Voting Station

The Tonight Show Starring Jack Paar

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TV Series

The Resume

    (July 29, 1957-March 30, 1962)
    Aired on NBC
    Hosted by Jack Paar
    Announcer was Hugh Downs
    Bandleader was Jose Melis

Why The Tonight Show Starring Jack Paar might be annoying:

    It inaugurated a 'Tonight Show' tradition when Paar cut back to four new shows a week with a 'Best of' on Fridays.
    Paar would sometimes refuse to invite back guests who got bigger laughs than him.
    A show broadcast from Cuba after the revolution controversially seemed to endorse Fidel Castro.
    Paar would show home movies of his family.
    Paar protested a joke about a 'water closet' being censored by walking off immediately after his monologue, leaving a surprised Hugh Downs to finish the episode solo (February 11, 1960).

Why The Tonight Show Starring Jack Paar might not be annoying:

    Paar returned from his walkout after a month, commenting 'I believe the last thing I said was 'There must be a better way to make a living than this.' Well, I've looked...and there isn't.' (March 7, 1960)
    Paar's unpredictability gave the show a 'must see' reputation.
    Guests were invited on the show because Paar found them interesting rather than because they had a movie/book/album to plug.
    Guests would be mixed and matched in interesting combos, such as having Cassius Clay reciting poetry while Liberace played piano.
    Both John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon appeared, with New York Times columnist James Reston saying the 1960 election was about 'who could stand up to Nikita Khruschev and sit down with Jack Paar.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 11 Votes: 27.27% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 77 Votes: 41.56% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 13 Votes: 53.85% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 62 Votes: 56.45% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 11 Votes: 36.36% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 14 Votes: 28.57% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 96 Votes: 60.42% Annoying