“He was not the first host of The Tonight Show (Steve Allen), nor the longest running (Johnny Carson) or the edgiest comic (Jay Leno). But Jack Paar, who died at his Greenwich, Conn., home on Tuesday at 85, brought to his tenure at the helm of the NBC staple a uniquely urbane wit as well as a flamboyant and intelligent cultural breadth. He essentially invented the late-night talk show format, and he set a standard for the art of television conversation.”