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By PAUL BRENNER
Jack Paar had a very brief,
but glorious reign, on NBC from 1957 to 1965. In
that slim span of eight years, Paar had invented
the talk show. But it was the first five years
that really mattered. When Paar took over The
Tonight Show from Steve Allen in 1957 (at a time
when The Tonight Show was live five days a week
for an hour-and-forty-five minutes), he revamped
the Allen craziness and accentuated conversation,
blending talk seamlessly with the Allen era comedy
and music. But conversation was preeminent.
So too was Paar's mercurial personality. Paar
mocked his sponsors and made his feuds with NBC a
running gag on his show. Viewers tuned in to see
what Paar might say or do and there was no telling
what might happen. Paar's dyspeptic temperament
and high wire hosting duties culminated in 1962
with Paar's walking off The Tonight Show, after a
dispute with NBC over an excised off-color joke.
Paar returned that fall with a weekly prime time
program that was edited by NBC for broadcast. But
that program was a shadow of his electric tenure
on The Tonight Show (which, after Paar's walk off,
was then put into the steady hands of Johnny
Carson).
The Shout! Factory has released a three-disc set,
"The Jack Paar Collection," featuring clips and
episodes culled mostly from Paar's later prime
time NBC program, It is presumed that most of
Paar's live Tonight programs are lost. The later
Paar show is less spontaneous and much more
formatted. But at least with this collection, a
taste of The Great Paar is experienced.
Disc One showcases the 2003 PBS documentary, "Jack
Paar: Smart Television." The documentary is
depth-free and is one of those shows that appear
during PBS pledge drives. Next to nothing is
offered about Paar's life and the most obvious
generalities are offered about Paar's importance.
But it does have a lot of clips, many from the old
Tonight Show. Television critic Tom Shales's
statement that Paar brought to television "the
edge of journalism and the sparkle of show
business all rolled into one" is amply backed up
with clips of Paar interviewing Oscar Levant ("the
only reason I'm appearing here is that there are
no more beds in the mental institution"), Mohammed
Ali, John Kennedy, Woody Allen, Bill Cosby,
Liberace, The Muppets, and Fidel Castro (Paar
traveled to Cuba to interview him immediately
after his victorious revolution) . Extended
interviews from the documentary are offered as
bonus materials.
Disc Two offers full interviews and monologues,
all from the later prime time program. Paar
interviews Robert Kennedy (three months after the
assassination of his brother), Cassius Clay (i.e.
Mohammed Ali) and Liberace, Billy Graham, Barry
Goldwater, and Richard Nixon (post California
gubernatorial defeat and more at ease in defeat
than in political triumph in 1968). In both the
interviews and monologues, Paar demonstrates
himself to be a natural raconteur and brings out
the best in both himself and his guests.
Disc Three consists of three complete episodes of
The Jack Paar Program. In an episode from November
16, 1962, Paar's guests are Gisele MacKenzie,
Bette Davis, and Jonathan Winters. Winters does a
hilarious depiction of a gay Captain Ahab and when
Bette Davis, who has laryngitis, is mocked by
Winters, she succinctly tells him to "go to Hell."
The second program, from May 8, 1964, features
Bill Cosby, Arthur Godfrey, and a fascinating
Richard Burton (who proves him the equal of Paar
as a conversationalist). The last episode, from
December 11, 1964, features Robert Morley,
Randolph Churchill (Winston's nasty and bitter
son), and Judy Garland (who is definitely high on
something, but it's not life).
On looking at these programs and stacking them up
against the low-rent talk shows like Jerry
Springer and the jury-rigged sound bites passing
themselves off as talk shows (Jay Leno, David
Letterman), one sees the influence of Paar in all
of them. But Paar's art of talk and extended
interviews -- excepting for the late, lamented
Dick Cavett Show, and the current Bill Moyers and
Charlie Rose program (and even Letterman and his
show with Warren Zevon) -- appears lost in popular
culture and, unless networks begin to consider
news, information, and art ahead of money, this
type of programming will never be seen again. |
