WHILE READING of the late television maverick Jack Paar in the January obituaries, I became curious about his work. Reputed to be smart and entertaining at the same time, he was also a bit of a puzzle: During the height of his fame–when he was on television, with two succeeding programs, from 1957 to 1965–the whole country is said to have wondered, “What is Jack Paar really like?”

I was especially intrigued by the story of him quitting on live television as host of The Tonight Show, after the studio killed one of his jokes because it made reference to a water closet. He looked straight into the camera and said, “I am leaving The Tonight Show. There must be a better way of making a living than this.” Even more intriguing was the story of his return to the show a few weeks later. His first words back were “As I was saying before I was interrupted . . .”