image as a spoiled kid (as Dunning phrased it). A profile of Paar by the Museum of Broadcast Communications suggests that Paar later emulated Benny's mannerisms.
Paar also signed as a contract player for Howard Hughes
' RKO Pictures in the immediate post war period, appearing as the emcee in the movie Variety Time (1948), a compilation of vaudeville sketches. He later recalled that RKO producers had trouble figuring out what kind of screen characters he could play, until one of the executives dubbed him, "Kay Kyser
, with warmth." Paar projected a pleasant personality on film, and RKO called him back to emcee another filmed vaudeville show, Footlight Varieties (1951). Paar also appeared in the 1950 film, Walk Softly, Stranger, with Joseph Cotten
. In 1951, he played Marilyn Monroe
's boyfriend in the 20th Century Fox film, Love Nest
.
Paar returned to radio in 1950, hosting the $64 Question for one season, then quitting in a wage dispute in the spring of 1951 after the show's sponsor pulled out and NBC insisted everyone involved take a pay cut. In 1956, he gave radio one more try, hosting a disc jockey effort, The Jack Paar Show, on ABC. Paar once described this show as "so modest we did it from the basement rumpus room of our house in Bronxville."
and hosting two game shows, Up To Paar (1952) and Bank on the Stars (1953), before hosting The Morning Show (1954) on CBS. He guest starred twice in 1958 on Polly Bergen
's short-lived NBC
comedy/variety show, The Polly Bergen Show
.
as host of The Tonight Show. He hosted the program from 1957 to 1962. At first, the show was called Tonight starring Jack Paar; after 1959 it was officially known as The Jack Paar Show. Paar was often unpredictable and emotional. When network censors cut a joke about a "water closet" (the British term for a toilet), on February 11, 1960, he received national attention by leaving the show and did not return until three weeks later. Paar's emotional nature made the everyday routine of putting together a 105-minute program difficult to continue for long. As a TV Guide
item put it, he was "bone tired" of the grind. He signed off the show for the last time on March 29, 1962.
or Paar himself (e.g., several visits with Albert Schweitzer
at his compound in Gabon
in Central Africa
, and Mary Martin
at her home in the jungles of Brazil
).
Paar showed film clips of the Beatles
performing, one month before their famous live appearance on the The Ed Sullivan Show.
During the first half of 1964, a mock feud pitted Paar against the show immediately preceding his program, David Frost
's satire series That Was The Week That Was
. A typical exchange would have That Was the Week That Was "signing off" the NBC Television Network just before the Paar program, with Paar responding that the show immediately preceding his was Henry Morgan
's Amateur Hour (Morgan was a frequent guest on TW3). The feud suddenly evaporated when NBC moved That Was the Week That Was to a different time slot.
Paar's prime time show aired for three years, including guests such as Brother Dave Gardner
, Peter Ustinov
, Lawrence of Arabia's brother, Richard Burton
, Oscar Levant
, Lowell Thomas
, Muhammad Ali
reciting his poetry to piano accompaniment by Liberace
, an occasionally funny Judy Garland
, Jonathan Winters
, Woody Allen
, Bill Cosby
(whose nickname for Paar was "The Boss"), Bette Davis
, Robert Morley
, Cliff Arquette
(as Charlie Weaver), Dick Gregory
and many others. The final closing segment of the series, broadcast on June 25, 1965, featured Paar sitting alone on a stool, sharing a discussion that he had with his daughter Randy, who called Paar's departure a sabbatical. He said that his own field was, though not completely used up, "a little dry recently." Then he called to his German shepherd, who came to him from the seats of what was, for once, an empty studio, and walked out. (Johnny Carson
precisely copied this format for his own farewell episode of The Tonight Show
in 1992.)
Paar continued to appear in occasional specials for the network until 1970.
. Paar claimed it was the most he was willing to appear, and that he would not have appeared at all unless ABC had committed to keeping Dick Cavett
, a former writer for Paar, on the air. Paar's announcer for this series was Peggy Cass
, and perhaps its most notable aspect was the national television debut of comic Freddie Prinze
. Paar stayed on the show, which was in direct competition with Tonight, for one year before he quit. Dissatisfied with the one-week-per-month formula, he complained that even his own mother did not know when he was on. Paar later expressed discomfort with developments in the television media and once said he had trouble interviewing people dressed in "overalls", a reference to young rock acts.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Paar made rare guest appearances on Donahue
, The Tonight Show (hosted by Johnny Carson and Jay Leno
) and Late Night with David Letterman
, as well as Charles Grodin
's CNBC
talk show.
d clips used at the tribute from "Tonight" and from Paar's prime time program, to which he maintained the copyright.
PBS
television devoted an edition of the American Masters
series to Paar's career in 1997, and in 2003 revisited the topic with another hour-long examination of the Paar phenomenon, entitled Smart Television. The program featured clips of Paar with guests including Jonathan Winters, Woody Allen, Judy Garland, Bill Cosby
(in his first network appearance), Peter Ustinov, Richard Burton
, John F. Kennedy
, Robert F. Kennedy
(in his first interview after his brother's assassination), Richard Nixon
, Barry Goldwater
, and many others compiled from the 1950s and 1960s, as well as more recent interviews with people who worked with Paar.
In the spring of 2004, a memorial for Jack Paar was held at The Museum of Television & Radio in New York City. Ron Simon, one of the television and radio curators at the Museum, was host and moderator with appearances and speeches by television talk show host Dick Cavett, TCM host Robert Osborne, and Paar's daughter, Randy.
home on January 27, 2004, with his wife and daughter Randy by his side. He had long been in ill health, having undergone triple-bypass heart surgery
in 1998. He also suffered a stroke a year before he died.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
and talk show host, best known for his stint as host of The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
from 1957 to 1962. Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine's obituary noted that: "His fans would remember him as the fellow who split talk show history into two eras: Before Paar and Below Paar."
Early life and education
Paar was born in Canton, OhioCanton, Ohio
Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, the son of Howard and Lillian M. Paar. He moved with his family to Jackson, Michigan
Jackson, Michigan
Jackson is a city located along Interstate 94 in the south central area of the U.S. state of Michigan, about west of Ann Arbor and south of Lansing. It is the county seat of Jackson County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534...
, 30 miles south of Lansing
Lansing, Michigan
Lansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan...
, as a child. As a child he had a stuttering problem which he conquered. He contracted tuberculosis when he was 14, and left school at 16.
Early career
He first worked near home as a radio announcer at WIBMWIBM
WIBM is an ESPN Radio branded Sports Talk station in Jackson, Michigan. The station broadcasts at 1450 kHz on the AM dial. Jackson Radio Works owns the station along with news/talk WKHM-AM 970 and hot AC WKHM-FM "K105.3"....
in Jackson and later as a humorous disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
at Midwest stations, including WJR
WJR
WJR is a radio station in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It broadcasts a news/talk format. It is a class A clear channel station whose broadcasts can be heard throughout most of the Midwest, eastern United States and Canada at night, making it one of the most powerful radio stations in the...
in Detroit, WIRE
WIRE (FM)
WIRE is a radio station broadcasting an adult contemporary music format. Licensed to Lebanon, Indiana, USA, the station is currently owned by Hoosier Broadcasting Corporation.-History:...
in Indianapolis, WGAR in Cleveland and WBEN
WBEN (AM)
WBEN is an AM and FM radio station serving the Niagara, Buffalo and Western New York area, broadcasting on 930 AM and, as of April 5, 2011, simulcasting on sister station WLKK at 107.7 FM. It previously simulcasted between 1946 and 1960 on 102.5 FM as WBEN-FM. Both stations retained the WBEN...
in Buffalo. In his book P.S. Jack Paar, he recalled doing utility duty at WGAR in 1938 when Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
broadcast his famous simulated alien invasion, War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds (radio)
The War of the Worlds was an episode of the American radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was performed as a Halloween episode of the series on October 30, 1938, and aired over the Columbia Broadcasting System radio network. Directed and narrated by actor and future filmmaker...
over the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
network (and affiliate WGAR). Attempting to calm possible panicked listeners, Paar announced, "The world is not coming to an end. Trust me. When have I ever lied to you?"
Paar was drafted into the military during World War II and assigned to the U.S.O in the South Pacific to entertain the troops. He was a clever, wise cracking master of ceremonies whose impersonations of officers nearly got him into trouble.
Radio and films
After WWII, Paar worked in radio as a fill-in on The Breakfast Club show and appeared as a panelist on the $64 Question. He got his big break when Jack BennyJack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
, who had been impressed by Paar's U.S.O. performances, suggested that Paar serve as his 1947 summer replacement. Paar was enough of a hit on Benny's show that Benny's sponsor, American Tobacco Company
American Tobacco Company
The American Tobacco Company was a tobacco company founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke through a merger between a number of U.S. tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter and Goodwin & Company...
decided to keep him on the air, moving him to ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
for the fall season. Paar later refused American Tobacco's suggestion that he come up with a weekly running gag or gimmick, saying he "wanted to get away from that kind of old-hat comedy, the kind being practiced by Jack Benny and Fred Allen
Fred Allen
Fred Allen was an American comedian whose absurdist, topically pointed radio show made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists in the so-called classic era of American radio.His best-remembered gag was his long-running mock feud with friend and fellow comedian Jack Benny, but it...
." The show was then terminated, earning Paar an enduring image as a spoiled kid (as Dunning phrased it). A profile of Paar by the Museum of Broadcast Communications suggests that Paar later emulated Benny's mannerisms.
Paar also signed as a contract player for Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
' RKO Pictures in the immediate post war period, appearing as the emcee in the movie Variety Time (1948), a compilation of vaudeville sketches. He later recalled that RKO producers had trouble figuring out what kind of screen characters he could play, until one of the executives dubbed him, "Kay Kyser
Kay Kyser
James Kern Kyser was a popular bandleader and radio personality of the 1930s and 1940s.-Early years:He was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, the son of pharmacists Paul Bynum Kyser and Emily Royster Kyser. Editor Vermont C. Royster was his cousin...
, with warmth." Paar projected a pleasant personality on film, and RKO called him back to emcee another filmed vaudeville show, Footlight Varieties (1951). Paar also appeared in the 1950 film, Walk Softly, Stranger, with Joseph Cotten
Joseph Cotten
Joseph Cheshire Cotten was an American actor of stage and film. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original productions of The Philadelphia Story and Sabrina Fair...
. In 1951, he played Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
's boyfriend in the 20th Century Fox film, Love Nest
Love Nest
Love Nest is a 1951 comedy-drama film, directed by Joseph Newman, and starring June Haver, William Lundigan, Frank Fay, Marilyn Monroe, and Jack Paar.The post-World War II comedy features an early supporting role for Monroe...
.
Paar returned to radio in 1950, hosting the $64 Question for one season, then quitting in a wage dispute in the spring of 1951 after the show's sponsor pulled out and NBC insisted everyone involved take a pay cut. In 1956, he gave radio one more try, hosting a disc jockey effort, The Jack Paar Show, on ABC. Paar once described this show as "so modest we did it from the basement rumpus room of our house in Bronxville."
Television
He got his first tastes of television in the early 1950s, appearing as a comic on The Ed Sullivan ShowThe Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
and hosting two game shows, Up To Paar (1952) and Bank on the Stars (1953), before hosting The Morning Show (1954) on CBS. He guest starred twice in 1958 on Polly Bergen
Polly Bergen
Polly Bergen is an American actress, singer, and entrepreneur.-Career:Bergen appeared in many film roles, most notably in the original Cape Fear opposite Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum...
's short-lived NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
comedy/variety show, The Polly Bergen Show
The Polly Bergen Show
The Polly Bergen Show is a half-hour 18-episode comedy/variety show, starring then 27-year-old Polly Bergen, which aired on NBC in the 1957-1958 television season. The program is remembered for its impressive guest-star lineup as well as its closing theme song, "The Party's Over" .The Polly Bergen...
.
The Tonight Show
NBC asked Paar to succeed Steve AllenSteve Allen
Steve Allen may refer to:*Steve Allen , American musician, comedian, and writer*Steve Allen , presenter on the London-based talk radio station LBC 97.3...
as host of The Tonight Show. He hosted the program from 1957 to 1962. At first, the show was called Tonight starring Jack Paar; after 1959 it was officially known as The Jack Paar Show. Paar was often unpredictable and emotional. When network censors cut a joke about a "water closet" (the British term for a toilet), on February 11, 1960, he received national attention by leaving the show and did not return until three weeks later. Paar's emotional nature made the everyday routine of putting together a 105-minute program difficult to continue for long. As a TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
item put it, he was "bone tired" of the grind. He signed off the show for the last time on March 29, 1962.
Prime time
Because NBC did not want to lose Paar to another network, it offered him a Friday prime-time hour, giving him carte blanche on content and format. Paar agreed, deciding on a variation of his late-night format and titling his show, which first aired in the fall of 1962, The Jack Paar Program. The show had a world view, debuting acts from around the globe and showing films from exotic locations; most of the films were made on travels made by guests such as Arthur GodfreyArthur Godfrey
Arthur Morton Godfrey was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname, The Old Redhead...
or Paar himself (e.g., several visits with Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer OM was a German theologian, organist, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary. He was born in Kaysersberg in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, at that time part of the German Empire...
at his compound in Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
in Central Africa
Central Africa
Central Africa is a core region of the African continent which includes Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....
, and Mary Martin
Mary Martin
Mary Virginia Martin was an American actress and singer. She originated many roles over her career including Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Maria in The Sound of Music. She was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1989...
at her home in the jungles of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
).
Paar showed film clips of the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
performing, one month before their famous live appearance on the The Ed Sullivan Show.
During the first half of 1964, a mock feud pitted Paar against the show immediately preceding his program, David Frost
David Frost
Sir David Frost is a British broadcaster.David Frost may also refer to:*David Frost , South African golfer*David Frost , classical record producer*David Frost *Dave Frost, baseball pitcher...
's satire series That Was The Week That Was
That Was The Week That Was
That Was The Week That Was, also known as TW3, is a satirical television comedy programme that was shown on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced and directed by Ned Sherrin and presented by David Frost...
. A typical exchange would have That Was the Week That Was "signing off" the NBC Television Network just before the Paar program, with Paar responding that the show immediately preceding his was Henry Morgan
Henry Morgan (comedian)
Henry Morgan was an American humorist. He is remembered best in two modern media: radio, on which he first became familiar as a barbed but often self-deprecating satirist, and on television, where he was a regular and cantankerous panelist for the game show I've Got a Secret...
's Amateur Hour (Morgan was a frequent guest on TW3). The feud suddenly evaporated when NBC moved That Was the Week That Was to a different time slot.
Paar's prime time show aired for three years, including guests such as Brother Dave Gardner
Brother Dave Gardner
David Gardner , known as Brother Dave Gardner, was a U.S. comedian and singer.A Tennessee native, Gardner studied drumming, beginning at age 13. After a one-semester term as a Southern Baptist ministerial student at Union University in his hometown of Jackson, Tennessee, he began a musical career...
, Peter Ustinov
Peter Ustinov
Peter Alexander Ustinov CBE was an English actor, writer and dramatist. He was also renowned as a filmmaker, theatre and opera director, stage designer, author, screenwriter, comedian, humourist, newspaper and magazine columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter...
, Lawrence of Arabia's brother, Richard Burton
Richard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
, Oscar Levant
Oscar Levant
Oscar Levant was an American pianist, composer, author, comedian, and actor. He was more famous for his mordant character and witticisms, on the radio and in movies and television, than for his music.-Life and career:...
, Lowell Thomas
Lowell Thomas
Lowell Jackson Thomas was an American writer, broadcaster, and traveler, best known as the man who made Lawrence of Arabia famous...
, Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
reciting his poetry to piano accompaniment by Liberace
Liberace
Wladziu Valentino Liberace , best known simply as Liberace, was a famous American pianist and vocalist.In a career that spanned four decades of concerts, recordings, motion pictures, television and endorsements, Liberace became world-renowned...
, an occasionally funny Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
, Jonathan Winters
Jonathan Winters
-Early life:Winters was born in Bellbrook, Ohio, the son of Alice Kilgore , a radio personality, and Jonathan Harshman Winters II, an investment broker. He is a descendant of Valentine Winters, founder of the Winters National Bank in Dayton, Ohio...
, Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
, Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
(whose nickname for Paar was "The Boss"), Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
, Robert Morley
Robert Morley
Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE was an English actor who, often in supporting roles, was usually cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment...
, Cliff Arquette
Cliff Arquette
Clifford Charles Arquette was an actor and comedian, famous for his role as Charley Weaver.-Early life and career:...
(as Charlie Weaver), Dick Gregory
Dick Gregory
Richard Claxton "Dick" Gregory is an American comedian, social activist, social critic, writer, and entrepreneur....
and many others. The final closing segment of the series, broadcast on June 25, 1965, featured Paar sitting alone on a stool, sharing a discussion that he had with his daughter Randy, who called Paar's departure a sabbatical. He said that his own field was, though not completely used up, "a little dry recently." Then he called to his German shepherd, who came to him from the seats of what was, for once, an empty studio, and walked out. (Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
precisely copied this format for his own farewell episode of The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
in 1992.)
Paar continued to appear in occasional specials for the network until 1970.
Later career
Paar came back to television on a regular basis beginning in January 1973, appearing one week a month as one of several rotating hosts on ABC's Wide World of EntertainmentABC's Wide World of Entertainment
ABC's Wide World of Entertainment is a late night block of programs created by the American Broadcasting Company. It premiered on January 8, 1973 and ended three years later.-Program schedule:...
. Paar claimed it was the most he was willing to appear, and that he would not have appeared at all unless ABC had committed to keeping Dick Cavett
Dick Cavett
Richard Alva "Dick" Cavett is a former American television talk show host known for his conversational style and in-depth discussion of issues...
, a former writer for Paar, on the air. Paar's announcer for this series was Peggy Cass
Peggy Cass
Mary Margaret “Peggy” Cass was an American actress, comedian, game show panelist, and announcer.A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Cass became interested in acting as a member of the drama club at Cambridge Latin School; however, she attended all of high school without a speaking part...
, and perhaps its most notable aspect was the national television debut of comic Freddie Prinze
Freddie Prinze
Freddie Prinze was an American actor and stand-up comedian. He was known as the star of Chico and the Man. He is the father of actor Freddie Prinze, Jr.-Early life:...
. Paar stayed on the show, which was in direct competition with Tonight, for one year before he quit. Dissatisfied with the one-week-per-month formula, he complained that even his own mother did not know when he was on. Paar later expressed discomfort with developments in the television media and once said he had trouble interviewing people dressed in "overalls", a reference to young rock acts.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Paar made rare guest appearances on Donahue
The Phil Donahue Show
The Phil Donahue Show, also known as Donahue, is an American television talk show that ran for 26 years on national television. Its run was preceded by three years of local broadcast in Dayton, Ohio, and it was broadcast nationwide between 1967 and 1996.In 2002, Donahue was ranked #29 on TV Guide's...
, The Tonight Show (hosted by Johnny Carson and Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
) and Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
, as well as Charles Grodin
Charles Grodin
Charles Grodin is an American actor, comedian, author and former cable talk show host. Grodin began his acting career in the 1960s appearing in TV serials including The Virginian. He had a small part as an obstetrician in Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby in 1968...
's CNBC
CNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
talk show.
Retrospectives
In 1984, Paar came out of retirement once again for the Museum of Broadcasting's "Tribute to Jack Paar", produced by Kevin Doherty, making two live appearances in New York. This lead to a 1986 NBC special featuring Paar, titled Jack Paar Comes Home. The following year, a second special, Jack Paar Is Alive and Well, was broadcast by the network. Both of these specials were largely made up of kinescopeKinescope
Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program made by filming the picture from a video monitor...
d clips used at the tribute from "Tonight" and from Paar's prime time program, to which he maintained the copyright.
PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
television devoted an edition of the American Masters
American Masters
American Masters is a PBS television show which produces biographies on the artists, actors and writers of the United States who have left a profound impact on the nation's popular culture. It is produced by WNET in New York City...
series to Paar's career in 1997, and in 2003 revisited the topic with another hour-long examination of the Paar phenomenon, entitled Smart Television. The program featured clips of Paar with guests including Jonathan Winters, Woody Allen, Judy Garland, Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
(in his first network appearance), Peter Ustinov, Richard Burton
Richard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
, John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
(in his first interview after his brother's assassination), Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
, and many others compiled from the 1950s and 1960s, as well as more recent interviews with people who worked with Paar.
In the spring of 2004, a memorial for Jack Paar was held at The Museum of Television & Radio in New York City. Ron Simon, one of the television and radio curators at the Museum, was host and moderator with appearances and speeches by television talk show host Dick Cavett, TCM host Robert Osborne, and Paar's daughter, Randy.
Awards
Paar was nominated for an Emmy for Best Performance by a Continuing Character in a Musical or Variety Series in 1951, and again nominated in 1958 for an Emmy for Best Continuing Performance in a Series by a Comedian, Singer, Host, Dancer, M.C., Announcer, Narrator, or Panelist.Personal life
Paar was twice married to his first wife Irene Paar. After divorcing, the couple remarried, only to divorce again. Paar was married to his second wife, Miriam Wagner, for nearly 61 years - from 1943 until his death in 2004. Miriam appeared on Paar's 1956–1957 ABC radio show, with their daughter.Death
Paar's health declined in the late 1990s. He died at his Greenwich, ConnecticutGreenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...
home on January 27, 2004, with his wife and daughter Randy by his side. He had long been in ill health, having undergone triple-bypass heart surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
in 1998. He also suffered a stroke a year before he died.