When Jack Paar was chosen to host NBC's faltering Tonight Show in July 1957, the program had been reduced to two sponsors and was carried by only 62 network stations. Within eighteen months, the antics of the witty, unpredictable Paar had brought a total of 115 stations on board, and the show, renamed The Jack Paar Tonight Show, had full sponsorship. Paar's unique style would both establish the popularity of talk shows and set the standard for all future television hosts.

Born in Canton, Ohio on May 1, 1918, Paar dropped out of high school and began working as a radio announcer for stations in Indianapolis, Youngstown, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo. Working for the army special services during World War II, Paar entertained enlisted men with irreverent gibes at the military brass. He appeared in three movies in the early 1950s: Walk Softly, Stranger, Love Nest, and...