July 29, 1957- March 30,1962. 

   From Hollywood. In his monologue Jack Paar reiterates what occurred two nights ago between himself and Mickey Rooney who was intoxicated when he came on the program. Rooney made cracks about Paar, and Paar reciprocated by asking him to leave. 
The following day Rooney challenged Paar to come to his hotel room to duke it out. Paar decided to come. What transpired is the basis for tonight's monologue. Guest Jack Benny approaches Jack and requests that they both make up. 

Interesting interview with Sterling Hayden who defied the courts taking seven children and 13 adults and absconding materialistic Hollywood on his vessel to points unknown in the Pacific. 

Jack engages in a short funny exchange with child actress Evelyn Rudie.                                                                                                

July 29, 1957- March 30,1962. 

 Jack Paar describes guest Mickey Rooney who was drunk, and who Paar asked to leave the show two nights ago (Dec. 1, 1959).  
Jack Benny urges Jack to "make up."

NOTE:
So, why did Mickey show up drunk on Jack Paar’s The Tonight Show? Rooney was still lit from staying up to celebrate his wedding anniversary the night before when he arrived for the broadcast. When asked what Ava Gardner was really like, a belligerent Rooney replied, “Well, Mr. Paar, may I say this, she is more woman than you will ever know.” After a few thick-tongued utterances from his guest, Paar observed, “I think you’re loaded.”

Rooney then proceeded to express disdain over the previous night’s show. “Do you enjoy it tonight?” Paar asked. “Not necessarily,” Rooney grumbled. Before Paar could finish asking “Would you care to leave?” Mickey had up and walked out. The next day Rooney responded to the headlines with, “A man would have to be drunk to appear on that show. Paar is the dregs of television.”

Earlier in the afternoon, Jack Paar accepted Mickey Rooney's invitation to meet with him in his hotel room. Paar relates the details of this meeting in his monologue.


Guest Sterling Hayden comments on sailing away in June 1959 with his four children, 7 9, 10 & 11 years of age, and thirteen adults, from Los Angeles, to the South Pacific, defying a court order. 

Haunted by the friends he’d betrayed, fed up with the subpar movies he was making (cast in westerns, he “couldn’t ride worth a goddamn” and was “the slowest draw west of the Rhine”), flat broke and waging a custody battle with his ex-wife, Hayden escaped into the arms of his first love. In defiance of a court order, he loaded up his four children on a schooner called Wanderer and set sail for the South Seas. Hayden describes his adventure with Paar. 

At the top of the show, a brief interview by Paar with child actress Evelyn Rudie who describes the following moment in her life. 

In 1959, at age 9, I disappeared from my Los Angeles home and was feared kidnapped. But it turned out I had booked a flight to Washington, D.C., on my own, and boarded the airplane unaccompanied. When I was taken off the plane at Baltimore, I told the authorities that I wanted to visit First Lady Mamie Eisenhower, whom I had met previously, at the White House. I wanted to ask her if she could  help me get a part in a TV series.

NOTE: THE COMPLETE STORY WAS SHARED BY  EVELYN RUDIE TO PHIL GRIES  AND CAN BE READ IN THE ATA TESTIMONIAL LINK.
 
 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 Melies, 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 Conried, Peggy Cass, Cliff (Charley Weaver) Arquette, and Johnathan Winters. Hugh Downs substituted for Jack Paar 79 times, more than any other substitute host there were 20 different performers 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. Altogether there were 243 broadcasts that 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 videotaped broadcast aired on January 5, 1959. "Best of Paar " Re-runs began on July 10, 1959. The first color broadcast aired on September 19, news bulletin on the "Explorer I"  satellite, launched today. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

October 1, 1962-May 22, 1992. Johnny Carson, host of NBC's network late-night "Tonight Show" reigned for 30 unprecedented years...five times the combined tenure of Steve Allen, and Jack Paar. Carson was impervious to competition, including efforts to dethrone him by Les Crane, Joey Bishop, Merv Griffin, Dick Cavett, Jack Paar, Pat Sajak, Joan Rivers, and Arsenio Hall. Sadly, very few complete "Tonight Show" broadcasts survive during Johnny Carson's first ten years of broadcasting. Around 1965, through the early 1970's, oldest tapes were first erased systematically by orders from myopic NBC executives, to be recycled for purposes of saving money. Ironically, in many cases, these older master tapes were too brittle, and portended probable drop-outs for re-use after being erased. Subsequently blank after being erased, these older questionable master 2" Quad tapes were either sparingly used or never used again for recording new programming and eventually were discarded. Saving thousands of dollars at the time (wiping master tapes for potential re-use) resulted in losing millions of dollars by NBC in today's marketplace, and more importantly wiping thousands of historic TONIGHT SHOW broadcasts, which contain precious personal anecdotes from political, show business, and sports icons of the past.



Guest Sterling Hayden appears with Johnny Carson.             

October 15, 1973-January 28, 1982. 
An hour-long talk show hosted by Tom Snyder. Network television's first entry into late-late-night programming on weeknights Monday thru Thursday, usually broadcasting on tape 1 AM to 2 AM. "Tomorrow" was expanded to 90 minutes on September 16, 1980.  

John Frankenheimer remembers his career beginnings making training films in 1953 his work at CBS directing live television, his admiration of Edward R. Murrow and anecdotes related to working in live television with actor Sterling Hayden who was scared to death working in such a media.  
 
Robert Duvall, who stars in the play American Buffalo and playwright David Mamet discuss their careers.