Jack Paar

Before Jay Leno and, even before, Johnny Carson, "The Tonight Show" made itself a household name because of its host, Jack Paar. Paar hosted The Tonight Show, which was later re-named The Jack Paar Show, from 1957-1962. This week, Paar said goodnight for the final time, dying at age 85, with his wife, Miriam and daughter Randy, by his side. Paar is accredited with developing the late-night-show format that is used today, complete with the sofa and desk fixtures on the set. Regular guests included celebrity gossiper, Elsa Maxwell and national political figures like Robert F. Kennedy, Richard M. Nixon and Barry M. Goldwater.

William Grimes, a New York Times reporter, stated, "Mr. Paar had an anarchic streak that inspired him to pair guests like Liberace and Cassius Clay or Jayne Mansfield and Zsa Zsa Gabor or to get in the ring with a professional wrestler or to shuffle the cue cards in the middle of a Robert Goulet and Judy Garland duet."

Paar's couch on the set also became a launching pad for careers such as Bill Cosby, Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Carol Burnett, Woody Allen, the Smothers Brothers and Godfrey Cambridge.

Paar once complained about not getting recognition for "discovering" the Beatles, "Everyone thinks Ed Sullivan discovered the Beatles, that's not true. I had them on before he did. I did it because I thought they were funny, not because I liked the music. I'm a muzak kind of guy - my home's like living in an elevator." Paar's sudden departure from "The Late Show" in 1962 puzzled many Americans. The show was at its popularity peak, watched by over seven million Americans every night. This marked the second time Paar had left the show, two years earlier, after NBC censored a joke that included the letters W.C., for water closet. Tearful and angry, he looked straight into the camera and said: "I am leaving the Tonight Show. There must be a better way of making a living than this." Three weeks later, he was back, proclaiming, "As I was saying before I was interrupted..." Paar was succeeded by Johnny Carson as the host of The Tonight Show. Paar once joked that he never should have given the show to Carson, "I should have rented it or married him."

Some say David Letterman and Jay Leno have nothing on Paar's ability to bring in guests, make them comfortable and keep them talking. One thing is for sure, whether it is Letterman or Leno, or those who succeed them, none will ever be up to Paar.