Jonathan Winters (far right) on the set with Jack Paar

Duane Eddy will be 75 on April 26

        
            Roger Joseph Ebert (June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013)

(AP) – Roger Ebert, the most famous and popular film reviewer of his time
who became the first journalist to win a Pulitzer Prize for movie criticism and,
on his long-running TV program, wielded the nation’s most influential thumb,
died Thursday at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, his office said. Only
a day earlier, he announced on his blog that he was undergoing radiation
treatment after a recurrence of cancer. Ebert had been a film critic for the
Chicago Sun-Times since 1967.

From left: Jack Paar, Hugh Downs, and band leader Jose Melis

Jack Paar drew millions of viewers every week night while he was host
of the Tonight show (1957-1962. The late night talk show was later
renamed “The Jack Paar Show”. His original announcer was actor
Franklin Pangborn, but he was let go within weeks for not showing
enough enthusiasm. He was replaced by Hugh Downs who stayed
with the show to the final airing on March 30, 1962.

Paar left the show, citing he could no longer handle the strenuous
load of putting on a 105 minute show, five nights a week. A new
host was chosen to replace him, his name was Johnny Carson.

From the first show in 1957

From left: Ed McMahon and Tonight Show host Johnny Carson