Hi Aaron,
Well, I’m old enough (62) to remember watching Jack Paar when he was host of The Tonight Show. I believe he was certainly No. 2 in the lineup, with Leno a distant third. I seem to recall that he rarely had an off-night – it often seemed that he could go on talking with his guests or to the audience much longer after the show had ended. In other words, he was a natural – ebullient, high energy, unpredictable, witty, and very comfortable with all manner of guests.
I remember many episodes on the Paar show as clearly as I can recall Carson’s highlights – and that is without the benefit of the many video compilations that feature Carson – including one of the last nights on Paar’s show when frequent guest Buddy Hackett mentioned that “he had been having cocktails with Johnny Carson” - very similar to Robin Williams’ and Bette Midler’s appearance on Carson’s final shows. I recall the nights he walked off the set and returned, the nights he hosted stellar film guests, his on-air put downs of various gossip columnists, and even the shows where he proudly shared home movies of his trips abroad. There has been no one like him on late night TV since.
Regards,
Marshall Letcher
