I liked Jack Paar also.
Yeah, Paar was the first of the late-night shows, IIRC. I was a kid then, but recall when he left, there was a lot of talk about Carson and whether he'd succeed. Uh, huh.
There was also Arthur Godfrey, but I never liked him as well as the others. And it was more of a variety show. His sitting around, playing his Ukulele never did much for me...