Paul Lynde

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Paul Lynde

Paul Edward Lynde (June 13, 1926 – January 10, 1982) was an American comedian and actor. A noted character actor, Lynde was well known for his roles as Uncle Arthur on Bewitched and Harry McAfee, the befuddled father in Bye Bye Birdie. He was also the center square on the classic game show, Hollywood Squares, from 1968 to 1981.

1 Biography
2 TV Work
3 Filmography
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Lynde was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio to Hoy Lynde and Sylvia Bell Doup.

[edit] Career

Lynde first got recognition in the Broadway revue New Faces of 1952 in which he co-starred opposite fellow newcomers Eartha Kitt, Alice Ghostley, and Carol Lawrence. One notable skit involved Lynde as a husband in crutches coming back from an African safari. The play was filmed into a movie in 1954. After the revue's run, Lynde co-starred in the short-lived sitcom Stanley opposite Buddy Hackett and Carol Burnett, both of whom were also starting out their careers in show business. He became a regular on several sitcoms and variety shows such as The Perry Como Show.

Lynde did extensive voice work on animated cartoons, particularly those of Hanna-Barbera Productions. His most notable Hanna-Barbera roles were those of Sylvester Sneakly (a.k.a. "The Hooded Claw") in The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, Mildew Wolf from The Cattanooga Cats and Laff-a-Lympics, Pertwee from Where's Huddles? and Templeton the gluttonous rat from the animated feature Charlotte's Web (note that he was originally uncredited for the first two roles).

[edit] Personal life

In Hollywood, Lynde was widely known to be gay. But despite his stereotypically flamboyant mannerisms and sometimes rather overtly gay double entendres on Hollywood Squares, he never publicly acknowledged his homosexuality. In fact, Lynde was affectionately nicknamed "America's Most Eligible Bachelor" by the public, perhaps in seeking a logical reason for his lack of a partner.

Lynde was found dead in his Beverly Hills home by friend Paul Barresi. The coroner ruled the death a heart attack. In spite of later assumptions that he died from AIDS his premature death may have been caused by his longtime alcoholism and drug abuse. In fact, the coroner said that Lynde's heart resembled that of a man about 80 years old.

Lynde is interred next to his brother Johnny at Amity Cemetery in Knox County, Ohio, some eight miles northeast of Paul's hometown.

[edit] Lynde in popular culture

According to creator and voice actor Seth McFarlane on a DVD featurette, the voice of Roger the Alien on the Fox television show American Dad! was modelled after Paul Lynde.
The Big Cheese, the lead villain on the Japanese cartoon, Samurai Pizza Cats also resembles Lynde's voice and public persona.
According to the Rotten Library, "he was the inspiration for a gag which made its way into the movie Groundhog Day. After a drunken high speed chase through the San Fernando Valley one night, Lynde crashed his car into a mailbox. When the cops rushed the scene with their guns drawn, Lynde lowered his window and ordered a cheeseburger with no onions and a large Sprite."^[1] Other accounts claim he simply stated "I'll have a double cheeseburger and a chocolate shake." This was also used in the Family Guy episode Jungle Love, where Peter comes home drunk and drives up to the kitchen window. Meg opens the window and yells, "Dad, what are you doing here?" Peter answers, "Uh, hey, buddy. I'll have a triple cheeseburger, large fries, and, uh...do you sell pants?" ^[2]
During an episode of The Critic, Jay is touring his parents' advertising company when one of the executives shows him a commercial promoting gay youth. It starts off with two gay young men playing pool when they ask each other "Who was cuter? Darren #1, or Darren #2?" Then it cuts to Lynde in a armchair in a purple robe, a martini in one hand and a cigarette in the other saying "I liked Uncle Arthur!" then laughing hysterically.
London Tipton's talking mirror also has a voice similar to Paul Lynde's as first seen in That's so Suite Life of Hannah Montana, a Suite Life of Zack and Cody episode, and again in another episode Lost in Translation.