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JACK PARR
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Jack Harold Paar (May 1, 1918 – January 27, 2004) was an American radio and television comedian and talk show host, best noted for his stint as host of The Tonight Show.
Paar was enough of a hit---with listeners and critics alike---that the American Tobacco Company, which sponsored him for Lucky Strike cigarettes (as they did with Benny at this time), decided to keep Paar on the air, moving him to ABC for the fall season. The show ended, according to Dunning, when Paar objected to American Tobacco's suggestion that he come up with a weekly running gag or gimmick---something to which Paar objected, saying he "wanted to get away from that kind of old-hat comedy, the kind being practised by Jack Benny and Fred Allen." As a result, American Tobacco dropped Paar before the full season had been done, earning Paar an image (as Dunning phrased it) as a spoiled kid that "pursued" him.
Paar was enough of a hit---with listeners and critics alike---that the American Tobacco Company, which sponsored him for Lucky Strike cigarettes (as they did with Benny at this time), decided to keep Paar on the air, moving him to ABC for the fall season. The show ended, according to Dunning, when Paar objected to American Tobacco's suggestion that he come up with a weekly running gag or gimmick---something to which Paar objected, saying he "wanted to get away from that kind of old-hat comedy, the kind being practised by Jack Benny and Fred Allen." As a result, American Tobacco dropped Paar before the full season had been done, earning Paar an image (as Dunning phrased it) as a spoiled kid that "pursued" him.
HE HOSTED THE TONIGHT SHOW EVEN BEFORE JOHNNY CARSON
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