Jack Paar Biography

in full Jack Harold Paar

(1918 - 2004)

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(born May 1, 1918, Canton, Ohio, U.S.—died Jan. 27, 2004, Greenwich, Conn.) U.S. television talk-show host. He worked in radio in the late 1940s before hosting his first television show, Up to Paar, in 1952. As host of the late-night talk show Tonight, renamed The Jack Paar Show (1957–62), he established the now-standard format of celebrity interviews, monologues, and variety skits and was noted for his witty conversation, high-strung mannerisms, and mercurial temper. He later hosted the weekly Jack Paar Program (1962–65).


Copyright © 1994-2009 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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