MONTY MORGAN - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 02/23/1960 - HFSID 31833

MONTY MORGAN. TLS: "Monty Morgan" as Associate Producer of The Jack Paar Show, ¾p, 8½x11. New York, New York, 1960 February 23. On letterhead of the National Broadcasting Company, Inc. to Mr. Louis Sobol, The New York Journal American, New York, New York. In full: "Thank you for your reply. I must insist that I did not make the statements as outlined in my letter. You, of course, insist that I did, since you printed the alleged remarks. I suppose it is there that the matter must rest. However, I want you to know that I have had more than a hundred phone calls, regarding the column in question. In almost every instance, the comments are the same. People simply do not believe that I made such remarks, because 'you do not talk that way.' An irate Gypsy Rose Lee called to say she is 'sick over the matter.' She said further, 'if you didn't say things like that to me or to my guests, why would you say them to a columnist?' If you see no logic in this, then I suppose the matter is closed." MONTY MORGAN, the Associate Producer of The Jack Paar Show, had spoken to columnist LOUIS SOBOL at a gathering at the home of Gypsy Rose Lee on Friday, February 12, the day after JACK PAAR, unhappy with NBC censors over the removal of a joke referencing a "water closet" (the British euphemism for bathroom), announced, "There must be a better way to earn a living than this" and walked off the set, leaving a stunned Hugh Downs to finish the program. Paar's walk-off and subsequent disappearance dominated the news for the next five weeks. At the time of this letter, Paar was still missing - he would finally return after an extended stay in Hong Kong. Paar was the host of The Tonight Show, which was renamed The Jack Paar Show in 1959, from 1957-1962, when he retired from late night after hosting more than 2,000 hours. On February 16, 1960, Sobol wrote a column about Paar's disappearance, portraying Morgan as "a perturbed man...startled and even annoyed" and attributing remarks to Morgan that resulted in Morgan writing to him that day demanding that the record be set straight. This letter is a follow-up, written by Morgan after Sobol first contacted him regarding the column. Lightly creased at upper right blank corner. Soiled at blank areas. Date stamped "Feb 25 1960" at upper right margin. Overall, fine condition.