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Time Magazine crowned Flip Wilson as television's first black superstar.

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Time Magazine crowned Flip Wilson as television's first black superstar.

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TIME Magazine Cover: Flip Wilson - Jan. 31, 1972

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Jonathan Winters thrived when improvising

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Jonathan Winters thrived when improvising

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Milton Berle played guitar on stage with Elvis

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Milton Berle played guitar on stage with Elvis

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Elvis - Hound Dog & Dialogue - Milton Berle Show - 5 June 1956

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Ed Sullivan often forgot his guests' names. 

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Ed Sullivan often forgot his guests' names. 

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Andy Griffith hated the idea of a live audience.

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Andy Griffith hated the idea of a live audience.

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Lucy Ball heavily rehearsed every episode of I Love Lucy

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Lucy Ball heavily rehearsed every episode of I Love Lucy

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Pin by witch craft on Photos of Movie Stars and Singers I Luff | I love lucy, I love lucy show, Lucy and ricky

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Aug 17, 2013 - Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz at rehearsal for "I Love Lucy"

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Desi Arnaz introduced the idea of a live studio audience. 

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Desi Arnaz introduced the idea of a live studio audience. 

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Jackie Gleason stole most of his jokes. 

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Jackie Gleason stole most of his jokes. 

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Johnny Carson was the most popular and the best paid person on television in the late 1960's.

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Johnny Carson was the most popular and the best paid person on television in the late 1960's.

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It took much convincing from NBC for Johnny Carson to return to hosting The Tonight Show. 

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It took much convincing from NBC for Johnny Carson to return to hosting The Tonight Show. 

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Jack Paar left the Tonight show after NBC censored one of his jokes. 

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Jack Paar left the Tonight show after NBC censored one of his jokes. 

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Jack Paar's ''Tonight Show'' exit -- The talk-show host stormed off the show 32 years ago

By Mark Harris

When Johnny Carson decided to leave The Tonight Show, he gave America one year's notice. But when Carson's predecessor, Jack Paar, made his most famous exit, viewers had no warning at all. What sent Paar out the door was, simply, a joke - a joke that contained one phrase so faintly, quaintly off-color that these days it wouldn't even bring a blush to Bob Hope's cheeks. On Feb. 10, 1960, NBC censored Jack Paar's reference to a "WC," or water closet, during his Tonight Show monologue.

"Paar was really pissed off," recalls his then-sidekick, 20/20 's Hugh Downs. "He called a press conference the next day and announced he was going to do something really horrendous that night." How would the host of America's late-night institution, on which he had starred for 2 1/2 years, get the last bitter laugh? Before the taping, Downs cornered Paar in his dressing room. "He was pacing back and forth, and finally said, 'I'm leaving the show, Hugh.' I assumed he'd tape the show and make a dramatic announcement at the end."

But the end came 87 minutes early. Just as Carson later built his reputation on unflappability, Paar built his on I-could-blow-at-any-moment emotionalism, and that night, he blew. After a three-minute skewering of NBC over the censorship, Paar, in tears, said, "There's gotta be a better way to make a living," and walked off the show. "I was stunned," says Downs. "I was sitting on the couch, and I did the rest of the show from there. I didn't want to move into his chair - that would look pretty nakedly ambitious."

In the following weeks, network executives sought to soothe their burnt-up, burnt-out star, who returned to the show a month later with a better deal and remained its host for two more years. Paar, now 73 and living in Greenwich, Conn., went on to write books, but nothing became his career like his temporary departure: It solidified his image as the hottest head in entertainment's coolest medium. "Before then, there was a Pagliacci syndrome in show business," says Downs. "You know, smile though your heart is breaking. Well, Paar would cry if his heart was breaking, and people were fascinated. Those were great years," he concludes. "I wish Paar had enjoyed them more."

TIME CAPSULE
Feb 11, 1960

Readers gave Allen Drury's Advise and Consent a big yea vote, and Sink the Bismarck! was riding high at the movies. Mark Dinning's "Teen Angel" turned tragedy into melody. And Gunsmoke blew away all the TV competition in its fifth season.

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Jack Paar's ''Tonight Show'' exit -- The talk-show host stormed off the show 32 years ago By Mark Harris When Johnny Carson decided to leave The Tonight Show, he gave America one year's notice. But when Carson's predecessor, Jack Paar, made his most famous exit, viewers had no warning at all.

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Steve Allen had himself covered in buckets full of ice cream on his late night show.

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Johnny Carson still holds the highest ratings of any host of a late night television show.

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Johnny Carson still holds the highest ratings of any host of a late night television show.

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Dick van Dyke auditioned to be the first host of The Price is Right

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Dick van Dyke auditioned to be the first host of The Price is Right

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He eventually declined because he thought the show would never succeed.

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Florence Henderson tennis joke on Hollywood Squares

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Florence Henderson tennis joke on Hollywood Squares

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Hilarious Florence Henderson Hollywood Squares Fail

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"It's the best job in showbiz because you don't have to memorize anything and you get to sit down." 

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"It's the best job in showbiz because you don't have to memorize anything and you get to sit down." 