July 29, 1957- March 30,1962. 

Jack Paar delivers an eleven minute serious monologue discussing his recent front cover Time Magazine story about him. He states that Time was at his home for five days and talked to him for five weeks prior to the article being published. Paar states that he liked the way Time handled the story. 

Jack mentions that he has no press agent and most times has had the need to criticize publications, Newsweek, TV Guide, New York Post and columnist Walter Winchell for their unfounded and critical publicity stories that contain blatant untruths. Besides himself, he refers to recent negative stories about Arthur Godfrey and Anthony Perkins written in the most culprit of all the print journals, Newsweek. 

Jack Paar mentions that once TV Guide wanted to put him on the cover and Jack refused. Says Paar, "They put me on the cover anyway." Made up conversations I had never had...talked about my relationships with others I have never met. 

Conversely, Jack mentions, that Jim Bishop wrote an article about him ...my thoughts on religion. Bishop stated that as a reporter there have been only five people he has met and written about, including Jack Paar, who have displayed characteristics of honor and integrity. Jack then tells his audience, "I hope what I have just said tonight is not taken off the air."

*Most of this series does not survive in any broadcast form. Kinescopes were discarded, burned, decomposed...whereabouts unknown. 2" Quadruplex Video Tape was expensive ($300 for a one hour reel), weighting 26 pounds, requiring great storage space. Video Tape could easily be erased and was used for new program recordings...retained briefly for a re-run and then erased or discarded. Legend has it that even Jack Paar himself hired a junk man to come to his home garage and paid to have JACK PAAR TONIGHT SHOW recordings discarded (reels of kinescopes and video tapes) that were now cluttering up his space. 

During this era in television history archiving television programming was not a primary concern or vision, and considered an arcane pursuit. 

ARCHIVAL TELEVISION AUDIO, INC. retains over 70 complete and excerpt JACK PAAR TONIGHT SHOW air checks (34 hours), including the complete Jack Paar's first anniversary telecast which was broadcast live from Havana Cuba (June 28, 1958). These originally recorded off the air pristine sound direct line 1/4" reel to reel audio tracks, recorded at the time of the original broadcasts, represent the only broadcast record of a "lost" visual telecast. ATA is the largest single repository (one collection), in the United Sates of Jack Paar Tonight Shows recordings. The combined archives of The Library of Congress, Paley Center for Media, and UCLA Film & Television retain a composite total of 13 hours of representative JACK PAAR TONIGHT SHOW broadcasts excerpts...none complete. 



 For four years and eight months Jack Paar reigned supreme as host of the TONIGHT SHOW with a crew of regulars, but only two stayed with him for the entire run; announcer Hugh Downs and band leader Jose Melis, a former army buddy. Familiar faces who appeared many times with Jack included Dody Goodman, Betty Johnson, Elsa Maxwell, Alexander King, Genevieve, Jack Douglas; and wife Reiko, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Hans Conreid, Peggy Cass, Cliff (Charley Weaver) Arquette, and Jonathan Winters.

 Hugh Downs substituted for Jack Paar 79 times, more than any other substitute host. There were 20 different substitute hosts for Paar over the period of the series run. Joey Bishop substituted for Paar 31 times. Arlene Francis, 30 times, Jonathan Winters, 26 times, Orson Bean, 21 times and Johnny Carson 15 times. All together there were 243 broadcasts which had substitute hosts filling in for Paar during Jack Paar's TONIGHT SHOW tenure. The title of the late night broadcast changed to THE JACK PAAR SHOW which took effect on February 3, 1958. The first video-taped broadcast aired on January 5, 1959. "Best of Paar " Re-runs began on July 10,1959. Beginning July 20, 1959 Jack Paar began taking off Monday nights & guest hosts would substitute for him (approximately on alternate Mondays). The first color broadcast aired on September 19, 1960.
Theme music, "Everything is Coming Up Roses" was first used beginning in the Fall of 1959. 

Location broadcast telecasts of the program telecast away from the Hudson Theater in New York City occurred 14 times during this series run. 

Jan. 13-17, 1958                     Miami Beach, Florida
July 28, 1958                        Havana,Cuba           
Nov. 3-21, 1958                      Hollywood, California
March 2-20, 1959                     Hollywood, California
Nov. 10-12, 1959                  Nassau, Bahamas (Video Tape)
Nov. 30- Dec. 10, 1959               Hollywood, California
March 28-April 1, 1960            London, England (Video Tape)
Nov.9-11, 1960                    Hawaii (Video Tape) - b&w
Nov.14-24, 1960                     Hollywood, California
March 21-24, 1961                 London, England (Video Tape)
Sept. 12-14, 1961                 West Berlin (Video Tape)
Nov. 14-17, 1961                  Hollywood, California (Tape)
Nov. 21-24, 1961                  Hollywood, California (Tape)
March 13-16, 1962                 London, England (Video Tape)




                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Jack Paar's special guest is James Cagney, who plugs his new movie "The Gallant Hours," discusses conservation with Jim Bishop and demonstrates his dancing prowess with co-host Hugh Downs. Other guests chiming in are Genevieve and Shari Lewis. This show was a repeat originally broadcast on May 16, 1960.             

WABC RADIO lead in by Bruce Morrow prior to coverage of 
a first round KO of Floyd Patterson by Sonny Liston broadcast live from the convention center in Las Vegas over WABC Radio in New York. Heard is a 15 minute Special Preview boxing pre-fight show with Howard Cosell who interviews Heavyweight Champion Sonny Liston and Challenger, Floyd Patterson. They give their views on how the fight will turn out.  Predictions of who will win this rematch World Heavyweight Championship fight by sports columnists at ringside, Arthur Daley, Shirley Povich, Al Abrams, Bill Hines, Dick Peebles, Nat Fleischer, Jack Hand, George Whiting, Angelo Dundee, and Jim Bishop, the only one who predicts a Patterson victory. Howard Cosell is at ringside along with Les Keiter who does the blow-by-blow reporting with commentary from Rocky Marciano. Jack McCarthy announces the fighters. Mickey Allen sings the National Anthem. Number 2 contender Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) mocks Sonny Liston at ringside and in the ring. The three knockdown first round is broadcast. Extensive interviews with Joe Louis, and Rocky Marciano. Additional comments from Billy Conn and Lou Nova. Howard Cosell interviews Patterson, Cus D'amato and Liston after the fight, who discusses a possible upcoming fight with Cassius Clay in September. Les Keiter summarizes the fight. Replay of the first round. Keiter interviews Joe Louis who feels that Clay will give Liston a better fight, but cannot beat him. From the Gold Room, Sonny Liston meets the Press and answers questions.
Additional commentary by Howard Cosell and Rocky Marciano who states that Patterson should retire from the ring. Les Keiter interviews former Heavyweight Lou Nova. Sign off.                                                                                          

"Battle Line Iwo Jima." Jim Bishop. Comments by both sides in the conflict.                        

Van Patrick, Russ Hodges, Bill Stern and Jim Bishop give live ringside commentary of the Muhammad Ali, Sonny Liston boxing rematch fight from Lewiston, Maine. There are pre-fight discussions. Robert Goulet sings the National Anthem. Introductions of former Champions include Jersey Joe Walcott, who referees the fight. Russ Hodges calls the first round of Ali's knockout action. Steve Ellis interviews Ali in the center of the ring. Both review a videotape replay. Both comment. Hodges reviews the tape and calls the fight again. Floyd Patterson (Ali's next challenger) is interviewed by Bill Stern. Van Patrick interviews Joe Louis.             

The report of the Warren Commission says Lee Harvey Oswald, working alone, killed President John F. Kennedy. This discussion is largely an emphatic and often hotly argued rebuttal to the commission's findings. It begins with "The only way you can believe the Warren Report is to not read it" and ranges through charges of incompetence on the part of the Dallas police and destruction and misrepresentation of evidence by the FBI, and accusations of carelessness, as well as suppression of evidence and testimony, on the part of the commission.

Included in this heated debate the timeline to all activities on that tragic day, November 22, 1963, filmed interview accounts by eyewitnesses, transcription highlights of the Warren Commission Report and eerie details concerning those individuals who were involved, directly and indirectly in the assassination's, who are now dead under mysterious circumstances.
 
Panelists: Mark Lane, hired as counsel to protect the dead Oswald's interests by Mrs. Marguerite Oswald, is the author of "Rush To Judgement." Journalist Leo Sauvage has written "The Oswald Affair." Harold Weisberg recently published "Whitewash: The Report On The Warren Report." Editor Penn Jones wrote, "Forgive My Grief." Historian Jacob Cohen calls himself "by and large a defender of the commission." Syndicated columnist Jim Bishop is the moderator. Journalist/correspondent David Schoenbrun introduces the program. 
    
NOTE: After repeated requests, and silence  from members of the Warren Commission during the production of this special TV presentation,  producer Mel Bailey received acceptance from the commission  to participate in a follow up report, stated at the beginning of this broadcast. 
There is also mention by David Schoenbrun that Bailey is now working on a program featuring these members and their reflections of the commission and its staff. 

It is not known if this program was ever completed or broadcast. 

NOTE: Occasionally transmission audio interference is heard but not often and not interfering with the comprehension of this almost three hour round table discussion, sans commercials.