One evening in the second week of February 1960, Jack Paar walked off “The Tonight Show.” He left because NBC had censored a joke from his show the night before. The joke was about a British lady and a water closet. Today, the joke wouldn't shock a third grade class. But in 1960, the NBC network thought it was offensive and chopped it from the show.

On the night when Paar left the show, he had been on for about five minutes when he said, “I’m leaving “The Tonight Show.” (The audience sighed in shock). He said, “There must be a better way of making a living than this,” and he got up and walked off leaving sidekick Hugh Downs with 85 minutes to fill. The walkout caused a great sensation. It was all people talked about for more than three weeks. Jack finally came back to “The Tonight Show" after NBC apologized.

While Jack Paar was away, he calmed down in Hong Kong for two weeks. He returned to the show to a large (legitimate) ovation. After he made it to the stage, he looked at the audience and stated, “As I was saying when I was interrupted....” and “when I walked off, there must be a better way to making a living than this. Well, I’ve looked, and there isn’t." He was back.

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