Profile of Jack Paar on Famous Like Me

Jack Harold Paar (May 1, 1918 – January 27, 2004) was an American radio and television talk show host.

Birth and early career

Born in Canton, Ohio, Paar began his broadcasting career in radio, working first in Cleveland, Ohio and later, throughout the Midwest. During World War II, he was part of a special services company that entertained troops in the South Pacific. After the war, Paar tried his hand at acting and comedy, frequently appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show. It was during an impressive stint as a guest host on Jack Benny's radio show that he caught the attention of NBC officials who eventually offered him his best known role, host of The Tonight Show. Paar was the program's host from 1957 to 1962; after 1959 it was known as The Jack Paar Show.

Controversy

In 1959, he was criticized for his interview with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. Two years later, he broadcasted his show from Berlin just as the Berlin Wall was going up.

Highly emotional

Paar was often emotional and unpredictable; in 1960, a night after one of his jokes had been cut from the broadcast by studio censors, he announced suddenly that he was leaving the show. "I've made a decision about what I'm going to do. I'm leaving The Tonight Show. There must be a better way to make a living than this, a way of entertaining people without being constantly involved in some form of controversy. I love NBC [...] But they let me down." Less than a month later he was convinced to return; on March 7 he opened with the now-famous line, "As I was saying before I was interrupted..."

The joke in question involved a woman writing to a vacation resort and inquiring about the availability of a "W.C." the lady used that term to mean "water closet" (i.e. bathroom), but the gentleman who received the letter misunderstood "W.C." to mean "wayside chapel" (i.e. church). The full text of the joke reveals multiple double entendres that are tame by today's standards, but too much for the network to bear in 1960.

Return after leaving show

He then went on to explain his departure with typical frankness: "Leaving the show was a childish and perhaps emotional thing. I have been guilty of such action in the past and will perhaps be again. I'm totally unable to hide what I feel. It is not an asset in show business, but I shall do the best I can to amuse and entertain you and let other people speak freely, as I have in the past."

Prime time

In 1962 Paar exchanged his late-night slot for a prime-time Friday night show on NBC that lasted for another three years. He made it clear in the last season that he wasn't planning to continue with the show. His last signoff featured him sharing a discussion he had had with his daughter, who insisted on calling his departure a sabbatical. Noting the origins of the term, he said that his own field was, though not completely used up, "a little dry recently." Then he called to his German shepherd from the seats of what was, for once, an empty studio, and walked out. It is generally believed that The Beatles were introduced to American television viewers on the Ed Sullivan Show. But, in fact, they debuted on Paar's prime time hour. The show was significant because of its world view. Besides the Beatles it debuted acts from around the world and also showed films from exotic locations.

Later career

Paar came back for another late-night show in January 1973, on ABC — this time, as one of a group of rotating hosts, one week out of each month. The show, which was in direct competition with Tonight, only lasted for half a year. In 1986, NBC hosted a special featuring Paar, titled Jack Paar Comes Home.

Death

Paar died at his Greenwich, Connecticut home in January 2004, at age 85, with his wife and daughter by his side. He had long been ill, and had suffered a stroke the year before.

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