The guests on this first show were Helen O'Connell, Johnny Johnston, Stanley Holloway, Edie Adams and Dick Haymes. Jose Melis led the band. The newspaper ad for the premiere show emphasize the show would be "Fun!", a quality apparently lacking from the "Tonight! America After Dark" shows of the previous six months. Franklin Pangborn was Paar's first announcer. The 64-year-old Pangborn was a veteran character actor who played prissy bank clerk types, and Paar thought viewers would find him amusing. Unfortunately, Pangborn was clueless without a script; at one point Paar tries to cajole a story from his new sidekick by mentioning the actor had worked with W.C. Fields, but Pangborn's response was to smile and nod his head. Within a short time, Pangborn would be replaced by Hugh Downs.
Edith Adams (Edie Adams) didn't appear on the show as scheduled because her husband Ernie Kovacs told her not to, showing his loyalty to Steve Allen.