Jack Paar

American TV personality, comedian, singer, conversationalist and Tonight Show host from 1957-62. He was nominated for five Emmys and was honored by the Los Angeles Museum of Broadcasting 3/14/1991. Quitting school after the tenth grade at age 16, Paar began working as a radio announcer in the Midwest. He entertained the troops with service shows in the South Pacific during World War II and later had some minor movie roles. Hosting a series of radio and television shows, the mercurial comedian impressed people with his knowledge and ability to converse. He cries very easily and was always known as a whiner. An avid reader, well informed and well traveled, on a crusade for quality, he was able to go head-to-head with anyone, including gossip columnists. His public feuds with Walter Winchell and Ed Sullivan made headlines. Paar introduced Liza Minnelli and Bill Cosby to audiences, John and Robert Kennedy and Richard Nixon, who played the piano, were also on his show. A Republican, he was one of the first people to interview Fidel Castro after Castro overthrew the Cuban government. The show was such a great hit that from 1958-62 it was known as "The Jack Paar Show" reverting back to "The Tonight Show" only after Paar hand picked Johnny Carson as his replacement. For five years, Paar ruled the airwaves of late night, that is until 2/10/1960, when NBC censored one of his jokes. The next day he gave an angry three minute tirade on the air, saying his freedom of speech was being affected and walked off the show. A month later, Paar reconciled with NBC, both giving in a little and he returned to the air to a 79-second ovation. He resumed the show for two years, but was left with the reputation of being a hot-head. He purchased a local Maryland TV station and returned only briefly with a weekly TV show in 1973. On 11/29/1986 Paar hosted his TV special, "Jack Paar Comes Home," with vintage kinescope clips of some of his favorite guests. Paar ended his program in 1965, claiming that he had burned out from "the pressure of nine hours a week trying to amuse people for very little money." Always the sophisticate, Paar was happy with his ten year old Rolls-Royce in 1991. Paar lives in Greenwich, CT with his wife Miriam. They have a grandson born 1984. He has male pattern baldness which he covered with a small toupee during his years on TV. Between fall 1989 and 3/14/1991 he had a total knee replacement and was on crutches for six months, had two heart attacks, pneumonia, a hernia operation and a prostate operation. In December 1998, Paar underwent a quadruple bypass and heart valve replacement surgery from which he recovered in good condition. The talk-show host died at age 86 on January 27, 2004 in Greenwich, CT. Link to Wikipedia biography