I felt sad, though not really surprised, when I learned that he was basically an alcoholic who drank himself to death. It must have been tough to be half in and half out of the closet. But he was a kind of fifth column for gay rights, showing up in millions of homes five times a week, and deserves respect for playing the court jester, telling a version of the truth in the form of jokes.
That drawing on the wall behind him reminds me of Cocteau...
I grew up loving any TV appearance by Lynde--even doing voice work on the cartoon Where's Huddles?--or Charles Nelson Reilly. And yet I wound up being straight. Go figure.
I went to a non-show biz party in Hollywood in the mid-70s ( I was about 17) and he was there, sitting on the back lawn, telling stories and answering everybody's questions. I asked him about working with Harvey Lembeck, Tim Carey and Larry Storch and he kind of gave me a funny look because everyone wanted to know about Bewitched or Hollywood Squares. When I asked him if he'd ever discussed Shakespeare with Maurice Evans he almost spit out his drink.
8 comments so far:
The center square.
Hey! I had a cardigan like that!
Peter Marshall: Paul, why do Hell's Angels wear leather?
Paul Lynde: Because chiffon wrinkles too easily.
Peter Marshall: When you pat a dog on its head he will usually wag his tail. What will a goose do?
Paul Lynde: Make him bark.
And so forth
I felt sad, though not really surprised, when I learned that he was basically an alcoholic who drank himself to death. It must have been tough to be half in and half out of the closet. But he was a kind of fifth column for gay rights, showing up in millions of homes five times a week, and deserves respect for playing the court jester, telling a version of the truth in the form of jokes.
"Center Square: The Paul Lynde Story" by Steve Wilson is well worth reading for interesting insight into his life(and drinking)
What a great picture of him! I know from the biography he battled being overweight and the various body issues that entails, in his younger years.
That drawing on the wall behind him reminds me of Cocteau...
I grew up loving any TV appearance by Lynde--even doing voice work on the cartoon Where's Huddles?--or Charles Nelson Reilly. And yet I wound up being straight. Go figure.
I went to a non-show biz party in Hollywood in the mid-70s ( I was about 17) and he was there, sitting on the back lawn, telling stories and answering everybody's questions. I asked him about working with Harvey Lembeck, Tim Carey and Larry Storch and he kind of gave me a funny look because everyone wanted to know about Bewitched or Hollywood Squares. When I asked him if he'd ever discussed Shakespeare with Maurice Evans he almost spit out his drink.
Nice man
Dean Martin + Paul Lynde = Jocularity ensuingism.
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