Death Summary: Jack Paar died in his Greenwich, Connecticut home in January 2004. He had been ill for quite some time, having triple-bypass heart surgery in 1998 and suffering a stroke in 2003.

Richard Corliss said in Time’s obituary of Paar, he had divided television talk show history into two ears: Before Paar and Below Paar.

Who was Jack Paar : Paar was a former radio and television talk show host who is probably best known for being the second host of The Tonight Show.

During his earlier days Paar worked utility duty at WGAR in Cleveland. By chance, he was working the night Orson Welles did his infamous War of the Worlds broadcast. He even tried to calm down the panicked listeners by saying, “The world is not coming to an end. Trust me. When have I ever lied to you?”

Parr was offered the role as host of The Tonight Show, where he hosted from 1957 – 1962, after wowing NBC officials with his work on Jack Benny’s radio show.

Categories: Actors, Celebrities, Comedians, Entertainment.